Steam pan as ingot mold?

[Hinnerk]

These cost less than $3 each. Any good for use as ingot mold? Anyone using them?

[Jack Stanley]

It would make rather large ingots , probably be fine for your three hundred pound capacity pot huh

What are the dimensions and how deep wound you want to pour hot lead ??

Jack

[bangerjim]

Waaaaay to big! You need to have ingots in the 1 to 2# range for easy storage and melting in your casting pot.

Get some Lyman or LEE or RCBS commercial ingot molds. Do it the right way....and you will not be sorry. I have at least 10 of those for casting USABLE size ingots.

[lightman]

They look a little large to fit in a casting pot. They might be useful for blending larger batches of alloy when smelting. For adding to a casting pot, something in the 1 to 5 pound range works well.

[Hinnerk]

The bottom is roughly 2" x 4.5". I figured poured to no more than about an inch could make workable ingots around 5 lbs each ... but I am just guessing at this point. I cast from a 20 lb Lee pot so they would have to fit in that. As it is I have some full and chopped linotype ingots that need to be reduced and I also have some big 10-15 lb lead cubes to reduce to ingots. I have one each of Lee and Lyman ingot molds. I find the Lee ingots pretty small except for pewter. Up till now I have not done any "smelting" (except MANY years ago and that was for sinkers). I do have a cast iron pot, a number of ladles and a propane fryer (pretty sturdy and stainless steel but only about 50,000 BTU, I think).

[Dusty Bannister]

The thicker you pour the ingot, the longer it takes to cool and become solid. You will want to keep them sort of thin ( 1/2 to 3/4") so the ingot stops before the side of the mold is parallel for ease of removal. May need to use a putty knife to flip the ingots over when you dump the ingots from the mold. I like to use the mini bread loaf pans. Smoke them or use a release agent and they should last a long time.

[D Crockett]

like others have said way to big I have a master caster and they would be to big for that to and they are 40 pound pots I going to send you a pm in a few for a good deal on ingot molds ones that you will like and that are easy to use D Crockett

[toallmy]

I just use muffin pans , it works out to about 2 lb each , plus they are easily found and cheap , they drop right in the pot .

[rancher1913]

stainless makes great ingot molds. I use something very similar when I am smelting large batches, figure it stores better and I plan on remelting into regular ingot molds at a later date.

[tankgunner59]

I use a cast iron corn bread pan I got a long time ago. It works great and they fir right into my Lee 10 pound furnace.

[Dave W.]

A cast iron corn bread pan works great. The triangle ingots are a little over 2 pounds each. Makes 8 ingots at a time.

[Petrol & Powder]

I don't think I would want to use those as ingot molds but they would be great for holding bullets before & after a pass through the lubersizer. Or holding bullets and casings near the press?

Flat, nice rounded edges, not too deep.

[toallmy]

I have a few of those style pans in various sizes that I use when I am casting , very convenient .

[jsizemore]

If your dimensions are correct, the ingots should weigh just under 4 lbs. When I find those at the flea market I buy them and trade for my morning biscuit. Homemade sausage, egg and cheese biscuit and coffee. The restaurant uses them for condiments and melted butter on the grill. You may get off cheaper using the mini bread loaf pans at Wally World.

[WFO2]

+ 1 on the mini loaf pans ,. I use them and they make great stackable ingots .

[Hinnerk]

Those of you using mini loaf pans, are they coated steel, bare steel, aluminum, SS, or something else?

[flyingmonkey35]

stainless makes great ingot molds. I use something very similar when I am smelting large batches, figure it stores better and I plan on remelting into regular ingot molds at a later date.

This. Would be ideal use. Massive bars for storage. And re smelt latter.

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

[Jack Stanley]

Go ahead and use them . I pour molten lead into channel iron molds that are about the same size only a little thicker than what you plan for . Depending on the alloy of the melt the ingot weighs eight to nine pounds . I generally use two of them for a reload of a Pro-melt pot from startup and use one pound to top off the pot in use .

Cheap and good use of your melt time .

Jack

[Cue]

I use Muffin pans as well, may have to get out the cornbread pan today though since I dont think I have ever used the pan for cornbread.

[gwpercle]

Those of you using mini loaf pans, are they coated steel, bare steel, aluminum, SS, or something else?

The Wilton Brands LLC company makes a line of mini muffin pans and mini loaf pans of aluminum.
They also make some of coated steel but the aluminum pans are best for ingot moulds, I've been using them for 30+ years now.
Check out their web site you can order directly, make sure you are ordering the aluminum ones.
Gary