This just in, cheap aluminum foil doesn't work well as an emergency ingot mold. The foil doesn't really stick per se, it just comes off in tiny pieces that makes it not worth it.
You're welcome, cuz I know everyone was wondering!
Printable View
This just in, cheap aluminum foil doesn't work well as an emergency ingot mold. The foil doesn't really stick per se, it just comes off in tiny pieces that makes it not worth it.
You're welcome, cuz I know everyone was wondering!
Go to Wally World and get a minny muffin pan, or a regular muffin pan if ya want bigger ingots they work great
Nobody will learn if your crazy *** idea will work unless you try it and pass on what happened, and that's especially hard when you have to report a fail (most of us are glad to report outcomes that make us look clever or talented, but not the converse).
It could have been a brilliant hack. Even though it didn't pan out, thanks for letting us know what not to try.
I have this odd desire to find a non traditional mold that’s fits in a Lee 4 lb pot. Beer cans work great as a mold but are too big.
What about those half size soda/pop cans?Quote:
Originally Posted by T_McD
maybe you should try empty snuff cans next, they're the perfect size hehe :kidding:
small 5.5 oz V-8 can
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/cam...iABEgLr0fD_BwE
The bottom 1/2 of a beer can works just fine and it is a one time use mold. After the lead cools you peel the aluminum can off and toss it.
That being said, a RCBS iron ingot mold is a one time expense. It makes nice little approximately 1lb. ingots (4 of them at a time).
I played around with the improvised molds (stainless steel cups, cheap muffin tins, etc,) and in the end decided that the effort was misplaced. Just get a RCBS, SAECO, LEE, whatever - ingot mold and be done. Frankly the money I spent $0.50 -$2.98 at a time experimenting to "find" a cheap substitute ingot mold would have funded 1 RCBS ingot mold or 2 Lee ingot molds.
Always wanted a lead hammer. Bought the HF hammer with changeable heads plastic,rubber,brass,copper, no lead head. So found a Jack Daniels shot glass, filled with sand from barn lot, impressed hammer head into sand, covered with aluminum foil. Removed head and left foil and impression in sand. Found small bolt with same threads as hammer body, poured alloy from Lee bottom pour pot, not once but 4 of them. Hardest part was finding correct bolts with correct thread type. Won’t last long tho because of the softness, but that’s the point, it wont mar the surface of what your striking.
I use the bottom of a soda can for my tin. One time use and easily identified.
Got to agree with this. Buy several early in your casting career and be set for life. Same thing with homemade/shop built angle iron molds. I wasted some time and a little money on other stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by Petrol & Powder
Kevin C is correct though. We learn by trying different things.
Find a thrift store and look for some of them old aluminum ice trays Grandma used to use. Cast iron corn-shaped corn bread pans, or anything cast iron with a shape in it works great.
ONLY if it is less expensive than buying an ingot mold.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dieselhorses
Thrift stores aren't always thrifty. There are alternatives but with an actual ingot mold you get ingots that are very close to 1 pound each and a convenient shape to stack/store. Sometimes saving a few dollars just isn't worth it.
Over the 50+ years that I've cast, I have accumulated 4-6 of each different branded ingot mold. Each is used for a specific alloy. Thus the shape ids the alloy.
Most were bought on sale, online sale, yard sale, flea market and such.
They don't wear out.
The ingots stack closely nested. they are pretty uniform in size.
They aren't disposable so no replacement needed.
The older the better they work.
They are an investment that increases in value.
I do use a 9 cav cast iron mini muffin mold for bulk pistol alloy.
I used to cast stackable weights with a cut out in 3/4 in ply wood lined with Heavy foil. If I remember correctly they were 5 X 7" and about 20 lbs. depending how full the mold was. I'd drill 2 3/8 holes in them stack and bolt as many as needed behind the front axle to keep the nose of my front engine dragster down.
I thought of the small size soda cans but don't buy them normally, so it would be a false sense of savings. My main reason for not buying is I know I will not be casting enough to warrant buying molds to use maybe once every year or so. My next trial will likely be beer cans cut down the side to make a boat of sorts.
Sometimes i like to be cheap just for giggles
The problem with cutting the can length wise is getting the round bottom to sit still when filling it with molten lead.
It's easier to just cut them in half vertically and fill them with the flat bottom sitting on the ground. You're going to throw it away after you remove the ingot anyway. There's no need to recycle the aluminum can mold after the first use.
I tried the corn cob cast iron. I still have it and use it for tin. At one time I used it for everything, but didn't mark the ingots, so I ended up with a lot of light boolits. I finally bought a Lyman ingot mold for the w/w metal.
I'm like Mold Maker, I've haunted garage sales & GunShows for not quite 50yrs. Ohaus, Saeco, Lyman, RCBS, Lee, RCBS(blank) and a LODGE Scone Pan, makes keeping different alloys separate very easy. And the Blank & Lodge ingots are big/flat enough to write on with a sharpie.
Go to Goodwill/Salvation Army/your favorite resale shop and buy/recycle old muffin pans. They need your money more than Wally World does and the money goes back into your backyard, not exported halfway around the world.Quote:
Originally Posted by poppy42
I actually used to use aluminum foil to make my ingots . The heavy duty didn't do all that bad a job. Made wooden mold and lined it with the heavy duty stuff and worked pretty good for me.
Deleted. Duplicate post.
Tip of the day. Noted! Thankd T McG!
I have a couple of RCBS ingot molds. Work great. But the absolute dreamiest ingot mold is an NOE aluminum ingot mold. Expensive, yes, but he had a nice sale when i got mine.
I probably have about a dozen commercial (Lyman, SAECO, RCBS, &cetera) and painted them with High-Temp paint to keep down the rust (in AZ? It happens...). Tried to keep the colors assigned to the make, and there were a few plain, no maker name, molds. But when smelting, I flood the mold to make a 5-lb ingot that stacks nicely. Then when I want to stock my furnace, it is a simple matter to use one 5-lb ingot to bang on another 5-lb ingot, right at the division between individual ingots, on the back side, to break them down into 1.25 lb ingots to go in the furnace. Coke cans provide 8-lb ingots for pure Pb, and are torn off to get to the ingot for alloying...
Got a piece of 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 1/4" wall angle iron, about 4 feet long.
Cut four pieces about 5" long and two pieces for sides.
Cut the four pieces with a 5 or 10 degree angle. Weld them all together.
Attachment 235673
It's a lot of work to make it. Will last a long time. Pieces stack okay.
Still, I like my ancient 4-cavity Saeco the best.
For identifying the alloy, I use a Harbor Freight letter stamp kit to pound "PB" for lead, "WW" for wheelweight, "RS" for range scrap, etc.
Attachment 235674
i have yet to see any lead casting molds at estate or garage sales here in the California Bay Area other than for fishing sinkers. None in the gun shows either. Maybe it's where I live, or maybe I haven't been looking long enough.Quote:
Originally Posted by Walks
Wilton aluminum mini muffin pan works great . These are pressed aluminum , not coated and they don't stick .
Gary