That was fun

[PtMD989]

I finally got around to melting down some sheet lead I've been holding on to. It smoked and burned the drywall paper something fierce. I used the ash from the paper for flux then added sawdust for more flux. I used a muffin tin that my mom in law gave me to cast the ingots. I didn't think to much about this. I had to beat and pry the lead out of the mold. I should have done some research on using steel muffin tins. I have the muffin tin full of water now trying to rust it up. Live and you learn. HaHaHa


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[William Yanda]

Are you telling us that your MIL sabotaged your casting efforts?

[PtMD989]

No she tried helping. Lol. She seen me using my bunny mold that was getting beat up. She said I could have an old muffin tin she didn't use anymore. I thought I was good to go. Lol. Didn't research using a steel pan.


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[RedRiver]

I just smoke my tins. Quick and easy. I smoke it with mapp gas carbon

[lightman]

Yeah, a lot of the sheet lead that I have melted had paint, tar, glue, caulk or any number of other things on it that made it smoke and stink. But the finished product was clean, shiney lead! I'm more of a cast iron guy when it comes to ingot molds. I run several of the Lyman style molds. Before that, I had a few cornbread molds that looked like 1/2 an ear of corn. I like the idea of building some molds from angle iron or channel. Prolly just stay with what I already have.

[Oklahoma Rebel]

I just bought some 1-1/2" angle iron and 1" flat to make one of those ingot molds. I am going to make it 4-8" long cavities,we'll see how it goes, its been a while since I welded much of anything, so I am going to take it slow,weld from the outside to keep the cavities smooth, and hope nothing leaks or sticks, lol

[melloairman]

Spray the pan with penetrating oil ,lightly wipe and no more sticking . Well it works for me hope it does for you .Marvin

[Ateam]

I just bought some 1-1/2" angle iron and 1" flat to make one of those ingot molds. I am going to make it 4-8" long cavities,we'll see how it goes, its been a while since I welded much of anything, so I am going to take it slow,weld from the outside to keep the cavities smooth, and hope nothing leaks or sticks, lol

My ingot molds are exactly like this, four banger. I use an acetylene torch to smoke them (no oxy). I do get a little bit of mechanical lock form the end plate being welded on 90 degrees, next time I will set my band saw to something a little bigger than 90.

[The Dar]

I have a muffin pan that I hit with a propane torch. I didn't heat it to the point that it glowed but I got it pretty hot. Left it out in a couple of rain storms and it rusted up nicely. Haven't had a lead muffin stick in over 200#.

[triggerhappy243]

If your ends are cut on a 10 deg. Outward angle, the ingots will come out easy.

[PtMD989]

I ended up scrubbing the muffin tin pan cavities with bar keepers friend then filled it with water hopefully it will rust some. I haven't had a chance to look at it for a while. If it doesn't rust up some I'll smoke it.


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[PtMD989]

After a day and a half of being filled with water no rust on the muffin tin. So I added some salt to the water and refilled the cavities. We'll see how that works to rust it up. Salt and water works on our vehicles here in MICHIGAN. Funny when you want something to rust it don't ,but when you want something rust free have fun.


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[Oklahoma Rebel]

yes I do plan on angleing the ends of the mold in, I guess since someone mentioned 10 degrees that's what I will do, all I have to cut them is a skillsaw w/ metal blade so I will weld the 4 pieces together, then cut the angle on both ends all at once. that way they turn out even. ATEAM- my cavities will be 8" long, how long did you make yours and what weight do you get from each ingot?

[popper]

Let your alloy cool a bit before pouring into muffin moulds. Steel expands AND contracts more than alloy. Or dump the ingot before it's cold when the steel hasn't contracted so much.

[mold maker]

Someone gave me some really thin aluminum cupcake pans.
"Thanks, yeah I can make use of those" I said. "Lots of folks use them."
First time I poured pure lead in them they expanded (swelled) and almost melted. Had to use snips to get the ingots out. The ingots didn't stack and required a bucket.
Next I made some channel iron molds and welded them from the outside to keep the corners clean and smooth. The tiny crack left between the sides and at the ends allowed lead in and I had to melt the ingots to remove.
I decided the Lyman, RCBS and LEE molds were trouble free and really didn't cost that much used .
The ingots nest and stack tight, and are a good size for adding to the pot.
The school of hard knocks has a hard mistress, but the lessons learned are forever.

[Grmps]

I made my molds just a hair shorter than the width of a small express mail shipping box, I used angle iron for the ends also they give you"handles". As to angling the ends, anything over square works.

[Ateam]

yes I do plan on angleing the ends of the mold in, I guess since someone mentioned 10 degrees that's what I will do, all I have to cut them is a skillsaw w/ metal blade so I will weld the 4 pieces together, then cut the angle on both ends all at once. that way they turn out even. ATEAM- my cavities will be 8" long, how long did you make yours and what weight do you get from each ingot?

I dont want to rain on your parade, but I doubt you will get the fit necessary to keep the lead from fining/leaking when cutting with a skillsaw, just trying to save you aggravation and wasted time. I think fining starts with boolit molds somewhere around .005 gap, so you need to have less than this in your fitup. I check mine with a flashlight (no light showing through) after I clamp and before welding. I also cut my material on a hydraulic feed bandsaw so I can control angle, pitch, and feed rate.

This one is made out of 2'' angle and makes 5'' ingots that weigh about 3lbs a piece.

[308Jeff]

I use a full size cast iron loaf pan when I'm smelting large quantities of lead. It produces ingots that are about 22-24lbs. They stack nicely, though a bit hard to handle, especially when placed wide side down.

Later I remelt them into a steel mini-loaf 4 cavity pan, which are about 3lb ingots.

[jdfoxinc]

3" channel 12" long, 10 degree ends, 1" angle welded to ends gives handle on both ends. Welded inside without causing sticking. 13 lb ingot slides right into my 40 lb magma pot.

[David2011]

I feel your pain. The muffin pan was probably tin plated and already perfectly primed for lead to adhere. I needed to empty my pot one time and grabbed a small steel bucket that I thought was zinc galvanized. I was wrong. It was tin plated. The lead stuck very nicely and I ruined a decorative bucket that I didn't expect would be damaged at all.