Just a Taste

[Thor's Daddy]

The wind finally died down enough after lunch so I got out the turkey fryer and fired her up. My intention was to try to burn some of the teflon off my ingot pans, but I couldn't help myself and went ahead and smelted down the first of my stash.

Here's an overall picture of the setup. Got a crazy deal on the 6-quart Lodge and turned the original fryer pan into a wind screen. It worked great other than one spot on the screen that actually burned through. I'm gonna have to find a cure for that I think.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5Wf6IqNxiVU/T1gwcT2tsbI/AAAAAAAAAhY/46FzE16ooUI/s800/FirstSmelt_Setup.jpg

I had a go with a wire brush on the drill yesterday and got a good bit of the teflon off the ingot pans. Laying them on the fryer for about 5 minutes seemed to finish the job. They filled nicely and dropped easily. The resultant 32 ingots weigh in the neighborhood of 3.5 lbs. each (from two batches in my little dutch oven). They ting when I drop them on concrete.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-af5gEBDj3IQ/T1gwcdoI8xI/AAAAAAAAAhg/E6zJrFf9VN0/s800/FirstSmelt_Product.jpg

All in all, I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Used sawdust from 2x4's for flux (I get the wood for free) and it seemed to work well. This is all from indoor range scrap that I've collected over the last 7 months or so (around 1000 lbs. total). After running the fryer for about 15 minutes I'd turn it down a bit and skim off the crud. Flux twice for good measure (very little crud with the second flux). And pour.


https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-F2cUvesSYaw/T1gwcdFA_nI/AAAAAAAAAhc/sS-Z6gsp12s/s800/FirstSmelt_Dross.jpg

Out of about 4/5ths of a 5-gal bucket I got the previously mentioned 32 ingots and about 5 lbs. of dross. I'm hoping I can separate out a bit of the crud and sell the jackets. Should be about 50 lbs. worth of copper by the time I'm all done.

[GT27]

Nice Ingots you got there,the perfect size!

[bumpo628]

Looks good - nice setup.
I like those ingot molds.

[Thor's Daddy]

Thanks guys.

The ingot pans are Wilton 8-mold mini loaf pans. They're $10 at Wally's (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wilton-Bake-It-Better-8-Mold-Mini-Loaf-Pan/15728037?sourceid=1500000000000003260370&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=15728037).

I see a lot of guys agonize over ingot molds. I did too, but I wanted something that would stack more compactly than round muffins and couldn't see chucking a ton of cash into name brand molds only to be able to pour four pounds at a time per mold.

Being a suburban caster with limited tools, I figured buying a mold would be easier than making one (even though I've got a buddy with a full shop).

Two of these seem to be about just right for the 6-quart dutch oven.

[letsmeltlead2693]

Nice mold! I have too many ingot molds myself, so I will stick to my Lee I got recently.

[dragonrider]

I check out those loaf pans whenever I see them at stores but never bought one, That will change next time I am at the supermarket or walmart.

[Thor's Daddy]

I'm trying to be smart with my purchases. I purchased a couple standard muffin tins from the dollar store for making (smaller) linotype ingots, but outside of maybe one more of these 8-ingot loaf pans, I think I'm set.

I suppose I could have really worked the second-hand stores, but around here the useful kitchen ware seems to be in pretty high demand, because there is little to be had.

Sometimes it just makes more sense to buy new, buy good, and get on with it.

[Defcon-One]

....I like those ingot molds.

Yes, Walmart sells them! I use them, too! They are a great size.

I sand blasted mine on the inside of pans only. Work much better and no teflon smell or bubbles.

[Thor's Daddy]

...I sand blasted mine on the inside of pans only...

I thought of this while I was going at it with the wire brush on my drill. Too bad I don't have access to a sand blaster, eh?

That being said, the wire brush/burn it off method seems to work fine. I figured the first ingots might be a bit gunked up with bits of teflon flaking off or whatnot, but they're dropping clean and smooth.

[shadowcaster]

Nice set up. The addiction begins!! :-)

[alkazoo]

those are a nice size ingot. Instead of having to wire brush the teflon off, would you be able to just spray the insides with spray graphite? like midways mold release ? Like i do with my regular muffin tin pans? without having to get rid of the teflon? just wondering... all these questions..lol...thanks guys.

[AndyC]

Nice job - welcome to the addiction :)

[Thor's Daddy]

...Instead of having to wire brush the teflon off, would you be able to just spray the insides with spray graphite? like midways mold release ?...

Probably, but the stuff I just found looking around at Midway (frankford arsenal release agent ) was 11.99 per can. The wire brush cost me less than three bucks and the results are permanent.

If you can't already tell, I'm Dutch (read: cheap) (originally from G.R.) and I haven't had a lot of "tool time" as an adult. So anything that saves a buck and puts a tool in my hand is the route I typically prefer.

[letsmeltlead2693]

I got a similar 8 part mini loaf pan like yours at the Goodwill yesterday for 3 dollars. Thick steel too and it seems like it will work great. Haven't tried it out yet.

[Longwood]

My cast iron Lyman ingot mold got rained on and had a layer of new rust the last smelt I did.
I thought about bead blasting them but before I could, the guys I was with poured it full of molten lead.
No biggie,,,, Thew ingots were as shiny as always. The rust acted like a release agent.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

The ingots look great, not grainy. I hardness test all my ingots, I use little muffin type stainless steel tins. Mine create a surface that contrasts with the crater the Lee hardness tester makes and makes it difficult to read. I might try one of these pans to see if it is any better.

[Thor's Daddy]

... Mine create a surface that contrasts with the crater the Lee hardness tester makes and makes it difficult to read...

If you're getting a textured, "bubbled" surface to your ingots, you may consider putting them on an old plank of plywood to cool as placing the cups (or any "thin" muffin-esque mold) on concrete will have a tendency to create a textured surface to the ingots.

Another difference between what you get and what I get from our molds may be directly linked to what we're putting in them. All of my lead to this point, save two wheel weights, is indoor range scrap.

[Thor's Daddy]

Smelted another 300+ lbs. on Friday. It was WAY, WAY too nice out to be smelting lead. Warm, sunny and there was barely any wind (a rarity for around here). Folks were opening windows and our neighbors cut their workday short and I could hear them working in their garden over the fence. My scrap doesn't smoke until I have to skim off the jackets and crud. Then it's some nasty acrid stuff. So I shut it down after 6 batches.

These ingot pans work GREAT! As long as I don't let the ingots cool too long, they drop clean and easy. Two pans are perfect for a 6-quart dutch oven.

My only problem now is I've still got five 5-gallon buckets to smelt.

Goodness, that's gonna be a lotta boolits!

[AR-15 Cowboy]

If you're getting a textured, "bubbled" surface to your ingots, you may consider putting them on an old plank of plywood to cool as placing the cups (or any "thin" muffin-esque mold) on concrete will have a tendency to create a textured surface to the ingots.

Another difference between what you get and what I get from our molds may be directly linked to what we're putting in them. All of my lead to this point, save two wheel weights, is indoor range scrap.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that.

[letsmeltlead2693]

If you're castin' with WW anyways, it is going to be grainy, light gray, and dull, so don't expect a shiny surface.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

you can get WW ingots to look shiney.
just like casting boolits, it's all about mold temp.
I set the newly filled ingot mold onto a wet folded up bath towel to cool,
NOT, just to get shiney ingots...that's just a plus,
it's to speed up the pouring process, I only have two of
the "cast boolit" molds. With the wet towel cooling,
I can pour and dump two molds as fast as is reasonable.
Jon
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1635.jpg

[9-toes]

Now that's a pretty sight - like the rig for the hardness tester.

[AR-15 Cowboy]

did you buy those molds through the forum?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Yes, I bought a couple ingot molds in a group buy/site benefit a while back.
I think Ken AKA "45nut" may still have some to sell ...maybe ???
Jon

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Now that's a pretty sight - like the rig for the hardness tester.

That was my first version.
while it works OK, I made a few improvements.

If you make a stand for the Lee hardness tester,
make it so the mirco-scope is vertical instead of angled
like a commercial microscope.


this one, while not as purty, works much better.
http://i640.photobucket.com/albums/uu127/JonB_in_Glencoe/100_1701.jpg

[Sonnypie]

I just taped mine to this old Microscope. I got the idea from another forum member.
The Lee cradle is held in place by a rare earth magnet under the deck.

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/BHN%20Testing/P1030185.jpg

http://i1195.photobucket.com/albums/aa382/Sonnypie/BHN%20Testing/P1030192.jpg