A
hot topic here lately with CW's multiple 1" moulds, my 12ga, and balls-a-plenty in all sizes.
So... How do you boys keep yer balls from wrinklin'?
I have:
1) Used a propane torch (takes one hand away from the work to light, or is a waste of gas if kept burning. Can be tipped over easily)
2) Set on top of the pot (not hot enough for larger moulds)
3) Dipped into the molten lead (can mess up the mould with gunk)
One here suggested a hotplate (good ideer), but if I have an electric pot, hotplate and other things going, I trip a breaker.
I may have inadvertantly come up with a cheap, simple, relatively safe alternative. It's even "green"; it uses a carbon-neutral renewable energy source and recycleable aluminum cans. Leaves no residue on the mould either.
Behold.... The tin-can-alcohol-burning-ball-unwrinkler...
It's actually a small backpacking stove I put together, but it might be useful for heating moulds along with a simple stand. Burns for 1/2 hr+ on one fill, and can be refilled for a few cents as many times as needed.
Best of all, it can use CW's favorite cutting fluid (Methyl alcohol), denatured, or ethtyl.
