ingot molds

[Whiterabbit]

20 bucks of prime steel and an hour or so. Please, go easy on my feeble welding "abilities"

The handles are testers. I'll use a thicker dowel for the other two.

I made them 8.5" long so they fit in a $3 home depot 2 gallon bucket (with lid on). They stack, and I can pluck out the triangles as needed to fill the bottom pour pot.

And I can use the bucket to weigh down drying wood in the shop or whatever.

[Whiterabbit]

inexcusable I know



But I feel as though I have severely improved my predicament. About 100 lb in the bucket.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Very nice IMO. If they work for you - other opinions don`t matter!Robert

[OS OK]

When you are trying to fill the gap welding 'rod stock' to a 'flat'...try running a small figure '8' in front of the puddle you lay down or go in and out and push into the puddle to build depth. Watch the cooler back side of the puddle for consistent height of fill.
As you come out of puddle you are pre-laying material down to build on as the puddle comes to it...it doesn't concentrate quite as much heat into one spot as it build and fills.
I dunnoh if that is textbook because I'm an electrician and not a welder...but I burned a lot of rod and wire in 50 years and had to figure out what works as I get very embaraced over welds that draw comments from the fellas that know how and do it for a living. I'm a 'poser welder' but my stuff sticks!

That's a nice solution to an ingot stowage problem, plenty of room to stamp them for ID on their ends.

Nice job!

[Whiterabbit]

I can try that, OSOK. What rod do you use for mild steel? I'm no welder, but drag rod vs C vs figure 8, I know the rod type matters.

I'm a simple guy, I have no need to ID. I cast everything out of weak hardball at about 4% antimony and 1.5-2% tin, and then of course dead soft for round balls. Not much need for marking here.

[OS OK]

Don't quote me here, it's been years since I pulled the buzz box out for a project but...IIRC my favorite sticks for flat and vertical was the 60 and 7013, I'd have to get one of my books out to verify that for sure. Not high tensile rod I don't think, mild steel apps. They puddle nicely with a steady stick hand. Just take some scrap and try different moves, one fella does circles, it depends where and how wide you want to pre-lay the bead so that you don't cause a blow-out from too hot of a puddle. Sometimes you need an underlayment of bead(s) and go back, chip and wire brush it and then fill with a smooth bead on top. I get in a hurry all the time and want to try and lay it all in at the same time if I can possibly get away with that.
For the last decade I've been using a wire welder...what a dream, use it with argon and not fluxcore as it is sooo clean of a bead and very little buckshot everywhere.

[pretzelxx]

That's awesome. Much better than hoping a muffin doesn't blow up haha

Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk

[Paper Puncher]

Whiterabbit

I am NOT a welder but have done a lot of projects around the house with my Miller. Rod to use is dependent on a couple of things. Is your welding machine DC or only AC? 10 series (6010/7010) or 11 series (for AC) is a good all around rod. Works out of position and deep penetration. I like 7024 for horizontal, puts down a lot of metal (high deposition rod). The 6012, 13, 7014 are good rods that fall between the 10/11 series and the 24 series, medium penetration and medium deposit rate.



If I have anything wrong I am sure one of the "REAL" welders will correct me.

[mold maker]

Watch your toes when carrying a bucket of those ingots. Those bucket handles were designed for less than 50 lbs. Age and sunlight make them brittle.

[Pumpkinheaver]

New project for me thanks for the idea.

[Whiterabbit]

unbelievably easy to make, too. Even an engineer can make one.

After moving the bucket in that pic, I'll never load one up that much again. Not for break concern but it's just too cumbersome to move. I'll load it to 50 lb and spend another $3 on a new bucket.

[Zthomps]

I am a welder by trade so I'll throw some information out 6010 the first 2 letter of the rod stand for the tensile strength of the metal 60 is 60,000psi 70 is 70,000 and so on as you go up to 80 and 90 there's more chrome in the wire for welding high material with more chrome like t11 and t22 metals the 3rd number of the rod means the positions it can weld in so 6010 the 1 means it's and all positions wire overhead vertical horizontal and flat 7024 (idiot wire) cause it can weld itself the 2 stands for flat and horizontal those are basically the classifications of wires you need to worry about the 4th number tells you the type of flux and current should be used 7018 is a low hydrogen wire so it needs to be put in a rod oven at 300+ degrees to keep it dry or moisture can effect the strength causing porosity to form 6010/7010 is go for rust metal junkyard welding but it is used to run roots in pipes that wire should be whipped or circled 7018 the metal needs to be clean hit with a grinder if it's rust it can go thru mill scale but shiny is better that wire should be dragged because if you push it the slag(flux) from the wire goes into the puddle it can be wiped if the metals thin and you don't wanna build up to much heat but wanna deposit small amounts of metal at a time 7018 should be run on dc+ ground in the - and stringer in the +

[roysha]

Whiterabbit: My Granddaughter manages the bakery department for a major grocery chain. They get their icing in "hell for stout" plastic buckets that are not quite 5 gallons and a bit shorter than the normal 5 gallon plastic bucket. They don't, at least not here, do anything with them and go through several a week. When I need any, she will bring up a dozen or so. The price is right. Free. You might check with the bakery department of any of the major chains and see if you can't get some. They are much sturdier then the ones I've bought anywhere else. Just a thought.

[DerekP Houston]

nice work! I'm jealous ;D

[copdills]

great job looks good

[SSGOldfart]

Looks good to me

[leebuilder]

Looks good. Lol. Only you will find the limits of your containers. I made a similar mold, worked well but the ingots would not fit in my Lee melter, figuring they would be better than muffin ingots. I made another out of 1 inch channel around 7 inches long. Now I can fill my melter properly.
I had such fun smelting and filling an old ammo crate liner, I eventually filled it, looked nice, plus the sense of accomplishment. Then I tryed to move it, I figured I had about 700lbs in there. Now I use tobacco cans they hold about 20 lbs enough for a melter fill and a bit.
Be well

[Blackwater]

I really like what you've done with the triangular ingot molds. Some time back, a friend had some channel iron and made me a couple of molds by cutting them to length and just welding on sides, but I think yours are a better idea. I may have to visit him again when he's feeling better. He's kind'a sick just now, but loves to do stuff like this, and he's a really good welder. I may have to go back on the ones I have now and clean them up with a dremel so they'll release more easily. The triangles should eliminate that necessity, and I like the way they can be stored. Also, it'd be nice to have different shapes for different alloys, too, so they can be mixed and matched according to application. I have WW's and near pure lead, so one for the pure and a different shape for the other alloy, and it'd be really convenient to know exactly which is which. Thanks for the tip.