Lakehouse, received mine today.
Very nice. It'll be a few weeks before I can get to some smelting, but, I'm looking forward to it.
Another thanks for putting this together.
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Lakehouse, received mine today.
Very nice. It'll be a few weeks before I can get to some smelting, but, I'm looking forward to it.
Another thanks for putting this together.
- Have a good day and a better tomorrow...
Tried mine out today.
Kind of windy so I didn't do very many. Observations...…….
From a room temp ingot mold and my 600* lead the first ingots are not very pretty. After the ingot mold heats up they do look better. I keep the temp low in case I've missed and zinc weight. I could raise the temp after I skim the clips or preheat the ingot mold.
My weight is a little shy of 2.5lbs per ingot with COWW.
My dipper is too small!
I'd really like to have a handle attached.
Last edited by pjames32; 05-02-2019 at 04:04 PM. Reason: adding comments
NRA Benefactor Member
Got mine today and it looks great, thanks!
The tab looks pretty beefy, like there might be enough material there to attach a handle.
Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.
Pjames- I understand your preference for a handle. When I designed it, I put that large lug on there so that you could install a handle if you choose. A piece of 3/16 threaded rod and drill/tap that lug a 1/2" deep and it would be perfect with a small wood handle on it. If I was to have done that work on all molds, it would have driven the cost up considerably. I would have needed to ship all the molds to a machine shop to do the work, probably $10-15/mold if you factor in transport and machine-time.
Maybe next time I could offer the handle as an uplevel option.
It's good feedback, I appreciate it.
Thanks,
LH
Originally Posted by pjames32
Tried mine out today.
Kind of windy so I didn't do very many. Observations...…….
From a room temp ingot mold and my 600* lead the first ingots are not very pretty. After the ingot mold heats up they do look better. I keep the temp low in case I've missed and zinc weight. I could raise the temp after I skim the clips or preheat the ingot mold.
My weight is a little shy of 2.5lbs per ingot with COWW.
My dipper is too small!
I'd really like to have a handle attached.
I ran a few after work today to get some pictures for you guys. The pot safely holds 200, I could probably get more but I don't trust my burner stand much past that. The pot is just an old cast iron I found on ebay with an acme threaded rod ground to a taper to plug a 1/2 inch hole. With a little practice I could do better but these are plenty good for me.
20190502_161045 by Dan Minick, on Flickr
20190502_161038 by Dan Minick, on Flickr
20190502_165924 by Dan Minick, on Flickr
20190502_165928 by Dan Minick, on Flickr
20190502_165939 by Dan Minick, on Flickr
Last edited by dyecocker1; 05-02-2019 at 07:07 PM.
That is a nice looking rig you have there!
The ingots look great, very good pours! I'm going to have to catch up with you guys now!!
Lakehouse....I appreciate your keeping the cost down. I was just looking for ideas for a handle. If someone comes up with a good simple idea I want to see it.
NRA Benefactor Member
They are a perfect fit in a 30 cal ammo can. Here are about 112 lbs from my very hard mix pile. You know, the stuff that rings on concrete but you don't know exactly what it is. Now I need to send an ingot to BNE to find out exactly what it is.
A piece of flat bar and a 1/4" bolt might do it. The tab has a spot from the mold, conveniently located right about where you'd want to drill.
Warning: I know Judo. If you force me to prove it I'll shoot you.
I got mine today, Lakehouse2012!! Thanks so much!!! I love em.
KE4GWE - - - - - - Colt 1860, it just feels right.
I do like diecocker1 does in his post, only I use cheep harbor frieght needle nose locking pliers, works fine for me.
if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead
The sun was bright and weather has finally changed in michigan!
I processed 225lb, 90 ingots.
Here are a few of my findings;
1- ladle i have now holds a max of 2.5lbs, i need a larger one so i dont spill as im coming across. Im thinking about designing one.... cast iron would be best, but heavy. Im going to look for a supplier that would do a stamped steel and put a robust handle on. More on that later.
2- warm molds make better looking ingots, but do i care how pretty the ingots are? Not so much for me. The boolits have to look pretty, not the ingots.
3- grabbed a 1/2" flat cold chisel and slapped a dent above the type, seems to work well and is very obvious to see after the fact.
4- 2.5 to 2.6lbs is the largest i can get the ingots, which ive confirmed, means 30lbs in a SFRB.
Was a great day for me, processed a lot of lead in a short time, molds really helped...
Pics below:
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I used a small, cheap thrift store wire handled pot attached to a piece of 1x2 (next to the sawdust)
I ordered extra molds in case any were damaged in shipping. It appears everyone has received theres so im going to make these available.
Price is $80 for 4 ingot molds (must buy 4) shipping is $14.35 and im only doing paypal for these.
Post that you want a box here and the PM me with your info.
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How many ended up being left over?
16 pieces were left over.
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if nobody new comes along and wants some, I would love another 4. let me know if any need a home in a few days.
if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead
Lakehouse
I purchased 4 extra molds early on to help get the GB over the hump. These 4 are available at my cost.
Rattlesnake Charlie
Finally tried them out. Overcast here by SF Bay, breezy and cool, low on propane so didn't have the heat cranked up. Poured into cold molds and got wrinkled ingots. I expect more heat and repeated pours will make that go away. The molds may take some preheating for the first pour, considering how much aluminum is in each. Hopefully the same mass will keep them hot between pours (but not too hot).
Mine were a little reluctant to drop. Whacks with a two by three were not very persuasive. I may try a release spray or smoking them over the pot when I am fluxing with sawdust and paraffin.
That tab is hefty to the point that I couldn't get my welding glove covered hand under it. I had to lever the molds up with a rod. It was also a bit awkward trying to pick up an upside down mold, especially if the ingots had not dropped out. The tab is flush with the rim, so there is no purchase there. Regular and slip jointed pliers closed by hand grip only didn't work too well lifting ten pounds of lead by that little stub - I don't have impressive hand strength and there is very little mechanical advantage. So gloved hands were drafted to push the mold to the end of the table to get under it and then lift and drop to release the stubborn ingots that didn't fall out the first time. Kinda hot, as you can imagine.
Flooding the mold to link the ingots was a no go, at least today. The raised rim is so shallow that the mold has to be nigh on perfectly level to flood across all four cavities without spilling over. More important is the four linked ingots wouldn't drop at all. I think the shrinkage as the alloy cooled may clamp the ingots in the cavities by the bridged metal and by binding on the sides, despite the draft. Also the flooded part is level with the rim or even above it, so when upended there isn't the usual drop of the ingot away from the bottom of the mold. I had to melt them out.
Don't get me wrong, I like these molds. Just the right size for speed casting and for shipping. Like any new piece of equipment, I just need to learn the little idiosyncrasies on hot mold handling, getting nice looking ingots that drop easily and how to label them in bulk (the idea on linking the four ingots was to label every ten pounds instead of every two and a half). An enjoyable work in progress. Thanks again, Lakehouse!
Last edited by kevin c; 05-10-2019 at 12:20 AM.
A friend steered me onto a spray on graphite made by the same as PB Blaster. The stuff coats even my rusty old cast iron ingot molds and my smelting pot. Ingots drop right out and the tin no longer wants to coat my smelting pot sides. Great stuff.
Posting Permissions
| BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
| BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
| BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
| C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
| HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
| PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
| LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
| GC | Gas Check |
Lakehouse2012
