| Justin Penwith | 23 Sep 2017 10:11 p.m. PST |
After three decades of putting it off, I finally took the plunge. A short post on my experience and plans using the SYW molds from Prince August. link |
| JOHN CSONKA | 24 Sep 2017 6:46 a.m. PST |
Have you thought of melting down figures that you don't want anymore? Just a thought John :-) |
| roving bandit | 24 Sep 2017 10:50 a.m. PST |
I have melted down old figures I no longer wanted. Also have bought bulk ebay lots of minis just for the metal. |
| Camcleod | 24 Sep 2017 11:55 a.m. PST |
Justin Auto supply places usually sell bar solder which I believe 60% tin 40% lead is common.
Wire solder is also available, but don't get it with flux coating – makes a mess.
Just noticed that Amazon also sells solder bars. |
| Justin Penwith | 24 Sep 2017 2:32 p.m. PST |
@John Csonka, I do not really have such unwanted figures. I've sold or traded away most everything that would fall under such a classification, at least the metal ones. I doubt melted plastic will do me any good here :) @roving bandit I've not found any good deals on ebay of late. You were more fortunate I think, than I. @Camcleod I am going to stick with the "officially authorized metal" at least for this project. I do not want to risk burning out the mold sooner or having a multitude of casting problems which will take time to resolve. At least, I know that their metal works and is fairly consistent, and that helps to limit potential problems and makes resolution easier. Later on, I may well experiment with what works. I plan on purchasing older molds for testing. I've friends with unwanted figures or with figures of unknown metallic properties, and we can proceed from those. On the other hand, there are several sources who will provide alloys to my requirements, but they are all quite distant and the shipping costs, plus their fees for creating the specific alloy are outside my price point. One does manufacture something near the model metal, but again I am not up for experimentation before the pending convention. |
 Bobgnar  | 24 Sep 2017 2:42 p.m. PST |
Nice report. I look forward to seeing some of the final product. There is a good Yahoo group on casting
link |
 Sgt Slag | 24 Sep 2017 2:42 p.m. PST |
You can try using pure Lead. Automotive tire shops pay to dispose of used tire weights, made out of pure Lead. It doesn't form as well as Model Metal, in the molds, but you can't beat the price of Lead! Cheers! |
| Justin Penwith | 24 Sep 2017 6:14 p.m. PST |
@Bobgnar, I also look forward to seeing the final product. :) Thank you for the link to the casting group. I will certainly check it out. @Sgt Slag, yes, we'll probably eventually makes use of that source, mixing it with other metals to make a good casting alloy, but we're not there yet. @Colin Dent, have you much experience with the Prince August molds? |
| Bashytubits | 24 Sep 2017 8:36 p.m. PST |
It is against the law for auto shops to give away their used lead weights now. It is required to be disposed of by a licensed agency, at least in my state. |
| goragrad | 24 Sep 2017 11:42 p.m. PST |
Back in the day tire shops gave lead weights away for nothing (I have about 7 gallons). Then came the jump in commodities prices in 2010 and lead tire weights went to 50 cents a pound at the scrap yards. With the drop in commodity prices shops may be giving them away again, but I wouldn't count on it. If course 50 cents or a dollar a pound beats buying casting alloy from a supplier. One other consideration is that tire weights may contain bismuth or other alloy metals. Bismuth being used to harden and reduce shrinkage of the alloy. Upon cooling lead shrinks about 3 percent – something moldmakers have to consider in designing their masters. Alloying with a couple of percent bismuth reduces that. The Prince August casting metal may be an alloy designed to minimize shrinkage (or the molds my just have been designed with shrinkage in mind). |
| Khusrau | 25 Sep 2017 2:07 a.m. PST |
And it would be worth pointing out that there is a reason that lead is not generally used much in paints or other applications these days. Lead poisoning is very real, and casting with it exposes you to a lot of nasty effects unless you are super careful and use good quality protective equipment. Oh, and generally, as a heavy metal, there is no 'cure' for lead poisoning, and we will all have some threshold level in our bodies to start with. |
| Justin Penwith | 25 Sep 2017 9:16 a.m. PST |
@Khusrau, yep, I learned in the early 90s to not lick or eat my miniatures… the state of New York told me it was a bad idea. @Colin Dent, I do want these to last at least a few hundred figures. If other folks get good results with 100% lead or close to it, then great. |
