Casting Questions

I melted, fluxed, and poured all fifty lbs of my lead into ingots today. Everything went without incident until my last pouring of ingots. The first batches released from the molds without any problem. The last batch of ingots don't want to release from the molds. I am using cheap muffin pans as molds. The last batch was heated and poured just exactly the same as the earlier batches (I thought). Where did I go wrong?
 
Some will stick but it's not permanent. What I usually do is take my muffin pan with ingots that have set, turn it upside down over a board or piece of plywood and drop it about 16" onto the board and they come loose. Might have to do this a couple of times but so far, all have come loose. I suppose you coud get a "mold release" and apply before each pour. Not often and not sure if it's right, but I have used "Pam" or it's equal from the thrift store. Might add that my muffin large muffin pan is sheet metal. My smaller pan that I use for decoy weights, is made of aluminum.

Where did I go wrong?
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Sounds to me like you had a good run and really can't find anything that you did wrong ..... :)


Be Safe !!!
 
Well, all the ingots are out; but the muffin pans didn't survive. Repeated drops of the pans from varying heights failed to do the trick. Being somewhat short of patience, I resorted to judicious use of a hammer, chisel, and pliers to extract the offending ingots. In essence, I peeled the ingots. I doubt that the Dollar Store will warranty the pans. :D

The good news is that my Lee Production Pot and ball molds are spending the weekend on a big brown truck; and have a scheduled delivery for Tuesday.

Thanks for all the help guys. I will probably be back with more dumb questions once the actual casting gets started.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I will probably be back with more dumb questions once the actual casting gets started.
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As the saying goes---The only dumb question is the one you decided not to ask... ;)

Aren't cheap muffin pans a real PITA??!! It's a lesson I think quite a few of us have learned the hard way--don't sweat it! But don't forget to laugh when the next new caster to learn the hard way posts about it---turn-about is fair play. LOL
 
I use mold release on my muffin pans and it makes all the difference. I only have to treat them about every 20 sets of ingots. I also use mold release on the stem and seat on my "drip-o-matic"....works like a charm.
 
Well, two weeks ago I couldn't even spell boolit kaster...today I are one. :D

The Lee Production IV and the ball molds were delivered yesterday. I fired up the pot today and cast just over two hundred .490 balls for the GPR. It went pretty smoothly for a first time effort.
 
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