Fulmen Posted August 20, 2016 Posted August 20, 2016 With this little beauty I should be able to cast new media for my mill in no time at all. In fact it should take less time than it took to make the mold :-) What's the consensus on lead hardness? Is there a upper level for how hard they need to be or is harder always better? I have enough lead, but I'd rather not waste more lino than I have to.
AzoMittle Posted August 20, 2016 Posted August 20, 2016 Out of curiosity, how did you make the mold? Do you use a CNC machine or....? How do you release the lead once it is cast?
Arthur Posted August 21, 2016 Posted August 21, 2016 The specific design feature of linotype alloy is that it expands to fill the mould when cooling (which produces good edges for use as type metal). For media you will need an alloy that shrinks on cooling to extract it easily from the mould.
Fulmen Posted August 21, 2016 Author Posted August 21, 2016 No CNC here, only manual machines. The balls drops out almost on their own, a little shake or tap on the side is all it takes.
Fulmen Posted August 22, 2016 Author Posted August 22, 2016 After casting appr 5kg I couldn't be more happy. Sure it takes it's sweet time getting warm, and it's heavy as f**k in use, but dropping 18 balls per minute while taking it slow sure is nice. The pot is the biggest limitation now, I can cast faster than I can melt the metal.
MrB Posted August 23, 2016 Posted August 23, 2016 Sooooo... When are you making more molds, and what will the price be? Can we order ball-sizes? Really tho. Sweet looking.B!
Fulmen Posted August 23, 2016 Author Posted August 23, 2016 Dear god, if I were to make those for a living I'd be both broke and broken. Too much work, especially considering that Lee has a 12 cavity mold for 65 bucks. This was more for my own entertainment and education, I plan on making bullet molds for my guns. Plus, none of the shops around here had the Lee-mold in stock.
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