A manual loader for use in bypassing an automatic pellet feeder for an automold machine used to encapsulate integrated circuit assemblies in plastic. The loader has a support mounted adjacent the mold section of the machine. The loader also has at least one pellet boat which moves relative to the support into and out of said mold section. The pellet boat includes one or more pellet pots which are adapted to receive and hold a solid pellet of material. The loader has a release mechanism which is movable between a blocking position and a release position. The release mechanism retains the pellets in the pellet pots in the blocking position and releases the pellets from the pots when manipulated to the release position for dropping the pellets into a mold of the machine's mold section.