Cupcake molds disaster

[William Yanda]

An aluminum cupcake mold won't do that, but beware if they get dings in the cups that make the ingots tend to hang. DAMHIKT.

[Finster101]

Some of the best and most useful experience comes from and as a result of a bad experience. Hopefully, we learn from our mistakes and in particular from our "near misses". Fortunately, most mistakes are forgiving. Nothing real bad happened - this time.

Several Castboolit members make (some sell) "V" shaped molds, using steel angle from bed frame rail, that form ingots about 3 pounds each. You won't wear one of these "gang molds" out any time soon.

Those molds are very easy to make using 2" angle iron. A hobbyist welder should be able to make them. Cut them with a bevel on the ends and I ground out the welds on the inside to allow the ingots to drop out easier. As you can see they stack nicely too.

[Rickf1985]

I want to see you pick up the full ammo box!

[Mk42gunner]

I converted to using angle iron ingot molds on the advice of BruceB. As I recall from memory, he said you could get over a hundred pounds in a .50 cal ammo can. Those tall ones probably close to 150.

I don't store them in ammo cans, but they do sit neatly across my casting pots to preheat. When I stand them in the pot, they tend to self feed as they melt.

I didn't really like the muffin ingots, they were a bit awkward for the Lee 4-20 I was using then, and the second or third time I used them they stuck and basically fell apart.

I tried a cast iron cornbread triangle pan. The handle broke off when I dumped it the third time.

If you make your own from angle iron, anything from 1 1/4 to 2 inch will work. Cut the pieces with a slight draft angle on the ends, and weld the outside joint.

Ingots don't have to be pretty, just clean. Which is a good thing, my driveway doesn't have a level square foot anywhere.

Robert

[Land Owner]

I want to see you pick up the full ammo box!

I know, "jk, jk", but there's no chance! That's a hernia at best and a heart attack at worst waiting to happen. At about 3 pounds per ingot, 19 ingots per box (slightly less than 60 total pounds) is all that a palm can tolerate from the 3/4" wide handle. I moved 80 similar boxes, about half of them up stairs. More than half were ingots that stayed in the garage, the rest were reloading components. The 2nd floor is LOAD TESTED holding five (5) four-drawer filing cabinets, one drawer per caliber. It is not surprising that cast lead boolits (incl. jacketed) quickly equal 60 pounds (EX.: 2,692 each of 156 grain 357 Mag's).

[hc18flyer]

While not a disaster, I have had to beat them out of an aluminium cupcake mold. Now I have 3 angle iron molds and 'corn fritter' pan that casts perfect 1# ingot. Reminds me, I have some smelting to finish this winter. I should blend 30#'s of common pistol alloy for the .38 and .45 Colt too. hc18flyer

[oley55]

Land Owner, two comments: 1. your garage floor is way too smooth and clean to be practical. 2. You wouldn't dare go barefoot in my shop.

[Patrick L]

I'm not seeing the pic, but I'm guessing either they stuck, OR you used the cupcake psns where the cake part is a separate part and they separated from the tray?? Been there, done that.

I have a variety of ingot molds, all home made of appropriated from other intended uses. Years ago I got three 1 piece formed aluminum mini cupcake tins. I've never seen them again anywhere, so they're priceless. I have cast iron cornbread pans, they rock. I made log triangular ones out of aluminum stock, and round ones out of condiment cups.

[John Boy]

Wish I had found these loaf pans before I spent the money for a cast iron 6 lb ingot mold …

https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-20...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Green Frog]

I like to use my several Lyman ingot moulds routinely, then sometimes use a couple of Lee moulds that showed up here when I want to mix up a specific alloy. When I was shooting a lot of Schuetzen for instance the pure 20-1 lead tin was identified this way.

Froggie

[Mal Paso]

After spending hours getting stuck lead out of muffin tins I made these. Weld from the back and slant the ends.

[Dsltech1]

I’m using a couple cheap aluminum mini muffin tins I bought on Amazon for pure lead. They were warehouse returns. First use I had some sticking. I’ve since sprayed with graphite and haven’t had an issue since. With pure lead they produce a little over a pound.
I use lodge cast iron mini muffins for other alloys those are about 1.5 pounds.

[imashooter2]

[bangerjim]

I simply use LEE, SAECO, and RCBS commercial molds. They make perfect 1 and 2# trapezoid stackable ingots perfectly single every time. I have 7 of them now and just keep filling and dumping them during a re-melt session with no problems.

And those ingots are the perfect size to fee directly into my casting pots with no cutting or messing around.

I leave the kitchen-ware to the cook.

[Chill Wills]

Cast iron is great. Any cast iron cookware you can find cheap will be good and last forever.

[TyGuy]

I use the Lyman ingot mold for lead but muffin pans for aluminum. The molten AL is hot enough to burn out any coating on the pan and the metal muffins drop out nicely. I did try molten copper in a steel muffin pan once. That was a mistake. The copper fused to the steel and I tried to knock them out from the back side but ended up knocking out the whole cup out with it. I had to grind the steel off of the copper. Next time I’ll just pour pigs into the sand or pick up a graphite mold.

[358429]

I have been gentle with this mold do you notice the hammer marks?

This is the third time I have gently used this mold.

A hammer has never touched this mold.

I am not interested in lowering my expectations

(Brainstorming about metal scrap bits laying around that could be cut and migwelded)

[osage]

I used mini muffin pans and aluminum corn bread pan because I had them on hand. I have purchased Lee and Lyman ingot molds years ago. If I was doing it over I'd go with making angle iron molds.

[gwpercle]

Wilton Bakeware ... they are the only company that makes a line of All Aluminum muffin , mini-muffin and mini-loaf pans that are perfect fot ingot moulds . Lead doesn't stick to them ... BUT you have to look hard for them and make dang sure to get the Aluminum Pans not the steel ones .
www.wilton.com You can order exactly what you want from Wilton ... Aluminum bakeware is hard to find in the stores and usually in Special Cake Baking and Decorating Sections of a store ...
Wally Mart probably doesn't carry them any longer ... it's a Specialty Baking Item .
My first mini-muffin pan was stamped from one solid sheet of aluminum and doesn't stick .
Gary

[oley55]

After spending hours getting stuck lead out of muffin tins I made these. Weld from the back and slant the ends.

What size angle iron are those (1.5", 1.75" or 2") and what length?