Crumbling ingots mean... what?

[Markbo]

I am just smelting my first wheel weights into ingots.... just put on the second batch in fact. :smile:

one or two of the ingots looked 'crumbly' in the middle.... kind of like cheese... and came apart. What does that mean? Just didn't wait long enough to drop them and they were still too soft or what?

[Muddy Creek Sam]

Weren't solidified before you dumped them.

Sam :D

[Springfield]

Too hot.

[Markbo]

Easy to fix.... and what does it mean when the surface skin is all purple and gold and blue???

[67bear]

I think you get that when it's too hot

[centershot]

Markbo, check here:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=63550

[44fanatic]

Sounds like you are smelting with allot of heat. You are cooking the tin out...
Running that high, you may run the risk of zink contamination unless you are really good at sorting the WWs before smelting.

as for the crumbly ingots, you dropped em before they had to time to solidfy, let em cool longer.

[Markbo]

Just to clarify... I got it all worked out. The clips and zinc had been removed way before the colors showed up. Some of the lead had already been poured, so it was a smaller quantity in the pot.

Once I saw the colors I stopped since I didn't know what was happening and posted here. Turned down the heat, remixed and it all came out fine.

Thanks everyone for your help!
Mark

[a.squibload]

Might have missed the root cause in your situation.

Houston is too dang hot, move farther north...:kidding: