New Guy screw up

[ReconJohn]

I just got into casting and was trying to use muffin pans to make my ingots. After filling up about 12 slots I tried to get the ingots out and they all stuck, but one. The one that did let go left a thin lead lining in the tray. Is this normal or did I do something wrong.

Thanks for reading

John

[docone31]

There is a reason I hunt for well seasoned ingot molds. I used new muffin pans once.
The trick to remember,
Lead will contract, unless the mold contracts with the lead. The opening must be larger than the body. Liquid lead will go in, but solid lead.......
Any pattern marks, they look great, but, liquid lead will enter the marks and be a resistant.
Zinc coatings, will become part of the ingot.
Another point.
As the mold gets filled, and the ingots sit in the molds, the heat of the mold increases. Each respective pour will take longer to eject, and the likelihood of mold resisitance increases.
Amazing bonds take place under heat. They may not be mechanical, or permanent, but they sure can be a pain in the butt.
Get an ingot mold with as little seam, crease, mark, or other imperfection as possible. Anything lead will go into, stop lower than that point. The ingots should just fall out of the mold, any hammering will make the mold deteriorate and non-functional.
It is a journey.
Enjoy the scenery.
After a while, it gets so simple it gets boring.

[Molly]

You probrbly poured at too high a temperature, promoting soldering to the muffin pan. Or you could have too much tin in your alloy, giving the same result. Try spraying the tins lightly with PAM or another coking aerosol.

Molly

[ReconJohn]

Thanks for the comments. Do you have to apply the spray every time or once every few times. But I think the problem is probably the temp.

[ReconJohn]

Is there a way to reverse the soldering or are the pans scrap?

[deltaenterprizes]

If the pan is steel with a silver color it is tin plated, use the non stick type. Heat the ingots with a propane torch and melt them out.

[Molly]

Yes, you can 'reverse' the soldering by heating the pan until the lead melts into beads, and wiping them out with an OILY rag. It's probably been 30 or 40 years since I used the trick of oil to prevent ingot sticking. Probably just used an oily rag for that too, instead of PAM or something like it. The oil will eventually oxidize and form a layer that doesn't need to be renewed. Another trick is to simply heat blacken the steel, and let the oxide layer help release, as well as hold the oil while it forms a resistant cake. Dont use the oil trick on molds though.

Molly

[ReconJohn]

Thank you guys very much.

[RP]

the alum ones never stick but are hard to find the ones that are coated you can smut them good or layer them with some grease and bake or cook it on. I know about the grease becasue i get them used at second had stores and they are well used ingots dont stick. I did buy some new ones one time major pain had to smut them up real good and that did not last all that long. One other thing start you a fire and toss them in burning off the coating and leave them for a day or so so they start to rust.

[lwknight]

Throw those tinned muffin molds away after you retrieve your lead.
Get the kind that has the non stick coating. You will eventually burn it off but, its still not tinned and will release the ingot.

[malpaismike]

Hello the camp! I, too, used muffin tins to speed up smelting ww and processing xray lead. Went to dollar store and got 4 of 'em for a buck each. I now have 3, cuz guess what? I didn't think of the torch; I just whanged on them til the seams broke, then peeled off the muffin cup and pitched it. I then used spray mold release; end of problems. I got it from Midway on one of their sales; works well on anything that gets hot, incl mold screws. My .02. See ya round the campfire. mm

[Bloodman14]

I use a bit of beeswax in my ingot molds. Works pretty well as a release agent.

[Big Dave]

Aluminum pans don't stick but need careful handling or they bend. Do not use Teflon coated non stick pans as Teflon emits toxic fumes at molten lead temperatures. New steel pans, higher priced ones are probably Cadminum plated. El cheapo steel ones are bare but hot lead may solder to them, especially high tin alloys. Wiping down with oil or spraying with Pam or equivalent will work but tends to be pretty smokey. If you have a cutting torch, you can smoke them up with a gas rich flame same way old time target shooters smoked rifle sites with a carbide lamp flame, kills the shine and lead sure won't stick to a sooted up surface. Don't know where to find it off hand but used to have a spray can of graphite mold release for aluminum die cast molds which worked great.

[Lloyd Smale]

i spray them with 556 or kroil when there new and i use them the first time. After that they seem fine.

[Shiloh]

Growing pains.

We've all had 'em:smile:

Shiloh

[Maj Dad]

malpais mike and Big John made good points. 1) Midway Mold Drop-Out eliminates any sticking problem (and can be use as bullet lube - I've used it on pistol and rifle slugs with excellent results). 2) Burning Teflon releases Phosgene gas, one of the deadly gasses used on WW1 troops, and can cause serious lung damage even in small amounts.

[zomby woof]

My wife just bought me a brand new mini-muffin pan. It was a 24 count non-stick coated, $4. I tested a few cavities first with a kitchen match smoking. It worked great. I then took out the acetylene torch and laid on the smoke heavy. Those ingots didn't even think about sticking.