Stainless steel ingot mould?

[finstr]

I made a couple ingot moulds after work the other day out of some 316 ss tube and tig welded them together. Then I got to thinking if these would even be usable? I've never seen or heard of ss moulds so being a total newb I thought I'd ask here before I poured hot lead into 'em. They are flared at the opening so the lead can drop out.
Will these be ok or should I throw them in the scrap bin?
64211

[smoked turkey]

I'm not the one to answer your question with any degree of knowlege. I use the cast iron variety. However yours sure look nice.

[GP100man]

The SS will be fine as long as you have a little draft so the`ll come out .

The SS may be a little slower to dissapate heat , when the ingots look solid the centers will still be molten & this time to solidify may vary .

For a full evaluation send em to me with return label & I`ll do a study on em.:kidding:


Nice ingot molds by the way :wink:

[finstr]

Ok good to know, thanks fellas. I thought maybe the lead could stick like glue and never come out or the ss would contaminate the ingots, etc. It's good to have guys to ask dumb questions to. :)

[David2011]

Finstr,

Welcome to the group. Nice molds. You have no worries about lead bonding to stainless steel. It's hard to get lead to stick to anything, especially with widely different temperatures. GP100man brought up the critical issue. It appears that the ends of the molds are parallel. You have plenty of draft on the sides; not so sure about the ends. Lead isn't going to stick to stainless unless there is some mechanical trapping like a very rough surface that would cause it to get hung up. It still wouldn't be sticking to the SS- just hung up. If the ingots don't come out easily, cut the ends free, open the angle a couple of degrees and weld them back.

For contamination to occur you would have to get both metals above the melting temp of the SS, a temperature at whch the lead would have vaporized. Lead starts emitting vapors at about 1100* F.

My casting bench is covered with a galvanized drip pan for the same reason. Lead just won't stick. I've been looking for a cheap stainless table like a restaurant food prep table to make into a casting bench for a long time.

David

[Nrut]

Weld a T on the end of your handles so they wont turn on you when loaded with hot lead..

[John Allen]

David, I covered my table with a sheet of s/s it works great and nothing sticks.




Finstr,

Welcome to the group. Nice molds. You have no worries about lead bonding to stainless steel. It's hard to get lead to stick to anything, especially with widely different temperatures. GP100man brought up the critical issue. It appears that the ends of the molds are parallel. You have plenty of draft on the sides; not so sure about the ends. Lead isn't going to stick to stainless unless there is some mechanical trapping like a very rough surface that would cause it to get hung up. It still wouldn't be sticking to the SS- just hung up. If the ingots don't come out easily, cut the ends free, open the angle a couple of degrees and weld them back.

For contamination to occur you would have to get both metals above the melting temp of the SS, a temperature at whch the lead would have vaporized. Lead starts emitting vapors at about 1100* F.

My casting bench is covered with a galvanized drip pan for the same reason. Lead just won't stick. I've been looking for a cheap stainless table like a restaurant food prep table to make into a casting bench for a long time.

David

[Hogdaddy]

Fine looking molds ; )
H/D

[fcvan]

Dang those look good. You ought to think about making them for others. I have one Lyman ingot mold and never thought I'd need another. I would certainly consider one of those beauties!

[Pete P]

I wonder how stainless steel work for a bullet mold? It would seem that it's rust resistance would be a bonus.

[finstr]

Weld a T on the end of your handles so they wont turn on you when loaded with hot lead..

Good tip, thanks!

The ends are parallel. I'll fix that too. See? Sharp learning curve!

[deltaenterprizes]

I wonder how stainless steel work for a bullet mold? It would seem that it's rust resistance would be a bonus.

SS Would be real tough on the cherry

[Nrut]

finstr,
I have a home made ingot mold made out of angle iron and the ends are vertical..
Don't have problem with dumping the ingots, but the mold is not as deep as yours..
Personally I would try filling one of them to see if it will dump the ingot..
If the ingot sticks then just remelt the ingot by what ever method you melted the lead in the first place..

[GP100man]

If the ends are parralell just take a BFH & put a little draft on em , my first out of angle were squared up & welded up PURTY but the dang ingot would not come out , BFH & a little draft they flop rite out !

Welding a handle on to make a T will make em more user friendly .

[Aunegl]

nice molds, I'd suggest a knurl roll at the ends.