cat food cans for ingots?

[rondog]

I'm still too new here to know where to ask this, but....

Are empty, clean aluminum cat food cans OK to use as molds for pouring ingots? I have bunch of them, and they look to be the perfect size, but I don't know if they'll work. Will they?

Will the aluminum melt?

Will the ingots come out, or will I have to cut the cans off?

So many questions.....

[docone31]

If you have a Lee pot, they will be awkward.
I am not sure, the can will allow ejection with all the internal contours.

[jnovotny]

Give them a try, the worst that would happen is they stick to the can. Then you just peel it off. Wouldn't do a bunch of them till I seen what I had. Good luck casting and have fun. John

[376Steyr]

Now that's a good idea. Just make sure they are empty, clean, and DRY before you dump lead in one. The brand I buy has a groove around the bottom that always hides about a teaspoon-worth of gravy, no matter how much time I spend trying to lick it out...

[jar-wv]

I use aluminum pop cans, so I'm sure they will work. may just have to cut em off is all.

jar

[rondog]

I use aluminum pop cans, so I'm sure they will work. may just have to cut em off is all.

jar

Hmmm, I'm got a boatload of those too. Me and the grandson love to fill 'em with water and bust 'em up!


If you have a Lee pot, they will be awkward.

Even with the 20lb. furnace? I don't HAVE to use the cat food cans, I was just wondering if they'd work. I was actually planning to buy muffin pans, then realized I had a big boxful of the cans.


The brand I buy has a groove around the bottom that always hides about a teaspoon-worth of gravy, no matter how much time I spend trying to lick it out...

Ewwwww........

[mooman76]

I used pop cans for years before I got a ingot mould. They work good. Come out to a hair under 9#. The can keeps the lead clean for long term storage. You just strip off the can when needed. Also you can fill each can about 1/3 the way full or whatever suits you. Let it cool and then pour another 1/3 and so on. When you pull the lead out it will be stuck together but a rap with a hammer will seperate them. Make sure the can is ABSOLUTELY DRY! I put mine over the stove burner to make sure.

[badgeredd]

rondog,

Several posts have been written on ingot molds. One of the favorites are muffin tins, Preferably one piece construction of steel. Another source is cast iron muffin pans, or corn bread pans. Personally I'd stay away from aluminum as a container for 650 degree hot lead. A few posts have been made about using aluminum other than actual ingot molds, and also under no circumstances should one use aluminum pots to melt down ones WW. They are known to fail and for obvious reasons, that is a recipe for a disaster and severe burns.

Edd

[mooman76]

Aluminum doesn't melt until like 1200 degrees. 650 degree lead will not hurt aluminum cans. The cans are not over a burner like a lead pot. Moulds are made of aluminum and they work fine.

[Old Ironsights]

Catfood Can...

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y180/MrMisanthrope/IMG_0381.jpg

Note that most CFCs are lined with some sort of plastic and that no matter how well cleaned out it WILL stink of burnt plastic & catfood when filled with melt.

IIRC the can above has about 5.5# of zincified alloy in it. I use it as a doorstop. I had 2, but I remelted the other one and used it for .375 RBs for my wrist rocket.

A normal size CFC (as above) will NOT fit into a Lee pot. It will need to be remelted into somthing else & transferred to the Lee for casting. I used a 6# Lyman Lead Pot on a hot plate.

[rondog]

A normal size CFC (as above) will NOT fit into a Lee pot. It will need to be remelted into somthing else & transferred to the Lee for casting.

Well, dang! So much for that idea. Guess I'll stick with my original idea of using them for nuts, bolts, screws, washers, etc. How about the ingots made in muffin pans and soda cans? Will they fit? I do like the idea of leaving them in the soda cans to facilitate easier/cleaner storage. God only knows when I'll actually start casting bullets.

[carpetman]

To use a cat food can as an ingot mold you need to have it properly prepared--an easy thing to do. Put some antifreeze in the can and set it out so the cat will take care of all the prep that is needed. You may not acquire as many cans in the future, but that's a good thing. The money you save on not buying cat food will enable you to buy an ingot mold.

[Stove_Pipe]

To use a cat food can as an ingot mold you need to have it properly prepared--an easy thing to do. Put some antifreeze in the can and set it out so the cat will take care of all the prep that is needed. You may not acquire as many cans in the future, but that's a good thing. The money you save on not buying cat food will enable you to buy an ingot mold.

Lol, I do the same thing but for dogs arround here. Funny I don't see them any more.;-)

[compass will]

Mold release spray and cheep muffin tins is all you need. No peeling cans off lead, and the cat don't keep getting in your way because it thinks you getting ready to feed it.

[carpetman]

Stove Pipe--What town in central Texas? San Angelo here which is called West Texas---funny thing is Austin area is called central Texas. Truth is the exact center of Texas is near Eden,Tx which is only 45 miles from here---Austin is 200 miles East of that.

[Gerry N.]

Lol, I do the same thing but for dogs arround here. Funny I don't see them any more.;-)

That is a cowardly a**hole's answer to a small problem. So then, which are you, a coward, an as**hole or both?

I had an idiot neighbor who tried to poison my dog with antifreeze. I told him, and meant it, that if I ever even thought he ever tried it again I'd shoot him in the guts. I finally calmed down and called animal control.

The cretin eventually served six months in the county slam, lost his job and his house. Perhaps justice will be done for you as well.

You may think it's a fun way to get rid of a dog. I doubt you'd like to die that way with sharp crystals of glycol slowly cutting your kidneys into meat paste. It's total agony and the only way to stop the pain is death.

I wouldn't cross the street to piss on a man who'd do that to any animal if he were on fire.

Gerry N.

[pdawg_shooter]

that is a cowardly a**hole's answer to a small problem. So then, which are you, a coward, an as**hole or both?

I had an idiot neighbor who tried to poison my dog with antifreeze. I told him, and meant it, that if i ever even thought he ever tried it again i'd shoot him in the guts. I finally calmed down and called animal control.

The cretin eventually served six months in the county slam, lost his job and his house. Perhaps justice will be done for you as well.

You may think it's a fun way to get rid of a dog. I doubt you'd like to die that way with sharp crystals of glycol slowly cutting your kidneys into meat paste. It's total agony and the only way to stop the pain is death.

I wouldn't cross the street to piss on a man who'd do that to any animal if he were on fire.

Gerry n.

+1....ill provide the ammo!

[44mag1]

wow, last I checked dogs and cats were not humans and can go feral.

[Poygan]

Stove Pipe...

Its miserable people like you that makes me like dogs and cats all the more.

[44mag1]

So, whats your dog doing in someone elses yard anyway? You guys can fight right or wrong on how to deal with loose animals and possibly one that barks perpetualy all you want, I dont think antifreeze is the answer but I dont have a problem shooting some idiots dog or cat that cant keep him out of my yard. But telling someone your willing to murder them if they poison your dog is stupid and illegal.

[oldtoolsniper]

It is the idiot whom owns the dog/cat not the dog/cat. Go figure the same people who would shoot a dog for pooping in their precious manicured lawn will spend hundreds dumping fertilizer (expensive poop) all over that same perfect little lawn. Vanity is amazing in all its forms.

[Springfield]

If I found out someone had poisoned one of our cats or the dog I wouldn't have to shoot them, my wife would be over there in a second to do it for me. And no, dogs shouldn't be allowded to roam anywhere they want, but it is Animal Control's job to take care if it humanely. And back to the subject, I think the burning plastic lining on the CFC would be worse for you than the lead fumes.

[Coastie]

Cheap muffin "tins" work great. Check your local dollar store for them. Pick a size that will go into your melt pot with no hassel. Get the type that has a bit of a taper so that your ingots will drop out after they cool.. If no luck at the dollar store check out one of your local thrift shops. I have used different sized pans for years and actually like them better than my ingot molds.