First Casting Session REVISITED - PIC

[Cast10]

Been working on getting IMGUR working and have a few pics from my first melting session; SOWW.

Did lots of reading and asked some questions along the way. You guys never cease to amaze me! Thanks! I’ve also been fortunate to pick up a new friend from this forum, as well as a few other forums and he’s helped immensely! He gets credit for getting me started down the RABBIT HOLE!

I feel it went very well and I harvested some nice clean ingots. Gotta work on the pouring a bit! LOL.

[Land Owner]

Got a good pic of your left boot!

So, sawdust for flux. Good call. That was fun then, eh? Wait till you pour, load, and shoot a few. You'll be grinnin' from ear to ear.

[onelight]

Nice !
Looks like you on on the road to a pile of boolits

[Cast10]

Got a good pic of your left boot!

So, sawdust for flux. Good call. That was fun then, eh? Wait till you pour, load, and shoot a few. You'll be grinnin' from ear to ear.

Thanks! Texas = Boots! Hahaha

I’m getting close to casting my first boolits. Got everything ready, just gotta get some dry weather. I’m already digging this!

[Cast10]

Nice !
Looks like you on on the road to a pile of boolits

Thank you sir!

[Bull-Moose]

Nice work. Keep it up.

[lightman]

It looks like you are off to a good start.

Just a few suggestions that you might think about for the future; a scrap piece of plywood under your set-up will keep spills and splashes off of the floor. I would also suggest buying some additional ingot molds as you can. More molds will speed up your operation. I also suggest buying a ladle whenever you can. Rowell makes a nice one in several different sizes.

These suggestions are not intended as criticism. You got started off better than I did! Evertime I added the things that I suggested it either speeded up my operation or made it easier.

Nice pictures and good job!

[Cast10]

Thanks Bull-Moose!
Lightman - I like the plywood idea. I was under my boat carport and the dried lead swept up easily. I may give it a try. I had two more molds but they are larger. I used the two small ones. I may need to get a few more smaller ones. Not sure of my liking yet. My others are small bread pans which are much larger. Hehe. I actually had a ladle I used, its just not in the pictures. I appreciate all you recommendations and observations! They will make me better for sure!

[Horseman]

I don't know if you have multiple alloys but with that Lee ingot mold, I cast my wheelweights as 1-lb and linotype as 1/2 lb. That way I don't have to write on or scratch on them to indicate which is which.

[Cast10]

Good idea Horseman- I took someone’s idea of using a Sharpee to write on ingots - SOWW and the BHN. I kinda like the little 1 and 1/2 ingots so when mixing it is easier to come up with weights.

[Wayne Smith]

two things 1) sharpie doesn't last - for me it was a year or less - get something to stamp an impression - that will last.

2) for some reason, and I can't explain it but several people have reported it, casting boolits goes easier and better in low pressure than in high pressure atmospheres. That means if you wait for a sunshiny day you will be casting in high pressure. Try casting under that carport in a light rain and see if it goes better for you.

[Cast10]

two things 1) sharpie doesn't last - for me it was a year or less - get something to stamp an impression - that will last.

2) for some reason, and I can't explain it but several people have reported it, casting boolits goes easier and better in low pressure than in high pressure atmospheres. That means if you wait for a sunshiny day you will be casting in high pressure. Try casting under that carport in a light rain and see if it goes better for you.

I’ve got some metal stamps. Thanks for the tip. Also, I was concerned that a drizzly day, which we’ve been having, may introduce some moisture into things used in melting/casting. May have to give that a try. Thanks!

[Mk42gunner]

If you can weld, you can make ingot molds a lot cheaper than buying them. I have never bought a purpose built ingot mold at retail, not that I would turn one down from any of the makers, I just haven't sprung for any yet.

I tried the muffin tins, they work until the lead sticks badly enough that you destroy the cheap flimsy ones getting the ingot out. Buying an aluminum one kind of defeats the purpose in my opinion.

I make my own from angle iron usually 1½" or 2" by 8-10½" long (kind of depends just how much I have laying around). The ingots work well, they stack easily, and if you really want them to stay nice they should fit in a fifty cal ammo can. They also fit across a lead pot for preheating, either a Lee 4-20 or an RCBS Promelt.

You will be thankful you stamped your ingots after a few years, especially if you store them outside in the weather.

My driveway isn't level so I don't get the pretty ingots, but they are clean metal and work fine. I don't care what the ingots look like, boolits on the other hand...

Robert

[Cast10]

Thank you sir. I’ve already cut some angle iron to weld up said ingot mold. Appreciate your comments.

[Conditor22]

the first thing I do is make sure that where ever I'm setting the ingot molds are perfectly flat.

Find a pouring pot/spoon/dipper that's not too big/not to small with a spout to help direct the lead.

I prewarm the pouring pot/spoon/dipper in the lead so the lead won't cool too soon.

the ends of the cavities for the angle iron mold should be tapered just slightly so the lead comes out easier.

Looks like you got all the boxes checked;
good propane burner, good-sized pot, fluxing spoon, wax, and sawdust, a couple of ingot molds, temperature gauge (I've never used one pliers, lighter --- is a good start

[DHDeal]

All good points made so far.

I just use cardboard under my casting table. The piece I use was from a storm door. You can scrape whatever falls/spashes/oop's, it's cheap, lasts a long time if it doesn't get wet, and gets put away after use.

I use a large muffin tin as my ingot mold. It holds a 4.5 pound ingot depending on alloy. I completely agree on using a Rowell ladle as its what it's made for. Larger is better as long as the arms csn take it. You can always put less in the ladle whereas a smaller ladle can't hold more than it can hold.

I do use a Sharpie and note that it doesn't last forever, but my stash is inside and I use fresh Sharpies. It's been a few years since I last made up any ingots and my writing on the ingots is still easily visible.

[Cast10]

Thank you conditor22. All good recommendations for sure. I’m sure I was a bit up tight the first time and things got a bit loose. The ladle I was using was OK, but I was probably shaking a bit. LOL. Angles I’ve cut for the mold are angled on ends. I do think another Lee type ingot mold would be good to have around. In actuality the Lee ingot mold and the Aluminum muffin pan allowed me time to really take my time and think a bit. However, I can see the time I waited for the mold to set up could have been better used having an extra.

[Cast10]

DHDEAL - Thanks for your comments. My muffin pan yielded a bit over 2 lbs each. The concrete floor is smooth and it took very little effort to sweep up the hardened splatter. I’ll keep the cardboard in mind though. I’ll check on the Rowell ladle, but the one I have is a large one and seemed to work OK. Again, thanks.

[Taterhead]

Nice looking ingots. Dusk sneaked up on me during my last pours, so it wasn't obvious to me that my ingot mold station was not level. Goofy looking ingots!

Nice work, now time to cast some bullets! I would not fret about waiting for perfect weather. Just do it before it gets too hot outside. Ugh, casting in July is not my favorite.

[Cast10]

Nice looking ingots. Dusk sneaked up on me during my last pours, so it wasn't obvious to me that my ingot mold station was not level. Goofy looking ingots!

Nice work, now time to cast some bullets! I would not fret about waiting for perfect weather. Just do it before it gets too hot outside. Ugh, casting in July is not my favorite.

Thanks Tater - No words. You know. I will definitely not worry about the cooler/moister air from here out! I really enjoyed learning first hand during this melt. All I have been told/read seemed to make it easier and I could identify with everything said. Cool! THANK YOU SIR!