Lyman ingot moulds...

[Typecaster]

My Lyman ingot mould has the backwards "N"—it works perfectly despite it. Actually, it works better than my SAECO ingot mould. The draft (taper) is fine on both, but the SAECO is so rough a casting that I have to thump it on the bench to remove ingots. That's not difficult, but considering that I have a big chunk of 1/4" plate covering the bench, it's noisy. The Lyman, on the other hand, is smooth inside and the ingots drop out. That means I can smelt in the early morning or evening and only the sweet smells will give me away (gotta love those stink-on WWs).

I thought the backwards "N" was intentional until I saw an old post here that implied (or was it a joke?) that these are unusual. Then yesterday I saw a big bin at the scrapyard filled with ingots cast in SAECO and TWO KINDS of Lyman ingot moulds—Ns that are right-reading AND backwards.

Anybody know about this?

[Calamity Jake]

All of the cast iron lyman's that I have seen have the backwards N.
The new lyman ingot mold is cast aluminum with a handle simular to the lee's and has the correct N

I have 4 old lymans and 2 saecos and your same problems with the saecos

[NVcurmudgeon]

That means I can smelt in the early morning or evening and only the sweet smells will give me away (gotta love those stink-on WWs).

Typecaster, to sweeten up those "stink-on" WW, soak them in gasoline, kero, etc. for an hour or so. The tape will either fall off or peel off easily.

[imashooter2]

I have 2 iron and 2 aluminum Lyman molds, all have the correctly oriented N.

[zipdog]

I don't mean to be rude, but so what? You're going to melt the ingots anyway.

[Typecaster]

zipdog—

Just curiosity. My tools are to use, but I know some people collect the stuff, too.

[OBXPilgrim]

The backwards N ingots are for those that have 303 british rifles - as all 303's were rifled for wrong-handed twist.

The N orients the lead molecules better when the dendrites form.

Works like a champ.

Actually, I think the older lyman moulds had the N intentionally turned backwards because of some reference to mould vs mold.

Geez, I think I spent too much time on here today!!!

[montana_charlie]

We had a thread here some time ago (quite some time ago, actually) where we were all alerted to an eBay sale.
The seller had an ingot (yep, just one) that had the backward N.
He believed it to be a unique item (this ingot) and apparently so did the bidders.

Much of the banter within the thread may have been joking, but the eBay sale was real.
If I remember correctly, the ingot sold for about $65...
CM

[Typecaster]

m_c:

Maybe I should list another...or two or three. Maybe it's like a coin that's been mis-struck.

[44woody]

typecasterif you want some ingot moulds that the ingot will fall out of when turned up side down I make some out of angle I have 20 or so of them and can dump all of them in less than a minute when the lead hardens up let me know if you would like some 44Woody

[crabo]

44 Woody, what's the key to making the ingots fall out in your homemade ones? I made some where I put 5 pieces of channel with angle on each end. I sometimes have to smack them on the ground to drop them out. Sometimes they wil fall out when I turn them over.

Thanks,

Crabo.

[FISH4BUGS]

typecasterif you want some ingot moulds that the ingot will fall out of when turned up side down I make some out of angle I have 20 or so of them and can dump all of them in less than a minute when the lead hardens up let me know if you would like some 44Woody

I bought a dozen of these ingot moulds......man does it up your production! I would highly recommend them!

[Typecaster]

44 Woody—

Thanks for the kind offer. I was planning to weld up some of my own when it cools down enough to be "smelting season." I try to do all my welding/forging/smelting projects in the cool seasons.