Magic Marker on Ingots

[beetle]

Hi All;

Quick question: would you see any harm or problems with marking ingots with a "sharpie" or magic marker? Would the ink be harmful to the casting process later?

Thanks, John

[torker]

Beetle,

Won't hurt it any at all. I stamp mine with a punch, date, BHN hardness,etc.

[hiram]

I use mini loaf pans for ingot molds. Depending on fill amount, they can weight 8#, 8, 6os, 8, 10 oz or anyother amount. I use a sharpie to mark the ingot. Its fast with no harm done.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Over the years I`ve used about anything that will make a mark to mark my ingots. I have used a butchers package marking grease pen, I`ve used black grease lumber pencils and of course sharpies and paint pens. To date all ingots that are so marked have made boolets that haven`t jammed up the pot nozzle or my gun barrels. Use whatever you have handy.Robert;)

[buck1]

I use spray paint. It floats right off( DONT USE GOLD PAINT IT CREEPS UP AND OUT OF THE POT) . All others work great. Markers fade too easy.

[RP]

If its a magic marker what it it makes them disappear they call it magic for a reason?

[cbrick]

Magic marker is all I've used for many, many years to mark ingots. Haven't had a single one fade yet but I don't store them in direct sunlight. I suppose it's possible that sunlight could fade them, dunno.

Rick

[10 ga]

I use spray paint.

Jeez, How big are your ingots, if they're big enough to mark with spray paint and you don't run out of space they probably weigh ...?

10

[fredj338]

I used to use a Sharpie to mark, now I cast in diff ingot shapes. Sharpie, the universal reloading marking tool.

[John Boy]

Bit of additional trivia using Magic Markers:
Example, you load up several different recipes and want to see how each groups on the target. Mark each different recipe type with a different Magic Maker color. The bullet holes on the target will have the color of the Magic Marker that you used

An easy way to use just one target instead of having to put up a new target for each different recipe load

[mazo kid]

Beetle,

Won't hurt it any at all. I stamp mine with a punch, date, BHN hardness,etc.

Yep, same here.....I use 3/8" metal stamps to mark PB, WW, 20/1, 30/1, etc. Won't fade or rub off.

[Elkins45]

I use crayons--the wax actually adds fluxing material.

[buck1]

Jeez, How big are your ingots, if they're big enough to mark with spray paint and you don't run out of space they probably weigh ...?

10

2#s each. I just paint the ends. I store my alloy in old truck tool boxes outside.
I found a coupple of ingots that I had sharpied outside once. For what ever reason they did not make it in to the tool box. The ink had faded. So its not That it just fades out all the time, but paint lasts for years outside.

[looseprojectile]

Too much trouble and work to mark every ingot. Overwhelming when you have several hundred ingots to classify.
I write on the wall behind the stack of ingots what they are. Has worked for me for years. I have pure, wheel weights, linotype and mystery metal.

Life is good

[pistolman44]

I have used a black magic marker for years to mark my ingots of different alloys.

[alamogunr]

I separate mine into wood boxes. When full they hold about a 100 lbs. I mark the boxes or staple a label to the side. I also use different shaped ingot molds if I have a lot of a particular scrap. WW's go into small cast iron muffin pans, range scrap into a slightly larger 6 cavity baking pan and stick-on WW into RCBS/SAECO/Lyman ingot molds.

Sharpies have their uses though. I mark the ends of trial loads with different colors and keep the code in a note book. Sometimes it is kind of hard for me to tell which load performed best because of my poor shooting but it is better than nothing.

John
W.TN

[Markbo]

..... Overwhelming when you have several hundred ingots to classify.....

Oh man, I wish I had that problem! :-D

[cbrick]

I had that problem so I cast 5 pound ingots, reduces the number to be marked by 20% plus they stack for storage so much better. Instead of 100 one pound ingots to try and stack I have 20 five pounders.

The 10 pound RCBS cast iron casting pot filled half full makes 5 pound ingot that stack very well. A word of caution, filled full this pot will make 10 pounds ingots but the 10 pounders will not fit into the RCBS 22 pound pot.

http://www.lasc.us/5lbingots.jpg

Rick

[winelover]

I go the "high-tech" route. Take a screw driver and scratch ingot with my personal labeling codes. Holds up better than markers.

PL = Pure Lead
WW = You guessed it! (wheelweights)
RBA = Recovered Bullet Alloy
L2 = Lyman #2

Winelover

[Rock]

C = Clip On Wheel Weights
S = Stick On Wheel Weights
RS= Range Scrap

I use a carbide scribe to scratch my code into the top of the ingot, about 1" tall letters.