This just in, cheap aluminum foil doesn't work well as an emergency ingot mold. The foil doesn't really stick per se, it just comes off in tiny pieces that makes it not worth it.
You're welcome, cuz I know everyone was wondering!
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This just in, cheap aluminum foil doesn't work well as an emergency ingot mold. The foil doesn't really stick per se, it just comes off in tiny pieces that makes it not worth it.
You're welcome, cuz I know everyone was wondering!
Go to Wally World and get a minny muffin pan, or a regular muffin pan if ya want bigger ingots they work great
Nobody will learn if your crazy *** idea will work unless you try it and pass on what happened, and that's especially hard when you have to report a fail (most of us are glad to report outcomes that make us look clever or talented, but not the converse).
It could have been a brilliant hack. Even though it didn't pan out, thanks for letting us know what not to try.
I have this odd desire to find a non traditional mold that’s fits in a Lee 4 lb pot. Beer cans work great as a mold but are too big.
maybe you should try empty snuff cans next, they're the perfect size hehe :kidding:
small 5.5 oz V-8 can
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/cam...iABEgLr0fD_BwE
The bottom 1/2 of a beer can works just fine and it is a one time use mold. After the lead cools you peel the aluminum can off and toss it.
That being said, a RCBS iron ingot mold is a one time expense. It makes nice little approximately 1lb. ingots (4 of them at a time).
I played around with the improvised molds (stainless steel cups, cheap muffin tins, etc,) and in the end decided that the effort was misplaced. Just get a RCBS, SAECO, LEE, whatever - ingot mold and be done. Frankly the money I spent $0.50 -$2.98 at a time experimenting to "find" a cheap substitute ingot mold would have funded 1 RCBS ingot mold or 2 Lee ingot molds.
Always wanted a lead hammer. Bought the HF hammer with changeable heads plastic,rubber,brass,copper, no lead head. So found a Jack Daniels shot glass, filled with sand from barn lot, impressed hammer head into sand, covered with aluminum foil. Removed head and left foil and impression in sand. Found small bolt with same threads as hammer body, poured alloy from Lee bottom pour pot, not once but 4 of them. Hardest part was finding correct bolts with correct thread type. Won’t last long tho because of the softness, but that’s the point, it wont mar the surface of what your striking.
I use the bottom of a soda can for my tin. One time use and easily identified.
Got to agree with this. Buy several early in your casting career and be set for life. Same thing with homemade/shop built angle iron molds. I wasted some time and a little money on other stuff.
Kevin C is correct though. We learn by trying different things.
Find a thrift store and look for some of them old aluminum ice trays Grandma used to use. Cast iron corn-shaped corn bread pans, or anything cast iron with a shape in it works great.
ONLY if it is less expensive than buying an ingot mold.
Thrift stores aren't always thrifty. There are alternatives but with an actual ingot mold you get ingots that are very close to 1 pound each and a convenient shape to stack/store. Sometimes saving a few dollars just isn't worth it.
Over the 50+ years that I've cast, I have accumulated 4-6 of each different branded ingot mold. Each is used for a specific alloy. Thus the shape ids the alloy.
Most were bought on sale, online sale, yard sale, flea market and such.
They don't wear out.
The ingots stack closely nested. they are pretty uniform in size.
They aren't disposable so no replacement needed.
The older the better they work.
They are an investment that increases in value.
I do use a 9 cav cast iron mini muffin mold for bulk pistol alloy.
I used to cast stackable weights with a cut out in 3/4 in ply wood lined with Heavy foil. If I remember correctly they were 5 X 7" and about 20 lbs. depending how full the mold was. I'd drill 2 3/8 holes in them stack and bolt as many as needed behind the front axle to keep the nose of my front engine dragster down.
I thought of the small size soda cans but don't buy them normally, so it would be a false sense of savings. My main reason for not buying is I know I will not be casting enough to warrant buying molds to use maybe once every year or so. My next trial will likely be beer cans cut down the side to make a boat of sorts.
Sometimes i like to be cheap just for giggles
The problem with cutting the can length wise is getting the round bottom to sit still when filling it with molten lead.
It's easier to just cut them in half vertically and fill them with the flat bottom sitting on the ground. You're going to throw it away after you remove the ingot anyway. There's no need to recycle the aluminum can mold after the first use.
I tried the corn cob cast iron. I still have it and use it for tin. At one time I used it for everything, but didn't mark the ingots, so I ended up with a lot of light boolits. I finally bought a Lyman ingot mold for the w/w metal.
I'm like Mold Maker, I've haunted garage sales & GunShows for not quite 50yrs. Ohaus, Saeco, Lyman, RCBS, Lee, RCBS(blank) and a LODGE Scone Pan, makes keeping different alloys separate very easy. And the Blank & Lodge ingots are big/flat enough to write on with a sharpie.