Looks normal to me.
Much thanks.
That's just what the alloy does.
Put a fresh ingot somewhere to cool slowly and it'll do the same.
In school: We learn lessons, and are given tests.
In life: We are given tests, and learn lessons.
OK People. Enough of this idle chit-chat.
This ain't your Grandma's sewing circle.
EVERYONE!
Back to your oars. The Captain wants to waterski.
It looks like a strange plumbus cornbread.
Doesn't taste as good though.
Fooled me with the delectable texture and jalapeno pepper in the center.
My understanding is that the exposed top of the melt hardens first. As the rest of the metal underneath cools and shrinks, it makes that divot. Slower cooling in a hotter environment avoids this, but it really isn’t a problem in a casting pot. If, though, there’s such a void in an ingot and it gets submerged in the melt, the expansion of the trapped air can bubble. Much worse is any moisture in there, even just a tiny bit of condensation: the 1700+ fold volume expansion from water to steam causes a Mount St. Helens eruption of molten lead which could cover you, your bench, and the floor, ceiling and walls of your shop, so preheat your ingots (and any tools that have lead stuck on them, especially if they are stored where temperature changes can cause condensation) both for safety and casting reasons.
Last edited by kevin c; 06-10-2023 at 05:48 PM.
It will do that to a bullet too unless you leave an ample sprue.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |