Muffin Ingots?

[metweezer]

Is there a certain type of muffin pan to buy for making ingots? Should they be teflon free or will the teflon foul up the ingot because of the increased heat?
Tks, Steve

[skeet1]

A lot of guys use rusty steel pans. The rust seems to help the release of the ingot and also shows that there is not any tin left on the pan. After sticking several ingots in lite pans I purchased cast iron pans and have never been sorry.

Ken

[Bassmaster]

I just went through this and ruined one muffin pan trying to reclaim my precious, hard earned WW lead because I left the ingots cool too long.....but I tried again with another pilfered muffin tray but with the advise from another to dump the ingots as soon as the last one is no longer liquid, and filling every second hole.....1, 3, 5...so on then moving back to 2, 4, 6....etc so that the heat is evenly distributed.....works like a charm

[W.R.Buchanan]

I use a heavy duty aluminum muffin pan I got from a local restaurant supply. It works perfectly and has accounted for nearly 500 1.75-2LB ingots.

All that is required is to tip it over and the ingots fall out. None ever stick no matter how long they cool ! It is that easy.

It cost $8-10, at Smart and Final, and it will last for the rest of my life.

Randy
.

[LUCKYDAWG13]

i just use the ones that they sell at the dollar store
works for me

[slide]

I sprayed the cheap pans with canola oil spray from the dollar store,no more sticking.

[mold maker]

For storage, the regular lead ingot molds (Lyman, Saeco, RCBS LEE) stack the closest and require the least space per ton. A simple plastic milk crate (12 1/4 X 12 1/4"x12") will contain well over 700 lbs. There is almost no air space if ingots are nested.
You do have to first think seriously about where you want to perminately store it. You will not move it if over a third full.

[10 ga]

I buy cheap. whatever they have at goodwill or salvation army or any 2nd hand or thrift store or church rummage sale etc. I have 3 sizes of round regular muffins, 2 different mini muffins and square "brownie" pan. Always on the prowl for "ingot" molds and pewter. I think I'll get a couple of those brass candlesticks and use them to cast my solder and pewter chuncks with. Nice "different" kind of ingot, small and not at all confused with any of the lead ingots. just label in different paint/coffee cans as to what they are. 10 ga

[plmitch]

i just use the ones that they sell at the dollar store
works for me

I did the same thing and sprayed them with a light coat of WD40. Fell right out when turned over. For a buck you can't beat it.

[casterofboolits]

I prefer cast iron muffin pans. I have four. Three for smelting with a spare.

[QUON]

Many years ago I used muffins pans from the good will store. They all worked fine in one shape or form. All released when tipped. Maybe a 1000 pounds of extra lead muffins formed in 2 weeks of casting bullets. Also used a lee & a lyman ingot mold too.

[FN in MT]

Cast iron muffin pans for me too...somehow lost my original I stole from my Mom...looked at garage sales, Good-Will , etc for a week or more. No joy.

Finally bought a cast iron replaccement at Sportsmans Warehouse.

The 5# "muffins" fall right out.

[MikeS]

Another nice ingot mould thats really inexpensive are stainless steel condiment cups. Walmart sells them in packs of 4 for $0.88 per pack. I have 24 of them, and they come in real handy for lots of uses besides ingot moulds. The nice thing about them is that you don't have to wait for the last ingot poured before dumping the first ones poured, so you can pour a bunch of them, then start dumping them out. By the time you get to the last one poured it's hardened enough to dump it too. It's amazing how fast you can smelt using them if you have an assistant to do the dumping while you do the pouring, I did this once with a friend doing the dumping, I showed her what one that's cool enough to dump looks like, and we started making ingots, and we managed to make 50 or so ingots in maybe 1/2 an hour! They make ingots that weigh right around a pound each, and as they're stainless steel rather than cast iron the bottom of the ingot is nice and smooth, so is a perfect surface to write on with a marker so you know what the ingot is.

[mongo]

I got the 5 dollar muffin pans with the teflon coating at Walmart and smoked the heck out of them, Then left them outside for a month. Work great, The first two muffin pans didnt do so well. Gave them a squirt of Pam cooking spray. Yep, will never do that again... Must have acted as soldering flux, had to use a map gas tourch to get the inguits out...LOL.. Picked up a cast frying pan with segmented compartments at Target. Also works like a charm, Tommy

[handyman25]

Got a aluminum small muffin pan at a garage sale, works great. Oh the cost, 25 cents.[smilie=w:

[metweezer]

I got the 5 dollar muffin pans with the teflon coating at Walmart and smoked the heck out of them, Then left them outside for a month. Tommy

I never heard of smoking muffin pans before. Why did you then put them outside for a month?

[LUBEDUDE]

Cast Iron.

I like the corn shape and the fish.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

A foundry going under the name of John Wright produced a large variety of cast iron molds over the past 20-30 years. The shapes were very varied...ranging from fishes, cats, bears, fruit, flowers, dinosaurs, seashells, and many others. They were very reasonably priced to start with and still are. They can be found with a search on E-Bay under John Wright. Most can be had for a few bucks unless one of the bidding fools gets in on the act. In any case they are all good castings and cast iron doesn't have to smoked, rusted, oiled or anything as lead won't stick to it. On the down side all/any of those molds wind up with only one flat side so they won't stack well. But if you are wanting to get one, there is where you can find them. LLS

[Sonnypie]

Like MikeS, I'm using one of those SS condiment cups. It goes a bit slow using just one, but I'm retired and don't mind. I do think I will get more though.

I have a set of 1/8" letter punches I use to mark mine with:
L2 = Lyman #2
SA = Shop Alloy (melted Magnum shot + Lead Free Solder)

I take the letters and tape them together. (electrical tape)
Then I don't have to do any more than give them a good tap with a hammer.
And the little ingot is branded for storing till the next meltdown.
Can't lose track if it is stamped in.

When my BH tester gets here, I can add the number to the "mini-muffins" as well. And they work very well with my Lee furnace. ;-)

[Sonnypie]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=35597&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1315770225

WOW, Randy! :mrgreen: (Green with envy!)

[MikeS]

Sonny:

Look in the stickies of the lead forum, there's a thread about using pencils to test lead hardness. Not as accurate as an actual lead tester, but it's cheap, and as long as you use the same technique all the time the results are fairly good. Before I standardized on using Lyman #2 when I cast a bunch of ingots I would wait about a week, and test them, and mark them with what pencil hardness they were. The formula I use for making Lyman #2 is 26lb pure lead, 20lb stereotype, 2lb tin. I never completely empty my dutch oven, usually I leave quite a bit in it. Today was the first time I got to mix up a batch in a long time, and I ended up with 68lbs of ingots and still some left in the pot for next time. My lead might be considered expensive by some folks, but I don't mind as it's still a whole lot cheaper than if I shot store bought bullets! And using Lyman #2 I get nicely filled out boolits that are nice and shiny too!

[metweezer]

Like MikeS, I'm using one of those SS condiment cups. It goes a bit slow using just one, but I'm retired and don't mind. I do think I will get more though.

Hey Sonnypie, return that one condiment cup to Applebees and go to Walmart and get a 4 pack on the cheap. :bigsmyl2:

[W.R.Buchanan]

Sonny: That was 5 hours worth over the Lobster pot with the 12 hole Muffin pan from Smart &Final.

It would hold about 20lbs of muffins in one swipe. I was filling it with a SS ladel from S&F also. One scoop, one muffin.

I was using a 50lb Plumbers pot on top of the burner and would refill after 2 complete pan fills. Took about 5-10 minutes to be ready to make more muffins.

At an average of 1.9 lbs per muffin, and 456 muffins originally done, the day yeilded @866 lbs of cleaned Wheel Weights. There was about 125 lbs of trash

Not bad for 5 hours work! And it just shows the kind of production you can acheive from one of these Propane Cooker Burners. Running full blast for 5 hours I used nearly a whole 5 gal of fuel on this stint, so it wasn't free. @ $20 at the time.

Randy

[John Boy]

I did the same thing and sprayed them with a light coat of WD40 Only issue using sprays is - the bottom of the ingots look like a bad case of acne. And if one tests ingot for hardness, it should be tested on the bottom of the ingot for accuracy

[SSGOldfart]

i just use the ones that they sell at the dollar store
works for me

Same here they are kinda light weight too but they do a good job:bigsmyl2:

[Sonnypie]

Hey Sonnypie, return that one condiment cup to Applebees and go to Walmart and get a 4 pack on the cheap. :bigsmyl2:

Well, I have two. Origins undisclosed. [smilie=1:
And for the record, our Applebee's closed. :cry:
But the other one I use for my daily meds. (Heart Patient)
One works good. I'm retired, so I have time. (I think) :lol:
I'm allowed to play all day. Got to love a woman like that! ;)

I think some of you guys need a carousel that empties automatically.
Such volume!
I'm still green with envy, Randy. :mrgreen:

[XWrench3]

my old pans have accumulated some rust over the years. i just spray them down with silicone before i fill them (each time) and it aids in the release a lot. much easier, and no more banging on them with a mallet.

[Springfield]

I've some cornbread pan/ingot moulds for sale on the classifieds. Release well, fit most pots with no problem, even stack decent in a milk crate. Been using them for years, just went overboard and bought too many.

[Inkman]

I'm just gonna bump this with 2 cents of my own.

Got tired of the one muffin pan mold and corn bread mold, so went out and splurged ;) on some of the non teflon el cheapo aluminum?/made in China muffin pans. The thick ones that are just like the teflon coated ones, but non coated.




Big mistake. Those ingots froze up in them in no time flat and i had to use pliers to open em up like a sardine can [smilie=b:


Back to cast iron molds for me. Think i'll run down to Goodwill and see what's sitting around...

Al