Having hung around boards like this a dozen years or so, I have read so many posts about using muffin pans to make ingots that I have atleast a Phd in the subject. There is nothing I can't tell you about it. Where to get them, rusted or non rusted, teflon coated or not, and on an on. What has NEVER been mention and obviously NEVER been done is someone making muffins in an ingot mold. Cook up a batch of muffins in your ingot mold and post the pictures and you'll enshrine yourself in history.

I'm afraid I'll get mixed up and try to cast my muffins and eat my ingots!

My wife made muffins once that were only slightly softer than ingots. Butter doesn't help!

You have OBVIOUSLY not priced those stinking ingot moulds lately...

Muffin tins are going for a buck at yard sales and you can work pretty fast if you have seven or eight lined up.

Rich

Yes the cost of ingot molds compares with gold. Considering they seem to last a lifetime, had mine since 1967---really don't see how you could save anything buying and replacing muffin tins.

how much are they now.
i have been using the same 10 for about 20 years now.
they seemed pricey back then too, airc.
i recently welded up an angle iron mold and i like it's speed too.
at 16 lbs a pour it goes pretty quick.

I was being fecious about their price. They run $10-$20 and for a lifetime deal that is not worth my efforts of finding steals on muffin tins.

When I was doing a lot of casting I had one ingot mold...

However I also "stole" [from my mom] a couple of cast iron Corn Bread molds.

These were of heavier construction that my ignot mold.

They cast what looked like half of an ear of corn...

They worked great, and were in fact easier and safer [longer and more streamlined, so less splash] when adding metal to the lead pot.

N E 450 No2----That cast iron cornbread mold would be more akin to an ingot mold than to a muffin tin. It would have the durability of an ingot mold and would not have tendecies to stick. I formerly stacked my ingots, but have found just putting them in a plastic bucket works as well, maybe better. The cornbread ingots wouldn't stack as well a regular ingot mold.
Muffin tins do have a very handy use if you make tacos. Turn the tin upside down and place the shells in between the cups while you put the filling in the taco. The shells coming out of hot grease are hard to hold otherwise.

Here in UK some use the "frog" on a house brick. Bricks are cheap - if even you have to pay for them! The "frog" shaped ingot cools quickly and comes out with no effort - just turn the brick upside down.

The LEFT HAND drawing is the only image I could find on the internet. Do bricks have "frogs" in USA?

Do bricks have frogs in the USA? I don't think so. We seem to have way too many cats, so I guess they have kittens.

i just welded up some angle iron scraps together recently.
5" long from 1-1/2" angle iron and a slight angle for release.
man those triangles stack up like nobody's business.

I made my ingot moulds from (1x2" ish) channel iron, so I get a rectangle-ish ingot. I cut the ends at a slight angle, welded 1/4" bolts on for handles with a short piece of scrub maple. Works great with my bottom pour smelter, fill em up and set on the garage floor to cool.

As long as we're on the subject of Lead and Muffin tins, aren't we supposed to make a permanent mark on them to not use for food again?

rust makes a great release agent and marks em good enough.

quote:

Originally posted by Lamar:
i just welded up some angle iron scraps together recently.
5" long from 1-1/2" angle iron and a slight angle for release.
man those triangles stack up like nobody's business.

would like to see photos of this, and the ingots

For those who want to try the "frog-on-a-brick"we tried that years ago when I was about ten. It worked real well as long as we were using a brick (very dry)that had been inside the shop for a long time, and then we got into higher production mode and grabbed a brick that had been setting outside. Poured the molten lead into the "frog" and the whole thing (lead plus brick) exploded when the alloy hit the damp brick!! We were lucky--no one got any permanent damage and we were able to hide any evidence from our folks, BUT--lesson learned--molten lead and moisture DO NOT mix! Have a great day and stay safe!