CASTING METALS

Low melting point alloys

Type of Metal	Melting Temp.	Casting Temp.	Details	Success Rate	Strength of Casting	Mould life time	Price Range	Available from	Comments
Modelmetal	140°C	200°C	100%	90%	50%	300-1000	High	Prince August Stockists	Best casting metal on the market
Standardmetal	230°C	325°C	80%	70%	50%	100-500	Medium	Prince August Stockists	An economical alternative to modelmetal.
5 Star Metal	230°C	325°C	90%	80%	50%	100-500	Medium	Prince August Stockists	All age groups can safely handle the castings from this alloy.
40% Tin/60% Lead	230°C	300°C	60%	60%	70%	100-500	Medium	Some Hardware Stores	A good all round metal
48% Tin/2% Antimony / 50% Lead	185°C	275°C	80%	70%	90%	200-1000	High	A good all round metal	Very fine metal finish. Suitable for antiqued figures.
Linotype Printers Metal	230°C	300°C	40%	40%	50%	100-500	Low	Some Printers Scrap Dealers	Recommended if you want quantity instead of quality
Monotype Printers Metal	230°C	300°C	60%	60%	40%	100-500	Low	Some Printers Scrap Dealers	Recommended if you want quantity instead of quality
Lead	230°C							Old Pipes Old Bullets Tyre Weights	Not Suitable
90% Lead / 10% Tin	230°C	300°C	40%	40%	50%	100-500	Cheap		If you have lead scrap you can add tin to make it into suitable casting metal.
2 parts Lead / 1 parts Modelmetal	220°C	300°C	45%	45%	50%	100-500	Cheap		If you have lead scrap you can add modelmetal to make it into suitable casting metal.
White Metal	185-275°C								All tin/lead alloys is called white metal. Might be suitable.
Pewter	240°C	300°C	20%	20%	90%	100-500	Very High	Some Scrapdealers	Not very suitable
1 part pewter 1 part lead	190°C	275°C	75%	65%	90%	200-1000	High	Some Scrapdealers	Very fine metal finish
Solder	180-230°C						Medium High	Hardware stores	Depending on alloy could be suitable.
Zinc									Not suitable.
Aluminium									Not suitable.
Iron									Not suitable.

This chart will give you and idea of what other low melting paint alloys you can use for casting. If you have some scrap metal in the form of lead flashing, tyre ballance weights, solder etc. After a bit of experimenting you can achieve satisfactory results particularly if you compromise a little on the quality to get a really large army. Ratings and lifetimes are only given as an average for all moulds. Certain moulds particularly the 54mm range and fantasy, are much more difficult to cast.

How the metal enters a mould
First, the metal goes to the bottom of the mould. At the same time as the metal goes in , the air has to be passed out, either by going out back through the ingate or through the moulds parting line. Most air goes out through the parting line helped by the microscopical channels the talcum powder creates and a slight opening of the two halves allowed by the flexible Prince August clamp. As you are pouring , the metal is increasing the pressure on the air to escape with gravity force. It is therefor imoportant that you fill the mould to the top and also have the metal so hot that it is still liquid in the bottom when it reaches the top of the ingate.
As the moulds do not withstand temperatures over 375°C you can see one of the reasons why the higher melting point alloys do not produce as good a result as lower melting point ones. If you cut airvents, the moulds will fill faster as the air goes out faster, thus making it more suitable for higher melting point alloys. When you cut airvents remember that, once the metal has reached the level of the air vent, it blocks the vent. So you might have to cut several airvents to achieve perfect results. If you cut very fine channels, they will not be seen on your finished casting or destroy any details. An airvent will not reduce the life time of the mould.

Prince August Casting Metals

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Macroom, Cork, Ireland

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