How were lead ingots cast in the mid-late 18thC

[Totez]

Good evening,

I'm going to start looking into casting my own round ball and was curious, as I am intending on doing Rev War reenacting (and general mid-late 18th Century reenactment), how were lead ingots cast and stored back in the day?

I've seen a number of times mountain man reenactors having lead stick ingots and I was wondering how those were made and if that was how ingots for casting "on the go" were during rev war times as well.

Any insight would be fantastic. I can't seem to find much information in my interwebz searching and the more I fail at finding it the more I want to know lol

 

[Totez]

As I sit here thinking about it - do forgive me if this is in the wrong area. I wasn't entirely sure if this fit here (as the forum section description included lead casting) or if it better fit in the period-specific reenacting thread as it is specifically relating to historical methods.

Sorry if I'm perpetually placing things out of their proper place

 

[Greyfeather]

Here is the period process and finished products. http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com/2013_11_01_archive.html

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I took a piece of a 2x4, and a Forstner bit. I made two circles 5/8" diameter about 6" apart, and about 1/4" deep. Then I took a couple of chisels, and gouged out a slot connecting the two circles so I had carved into the 2x4 a rectangle with rounded ends. I also chiseled down a bit to remove the slightly deeper holes in the center of where the Forstner bits were used, as they have a guide tip that goes a bit deeper. So when all looked to be about a uniform depth I sanded the inside of my "mold". I made the ends round as I was worried that if the ends were like this [ , that it would make getting the lead out of the mold difficult. Then I melted some lead ingots mde in a modern mold and poured. Sure, the wood burned, but when cooled the lead dropped out. The burned portion actually released the lead easier after a couple of tries, as I think the carbonization helped. Then for fun, I took a flat tipped scre driver, and made three marks in the mold /|\ so that the King's arrow would appear on the lead.

Probably not how anybody really did it, but I got lucky and they weighed out right at a pound. I was planning to pour, cool, weigh, and then adjust the depth of the mold with sand paper or a carving knife, until they were very close to a pound.

Such a mold won't last very long, but I made several such ingots, and probably could make a couple dozen before the mold was finished.

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

lead stick ingots

While I'm sure they made ingots many ways, the thin sticks were very popular. Cavities could be made from clay, soft stone and even wood.
But iron moulds, not unlike corn bread moulds and such, were common. They made the thin sticks that were not much more than thick wire. I saw one for sale one time and wanted it but could/would not pay the $400.00 price. Nobody is going to criticize you if your mould, or ingots, are not perfedtly pc/hc at a ronny. Just go to some antique shops and look for a baking mould that suits yer fancy and use that.

 

[mooman76]

Sometimes the BP containers were made of lead. That way when the powder was gone they could melt the containers saving on space and using everything. Early recycling.

 

[nchawkeye]

Sometimes the BP containers were made of lead. That way when the powder was gone they could melt the containers saving on space and using everything. Early recycling.

That's how Lewis & Clark did it...

 

[Totez]

Thanks everyone for all the info.

I went and did some searching online and found a few molds that would seem to be similar to the idea that was put up about the channel in the wood to cast into but rather than wood they are graphite.

I'm going to give them a try and see what results I get. Wish me luck!

 

[Treestalker]

His Majesty King George III is very grateful for your support! :hatsoff: 'Health to the King, And a lasting Peace, May faction End, And wealth Increase!! George B.

 

[ohio ramrod]

And they even plugged the hole with beeswax.so they had lead, powder, and beeswax all in one! :idunno:

 

[cynthialee]

And they even plugged the hole with beeswax.so they had lead, powder, and beeswax all in one! :idunno:

all around a brilliant plan

Was it the way of doing things back then or did someone involved just have a brilliant idea?

 

[mooman76]

I don't think it was done all the time but like in Lewis and Clarks place, space was a premium since they were traveling a long way and time and needed to keep things condensed as much as possible.

 

[HPS]

Love it! :haha:

 

[HPS]

His Majesty King George III is very grateful for your support! :hatsoff: 'Health to the King, And a lasting Peace, May faction End, And wealth Increase!! George B.

Sorry about that previous post.

The above was what I was referring to. :hatsoff: