Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…. I have recently purchased all the equipment needed to  make my own leads and had a go – but in one hour I managed to make 2 good leads – the others were all half leads.

I realise this could be down to the mould not being hot enough but I had it on the gas ring heating alongside the molten lead but when I came to pour it into the mould it would set more or less straight away, so I had to open the mould and take out the lead and throw it back into the pot and wait again for it to melt.

How long do you need to heat the moulds for to obtain the correct temperature for casting?

Also is there a UK based smelting machine supplier as the USA sites wont ship to UK.   Thanks

Jamie Simpson answers;

The problem is not the mould temperature at all. It could be that the molten lead is not hot enough. Often the aperture (pouring spout) can be too small and you get a bit of an air lock.

With regards to a proper machine. Mine is an American unit made by Lea Products. A word of warning is that it is 110volts and you would need a transformer to take it to single phase 240volts.  They can be obtained but be aware that you will incur import tax which can almost double the price.

Cheers, Jamie

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