Ingot molds??

[cricco]

I am having a heckuva time locating something to use for lead ingots. I have a Lee mold, but one mold makes for a long day of smelting. I tried searching fleabay for mini muffin pans, but they seem to be all aluminum. Can anyone give me suggestions for a source of ingot cheap molds? I need something that will fit in a 10# pot. I have tried regular muffin size ingots, but they don't fit in the pot very well.

[crawfobj]

I found a rectangular muffin tin mold at Wally World. It makes nice ingots that fit in my Lee 10lb pot. They stack nicely, and you can crank out a bunch of ingots at a time. I use a small cast iron pot, and one muffin tin will hold a whole batch out of my pot. I would think 3 or 4 of these would be all you would need to keep up with a dutch oven.

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Angle Iron makes Great Molds.

Sam :D

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Cast iron or Aluminum corn bread or muffin molds will do the job and nothing will stick to it or in them. Beware of anything that is tin plated as the lead that you pour into them will probably stick. Angle iron has been used to make ingot molds by many forum members. It takes a bit of welding but will work very well. LLS

[mooman76]

I have used soda cans before. Pour a little in and let it harden and cool some. Make sure first they are absolutley dry. The add some more and repeat. Add another layer and you will have 3 layers or more if you wish. When you need the lead strip off the aluminum. The layers will be stuck but should seperate without to much difficulty if you let each layer cool pretty well. You can set up as many cans as you want so they have time too cool.

[Mk42gunner]

I like 1 1/2" angle iron about 10" long. The ingots lay across the top of my 20lb Lee pot to preheat and drive out any moisture; plus when adding to the pot I put one end down and they feed themselves as they melt.

If you have your ingot molds level when you fill them the ingots will stack well.

Robert

[cheese1566]

I use mini-muffin pans that were once teflon coated steel. (I found them in the back cupboard, but had to replace them promptly with new ones when she found them missing!)

The non-stick came right off in the blast cabinet. Then a few days outside with the occassional spray of water to get them good and rusty.

Ingots fall right out.

Take a small magnet with you during your search.

[Dale53]

If you have a welder friend (or weld yourself) there is NOTHING better than angle iron molds. Personally, I use a mix of ingot moulds - Lyman, RCBS, & Lee along with several angle iron moulds. My pots are RCBS 22lb pots - just use the size angle iron that best serves YOUR needs.

I use a 12" Dutch oven to smelt over a Bass Pro Fish/Turkey fryer. Here's a picture of the angle iron mould - be sure, when you build them that you build in a bit of angle so the ingots won't be locked into the mould when cooling:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QIngotmoulds031.jpg

The dimensions of this one is 2" angle, six inches long. It'll make ingots from 3.0 to 5.0 lbs depending on how full you make them. A bit of variety of ingot sizes is nice - it helps to have different sizes when you are making up various alloys for a particular use.

Dale53

[Bob J]

I got the cheap muffin tins from Ocean State Job lot..... Cheap and effective.....

[GLL]

Here are old cast iron muffin pans that produce nice 1.5 pound ingots and welded steel moulds (from jawjaboy) that make 5 pound ingots.

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/FB02054454498D2/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/3D9E4C790723581/standard.jpg


http://www.fototime.com/FAFCDABCB7A382A/orig.jpg


http://www.fototime.com/5A6777B8FA7EE62/orig.jpg

[ANeat]

Im a big fan of the channel iron molds.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h165/aneat/Lead/Smelt3.jpg

[Reverend Recoil]

A Lodge cast iron corn bread mold works well for me.

[hiram]

I found in Christmas tree store mini-loaf pans. Ithink 3 for $4. About 3X5X2.5. Teflon lined, not that it matters, they are aluminum. Pay attention that they are totally cool so when you turn it over, the center doesn't pour out. Makes close to an 8# ingot.

[anachronism]

Lee ingot moulds are cheap. Buy several. I've always disliked the small ingots in the center, so I buy Lyman or RCBS

[Echo]

I've got several different types of ingot molds. Angle iron molds are used for WW+2%Sn. Muffin pan used for WW. Lyman/SAECO for pure, or scrap. And all ingots marked (Sharpie) w/contents.
The muffin pan is a non-stick type, but that has created no problem at all. The teflon fear is groundless in this situation, since there is such a miniscule amount of teflon present. Ingots drop out with no drama.

[Greg5278]

GLL that's ome nice Fabrication and welding on the ingot molds. Did you make them? I guess [I] might have to put some angle iron or channel on the Horizontal bandsaw. I guess it could eb a do it yourself weld up kit. The saw cuts until it goes all the way through the meatl, then hits the stop switch. You can change the blade pressure to cut different materials.
Greg

[cptinjeff]

I only have one ingot mold...lyman. I use a folded wet towel on the ground near my "dumping area" (usually a couple of cardboard soda flats). I ladle the mold full (I think my ladle is over 6 lbs worth) and then move over to the dump area and tap the bottom of the mold on the damp towel...the ingots cool enough to dump in seconds...just like casting big boolits. jb

Any water steams off the mold instantly so no danger of the tinsle fairy!

[GLL]

Greg:

My welds are actually globs !

Those welded ingot moulds were actually made by jawjaby here on the Forum. I own five and they are very nicely crafted!

I let them rust a bit and the ingots drop very easily.

Jerry

[montana_charlie]

About three times per week, I do a search on Ebay for 'iron bread'.
That provides a wide variety of cast iron bread pans, cornbread pans, breadstick pans, and muffin pans.

I like to have two of any type of ingot mould.
I now have two Wagner Ware 1337 muffin pans (at good prices by waiting and waiting) and one Griswold #954 (or #22) breadstick pan...that I am waiting for a companion for.
(I really don't care about brand names as it relates to 'collectability', but sticking with a given brand gets you identical ingots.)

Added to my two (old) Lyman ingot moulds, I can separate my alloys by ingot shape...which doesn't fade over time, like marker ink.

CM

[Boondocker]

Angle iron molds work great.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/boondocker6/Casting%20furnace/DSCF4738.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/boondocker6/Casting%20furnace/DSCF4739.jpg

[geargnasher]

Here's what I use, just like the other angle-iron moulds but dimensioned for exactly one pound ingots. There is an included angle on the end pieces as has been mentioned.

Gear

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16205&d=1254796496

[Dale53]

There's a lot of fellers and gals here that quite obviously have their act together. It is good to see!

Dale53

[JesseCJC]

Here are old cast iron muffin pans that produce nice 1.5 pound ingots and welded steel moulds (from jawjaboy) that make 5 pound ingots.

Jerry

http://www.fototime.com/FB02054454498D2/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/3D9E4C790723581/standard.jpg


http://www.fototime.com/FAFCDABCB7A382A/orig.jpg


http://www.fototime.com/5A6777B8FA7EE62/orig.jpg


:hijack:
Anyone here a welder and can make me something like this? I have no access to anyone that welds :(

[GLL]

Jesse:

PM jawjaboy ! He made the moulds in my photos.

Jerry

[rb dave]

Lee ingot moulds are cheap. Buy several. I've always disliked the small ingots in the center, so I buy Lyman or RCBS

I always overfill the mold so that I get 1 large ingot to put in lee bottom pour when it gets about half empty. They store better in bigger pieces and this works very well for me

[Dale53]

I load for a number of different calibers (pistols and rifles) that require different mixes. I alloy when I load the pot. I have ingots that run from ½ lb - 5 lb. Having both large and small ingots make alloying a bit easier. I normally alloy 20 lbs at a time (that's a pot full). It only takes a minute or so to mix the alloy I want (using a kitchen scale and a postal scale next to my pot).

YMMV
Dale53

[Mntngoat]

i asked the dear wife for a muffin pan last night she gladly gave up 3 aluminum pans. one 24 hole and two 12 hole. Now i need to find a smelting pot that can hold 50 lbs.

ML

[Muddy Creek Sam]

i asked the dear wife for a muffin pan last night she gladly gave up 3 aluminum pans. one 24 hole and two 12 hole. Now i need to find a smelting pot that can hold 50 lbs.

ML

Get a 6 Qt. Dutch oven from Harbor Freight.

Sam :D

[Mntngoat]

Get a 6 Qt. Dutch oven from Harbor Freight.

Sam :D


Thanks Sam I stopped by the local HF store today with no luck. Will have to order it on line it appears.

ML

[JesseCJC]

For what it's worth, I got my 5qt at target tonight for 28.

For the muffin pans, does it matter aluminum or steel? Teflon make a difference? Thanks

[WHITETAIL]

BoonDocker, I like your set up!:cbpour:

[jlchucker]

Lee ingot moulds are cheap. Buy several. I've always disliked the small ingots in the center, so I buy Lyman or RCBS

I use those small ingots in the center to cast up tin or pure lead to use in making up alloys. Kind of handy for that.

[Dale53]

As I have said (a time or two[smilie=1:) I like a mix of moulds:

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj80/Dale53/QWinter2009andleadsmelting-1769.jpg

The advantage of having some larger ingot moulds in the mix (like the angle iron moulds that will cast 3-5 lbs when made of 2"x6" angle iron) is it allows you to reduce the number of casts you pour. It really speeds up the process. When you are trying to process several hundred pounds of bullet metal, it REALLY helps. On the other hand, when it comes time to alloy bullet metals, the smaller ingots (including the small ½ pound Lee ingots) allows you to more easily "hit the mark" when weighing the different constituents (I may use soft scrap lead, WW's, Linotype, certified refinery products, and tin at any given casting pot full).

Smelting is a labor intensive process. It's the one thing related to bullet casting that I do not particularly enjoy. I try to do as much as possible when I am smelting to avoid having to do it very often. If you can get someone to help you when you smelt a large amount, it makes it much more fun as well as reduce the labor "per person".

My brother is a busy guy, but I have enticed him to help me on occasion by "paying" him in finished bullets. He is twelve years younger than me and a good worker - so his help is greatly appreciated. I go to the gym regularly and try to stay in "working shape" but at my age (74) every little bit of aid and increased efficiency is helpful.

FWIW
Dale53

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Dale,

Which of the Angle Iron molds do you like better, With or Without the wings?

Sam :D

[Recluse]

Lee ingot moulds are cheap. Buy several. I've always disliked the small ingots in the center, so I buy Lyman or RCBS

I have the ingot molds sold by the manufacturers, and I use different brands to keep my alloys separate/identified.

Wheelweight alloy goes in the Lyman ingot molds.

Pure lead goes in the Lee full-size ingot molds.

WW alloy with higher contents of linotype/monotype and tin go into the RCBS molds.

Pure linotype goes into the Lee 1/2 lb molds in the center of their ingot mold.

Yeah, it can take a while when smelting, but I smelt out on my back deck and keep several old beach type towels folded and soaked with a garden hose. I dump my ingots out on those wet towels and then set the mold down for a few seconds on the towel to cool it down some.

Makes my pouring and dumping of ingots go a lot faster.

:coffee:

[Dale53]

muddycreeksam;
I MUCH prefer the "wings" - but I call them "handles":mrgreen:.

Seriously, they make handling the moulds, while hot, much easier. I wear welders gloves and if you work fast, you can pick the moulds up as soon as the ingots "set" and flip them over, dumping the ingots, and have them ready for another pour. Running over a hundred pounds of melt, takes a lot of pouring and flipping...

Earlier in this thread, someone had a set with an insulated handle. Other than requiring additional storage space, that seems like a good idea. When you have a bunch of moulds, then storage rears it's ugly head. I'm running out of places to put moulds, smelting pots, burners' etc. I actually have a lot of storage space but also have a lot of STUFF:(.

FWIW
Dale53

[joecool911]

You can get a big ladle from Rowell that holds 90# of lead and pour right into the ingot molds. They have smaller ones too. I have a friend who got a piece of steel pipe to fit over his cooker so that the ladle fits inside the pipe without falling in. Makes like a furnace to heat the ladle. Then pours right out of the ladle. No dipping to deal with.

[rszkutak]

for our smaller pots like the normal 10# and 20# pots we use the Walmart mini muffin pans, they server the purpose really well and allow us to get smaller ingot's to toss into the pot without worring about dropping the tempature of the mealted lead. When i'm using my Magma Master Caster I simply just toss in PIG ingot's and be done with it. I buy all my lead in the PIG form from a foundry, heck for $1.10 a pound and I don't have to blend the metal... ROCK ON! 22 BHN after it's cold quenched.

http://www.cakescookiesandcraftsshop.co.uk/acatalog/mini-muffin-cake-tin-3.jpg

[10 ga]

I made some "green sand" and use it to supplement my muffin pans and "Cast Boolit" molds when I'm smelting a lot of raw stuff. With the green sand you can cast most any shape you can imprint in the sand. I also have molds for fishing sinkers 1/4 oz. to 20 oz. and decoy anchors so lotsa ways to put the lead into "ingots". Just google or go to one of the home foundry sites to learn how to make "green sand". 10 ga

[fishnbob]

Is it really better for the angle iron ingot molds to be rusty to drop the ingots? I made 3 of that type today and had to grind on the welds a lot due to rough welds creating little pockets that could affect drop out. How can I get them to rust quickly? I wet them and left them outdoors. Is there anything I can put on them to hurry the oxidizing along?:confused:

[Boondocker]

BoonDocker, I like your set up!:cbpour:
Thanks Whitetail I more or less just modified others designs. I do like these as they stack nice. When the weather breaks a little its time to fire up the waste oil smelter and get some more ingots made.:lovebooli Boon

[Dale53]

fishnbob;
The trick with angle iron moulds is to slightly tilt the handles so that they release the ingots. I didn't find it necessary to rust mine. Mine were done by a professional welder friend and he had to do very little grinding.

Dale53

[fishnbob]

Dale53,

Darn, I wish I had that info yesterday. As crooked as we welded, it wouldn't have been a problem to tilt the handles since everything else was tilted, outta square, etc. The biggest problem I see is in the vee's where the weld is not sloped and creates a pocket and I can't get my grinder in there. Neither of us could see well enough to weld neatly. We used a wire welder and it was hard to get the wire in the vees and see what you were doing at the same time. We had a stick welder sitting there but thought the wire welder was easier given our disabilities.

[fishnbob]

By the way, I have some Kroil, both spray & liquid, should I coat them and wipe off the excess and give it a shot to see how they work? I guess I could build up any areas with weld to create a slope if necessary. The backside of the molds look good 'cept for the cracks that didn't fill with weld from the front. I guess lead will find that tiny slit and hold on for dear life, won't it?

[Dale53]

fishnbob;
The Kroil might help but the real ticket is to build it so the ingots release cleanly. If you look closely at my post #33, you'll see how the "handles" slope just a bit to enable an easy release. You don't need to rust the mould, either.

Consider your first angle iron mould as a "learning tool". Make a couple of others and build on what you have learned (I never seem to be able to get things right the first time, but I am persistent:rolleyes:). I seem to learn more from my mistakes that I do when things automatically go "right"....

FWIW
Dale53

[ANeat]

Here is another pic of what Dale is refering to.

The angle is called "draft". Put a little draft in the ends and the ingots drop real easy.

another thing is to have the ends taller so when you flip it the ingots have some room to drop free.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h165/aneat/Lead/Ingot1-1.jpg

[ANeat]

Grab a tape measure and go to the local scrap yard. 3" wide channel iron is what Ive used in the past.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h165/aneat/Lead/Ingot2.jpg