Ingot size?

[WestKentucky]

I have been making a small pile of ingots from RMR sourced lead. So far I’m pretty happy with the lead, it’s clean it’s easy, it’s nice. My ingots are small though and I wonder if I shouldn’t jump up a size. What I have is a mini muffin tin and the ingots if I pour them completely full go to 8 ounces but I don’t like going that full and I am getting more in the 7 oz range consistently. I know lead is lead and the size doesn’t matter much, but since I’m new to this I’m wondering if I should be making my ingots larger since most are in the 1-2 pound range. I have a Lee 4-10 bottom pour and it looks like these will be nice for initial melt because they will drop down on either side of the pour rod and let me get material all the way down in the pot. I don’t particularly care that they are smaller, I can just add an ingot more frequently as I pour.

Talk me into or out of using a bigger/better/different ingot mold. For size reference, my ingot is roughly half dollar sized and is about a half inch tall.

[Conditor22]

I like angle iron and channel ingot molds, both stack well

You load the pot once and you're done :)

https://i.imgur.com/V0fAd3I.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/a1oaQV6.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Jk3G4sv.png

https://i.imgur.com/VjiIcHv.png

https://i.imgur.com/YX7N4GP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TpdV9qz.jpg
I measure the BHN before I smelt when I can

https://i.imgur.com/oWLmnzd.jpg

[remy3424]

Looks like you are '"smelting" range scrape, how do you measure that BHN prior to ingots??

It isn't going to matter, as long as they fit your pot. I made an ingot mold from angle iron (old bed frame) those are about 1.5 pounds. The only time I would need to stack them is if I were to sell (package) any. The alloy that I do trade/sell, I use 1 pound Lyman molds...50 pounds of those are a great fit in a well built med flat-rate box.

[Dusty Bannister]

Since you mentioned adding to the pot as you cast, the smaller ingots will not "chill" the pot as much as larger ingots. It will cause a temperature drop and if you are on the cool edge, it might affect mold fill out. Some casters prefer to just fill the pot and run it down to half or less and then fill with ingots and wait for the temp to come back to casting range. Since your system is working for you, is there any need to change it?

For storage, the larger ingots are probably going to be preferred as they can stack easily. If you decide to use larger ingot molds, you do not need to fill them completely and have the option of full sized ingots to fill the pot, and partial ingots to maintain the melt level.

[FLINTNFIRE]

I use the Lee ingot molds , do not care how they stack as they go in a bucket under a stairwell in the fallout shelter , I prefer smaller ingots as they do not freeze up the pot adding in a little at a time , yet if I want I can drain pot down and then stack them in for a full pot .

Depends on your needs or desires , I use a old metal muffin pan and I can make light to heavier , heavy ones will freeze up the pot though and when I am casting and the mold is dropping good I prefer to keep going .

I say buy or make some 1 lb ingot molds for your 10 lb pot and make some along with your mold you are using , I toss what I get from range scrap into metal coffee cans that are not shiny anymore for use first , and old wine boxes or whatever they sit on floor close to casting bench for as needed .

I still use my Lee 10 lb pot for pouring roundballs and minies or maxis , all thats needed for a double or single cavity mold .

[John Boy]

All my ingots are in a 6.25# mold, ... https://www.amazon.com/Melting-Casting-Refining-Aluminum-Precious/dp/B00FBEH5K8/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=ingot+molds&qid=1614969951&sr=8-8

[bangerjim]

I cast & store EVERYTHING (well marked, of course) in commercial LEE/SAECO/RCBS purchased molds. They stack great and are in the ~1# range for easy handling and melting. I use the 1/2 size cavities in the LEE molds for Sn....I pour them to about 1/4 to 3/8" full. That gives me usable small hunks of Sn to add.

Everything else, from range scrap to hardball to COWWs to pure, are all in those commercial mold sizes. I do not like big ingots to cast from.

And ALWAYS pre-heat all your feed ingots (no matter what size) on your electric mold hotplate to about 15-20F below liquidous of the alloy. That way you have very little dip in your pot and recovery time is almost none.

[AndyC]

The little ones work fine - well, that's what all the girls have told me...

[beagle]

The previous posts are right on the money. Use smaller ingots and you can add one and not stop your casting flow. I have an old Pacific ingot mould that makes an ingot about 1/2 the size of a Lyman. Normally, I'll do lino in it to add to softer stuff.
Nothing wrong with big ingots as long as they'll fit in the pot. Just handier to have some smaller ones to add as you cast and not "freeze" things up and interrupt the casting session while you wait for the pot to come up to temp./beagle

[JimB..]

Why create ingots of any size if you have clean alloy ready for the casting pot? I’d get a slotted spoon and just shovel some in every now and again as you go. Put it in 30cal ammo cans for storage.

[bangerjim]

Why create ingots of any size if you have clean alloy ready for the casting pot? I’d get a slotted spoon and just shovel some in every now and again as you go. Put it in 30cal ammo cans for storage.

Please explain just what you are "shoveling in" to you casting pot. The Pb allow has to be of some shape and size. And (I hope!) cleaned from all junk and debris by fluxing 3X prior to casting. Unless you have some magic source of tiny fairy-sized pieces of pure alloy?

HA...ha.

[Wheelguns 1961]

I bought some ingots from a member here. These were poured in the cast boolits/ redneck gold molds. I thought they were perfect size. They fit perfectly in a sfrb, in my lee 4-20. I was very happy with them. They weighed about 1.5 pounds, and were a hard alloy. Pure would be heavier.

[Cast_outlaw]

279054Lakehouse here has some awesome molds that stack great 279053 about 1600# there 2.5# each

[imashooter2]

I like Lyman bricks. Conveinient size and shape for my use.

http://imashooter2.com/pictures/serving600.jpg http://imashooter2.com/pictures/smelt10-12-600.jpg

[JimB..]

Please explain just what you are "shoveling in" to you casting pot. The Pb allow has to be of some shape and size. And (I hope!) cleaned from all junk and debris by fluxing 3X prior to casting. Unless you have some magic source of tiny fairy-sized pieces of pure alloy?

HA...ha.

Take a look at the OP’s lead source, then get back to me.

[Mk42gunner]

I have several homemade ingot molds from 1¼" to 1½" angle iron from 8-10½ inches long. The ingots probably weigh 3-4 pounds. BruceB (RIP) recommended 10½" long ones to fit in a fifty cal ammo can for storage.

I preheat my ingots by resting them across the top of the pot, free heat that doesn't overload the wiring in my old farmhouse.

Also mark the ingots as to what they are, Conditor22 uses markers, I prefer to stamp the ingot; but mine are stored outside in the weather.

Robert

[WestKentucky]

Take a look at the OP’s lead source, then get back to me.

I fluxed my first 20 pounds twice and it just barely had a skim on it. Likely crud left from last time making ingots. This lead is good to go. Also the lead supposedly has an oily film on it which should burn off and work as a flux. I didn’t necessarily see that but it was a bit smoky so I believe I burned off the oil that was there, just not much crud to flush out.

[JimB..]

I fluxed my first 20 pounds twice and it just barely had a skim on it. Likely crud left from last time making ingots. This lead is good to go. Also the lead supposedly has an oily film on it which should burn off and work as a flux. I didn’t necessarily see that but it was a bit smoky so I believe I burned off the oil that was there, just not much crud to flush out.

Yeah, with what is basically foundry lead there isn’t much advantage to what we call smelting, just not enough junk in it to make trying to take it out worthwhile. Other folks that have bought this lead report getting rejected cores and swaging squeeze out, stuff that I’d probably put in a stainless ladle and set in the melt, dump it in once hot.

[WestKentucky]

Yeah, with what is basically foundry lead there isn’t much advantage to what we call smelting, just not enough junk in it to make trying to take it out worthwhile. Other folks that have bought this lead report getting rejected cores and swaging squeeze out, stuff that I’d probably put in a stainless ladle and set in the melt, dump it in once hot.
What I got is cores, wires that appear to be swaged core remnants, and a few hunks of melted mess that looks like a mold was misaligned or something.

On the topic of those cores, slightly oversized and I’m going to kick a couple thousand of them off to the side and consider swaging them down to use in 32swl.

[Rizzo]

I like angle iron and channel ingot molds, both stack well

https://i.imgur.com/a1oaQV6.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/TpdV9qz.jpg
I measure the BHN before I smelt when I can



I see some ingots with a "3" on them and also you stated others are less than 4 BHN.
Pure lead is 5 BHN....what is that stuff?

[Rich/WIS]

The full size aluminum muffin tins will produce round ingots of about 1 1/4 pounds depending on how high you fill them. Have an old cast iron muffin tin that is deeper and those go about 1 1/2 pounds. Store mine in plastic coffee cans, a Maxwell house can will hold about 30 pounds, and have not had problems stacked two or three high.

[lightman]

There are a few things to think about. The ingot needs to fit your casting pot and it needs to fit your available storage space. Also, the bigger the ingot the more it fatigues you when you are casting them.

I've been using 7 or 8 of the Lyman style molds for a long time and I'm pretty happy about the way they work. If I were not heavily invested in them I would buy a half dozen of the Cast Boolits molds that Lakehouse is selling.

[Mitch]

My ingot are made from 2x2 angle 7 inches long weight is about 4 lbs each ingot.i have 2 gangs of 5.these ingots fit nicely in a lee 20 or my rcbs pro melt.the only thing i would do differnt is make the mold from light duty angle mine is 1/4 in thick 1/8 or 3/16 would be a bit less to lift when casting ingots.they satck ver well leaving a small foot print for alot of weight.My cutoff propane tank meting pot will hold up to 400lbs of pure lead.most of the alloy batches I mix are about 350lbs.My idea is to empty the big melting pot as fast as i can without makeing alot of ingots.My casting usualy yields about 8to 10lbs of bullets befor I need to refill the casting pot.so this works out pretty well.I welcome the break of refilling the pot most days.gives me tiem for the bullets to cool a bit and cler them off the casting bench.lube my alinement pins ans hinge point or what ever needs done.If i want to do a marathon casting session i use a smaler pot of my propane burner and keep hot lead ready got go and just ladel it into the casting pot.

[Iowa Fox]

For adding to the pot I prefer 1/2 to 3/4 lb ingots, it lets you maintain pot temps much better. For rough smelting I shoot for 1 to 3 lb ingots for storage.

[shootinfox2]

Who cares what the ingot looks like. Is the lead clean, does it fit in the pot. Melt it cst it, shoot it. 279126

[kevin c]

I like 2-2 & 1/2# bar ingots. They stack well and store compactly, are a good size for handling, fit into my pot easily, and sit securely on the lip of my pot for preheating (true I use a feeder pot, but my casting alloy is stored in an unheated basement, and I intensely dislike visits from TF).

I use Lakehouse's molds.

[Springfield]

I also like the 2 lb ingots from my Lakehouse moulds, but then I have a 40 lb Magma pot for most of my casting. When I cast pure lead into balls I use my RCBS pot, which needs 1 lb ingots or the spout freezes sometimes, so I cast most of my pure into 1 lb Lyman/Saeco ingots. There is no magic ingot size, it all depends on your casting and storage requirements.

[kevin c]

I should note that I found the Lakehouse molds (Cast Boolits and Redneck Gold versions) tend drop easier if not filled to maximum capacity. They have less draft than the mini bread pans I used before (which dropped three and ten pound ingots). Maybe I'll try some sort of mold release agent.

[gwpercle]

I prefer smaller ... easier to add to pot . When casting I will add equal number of lead and COWW .
During casting the small ones are easier to "top off" the pot .
My ingots are Mini-Muffin filled 3/4 full .
When ingots are too large they take longer to melt , add small ones as you are casting, to a 3/4 full pot ...it cuts down on the waiting around time for the pot to melt and re-heat .
So I vote smaller .
Gary

[Mal Paso]

These are 2 inch angle iron 7 inches long and make 5 pound ingots. Angle and 1 1/2 inch strap are 1/8" thick. Welded from the back.