aluminum melting, casting etc

[Modat22]

I know its a bit off topic but some wanted to see a few photo's. If you do any green sand casting or metal melting toss em in here. I'd like to see other people's setups since mine is so funky.


This is my little propane burner for my melter, I use an air compressor regulator and run between 10 to 20 psi of gas thru this.  If you build one of these please buy a check valve for the line. Or better yet buy one of those cut off valves that sinces a hose rupture. There are loads of examples on the net about building these.


Just a few pipe fittings, plugs and a 1/16" hole drilled for the orfice.

When ignited the flame starts out inside the tube, after its inserted into the melter the flame doesn't touch the pipe anymore and really throws out the heat. A slight modification what would help this is a tungsten wire at the end of the tube to act as a flame holder.


Don't you love the way I hand shaped this melt chamber? Nah its a 30 pound propane cylinder.



The cylinder is lined with a homemade refractory which is high temp chimney cement and volcanic glass used in potting soil. The mixture is 2 to 1. I found out much later that its easier and cheaper to buy a 50 pound of kiln refractory from a sand company.

The pipe sitting on there is my crucible, its just a piece of schedule 40 3.5 inch pipe with a plate triple welded on the end and two bolts welded on the top. The bolts act like swivel points for a homemade lift made from rebar. At the bottom is a nut, I use a coat hanger bent into a hook inserted in that nut to tip the crucible for a pour.

If you mess with melting, use welding gloves, full face shield, fiber glass or thick leather apron to protect yourself. Molten metal is not skin friendly and is worse than a welding burn. Also tennis shoes are a no no.

Never pour molten aluminum into water, it does alot more than splatter. (Erm , I know from experience) lets say its called rapid oxidation.

[pasbuild]

Funny you would post this now, Nailhead was tellin me about his smelting/casting on the ride home from the pig roast. any pics of what you have casted?

[Modat22]

I haven't made much, I usually get a rough shape and mill it on the lathe/mill. I've only got a plate i cast recently as part of a milling vice I was pondering. Never finished that one though.

I have made a few alternator brackets for tractor switch over and a carb spacer for an old ford truck. I also cast a few knobs for amplifiers.

When melting large pieces of scrap for the melter, I dig 2 inch wide by 2 inch deep trenches on the ground, toss pistons, manifolds tire rims on top of the trenches then build a big bonfire on top of that. Its wasteful but cheaper than buying propane.

[getoverit]

Do you just heat/melt/pour or are there other things we might want to know about aluminum smelting?

[Modat22]

I would recommend two books:

1. gingery charcoal foundry : it is a good basic green sand casting book that focuses on a charcoal fired melter. Its a great book and helpful

2. The complete handbook of sand casting by C.W. Ammen.

One other thing I would recommend is doing a search on lost foam casting on the internet. It is by far the easiest way to cast a few things and its what I use now for rough shapes including hollow items.


Ok what I do when I cast. I preheat every piece of aluminum I melt, its safer. slowly add material to the melt, Stir with a couple pine branches and remove the dross that forms on top. If you have made items with the same materials before and you have problems with bubbles in the pour, take a small piece of chlorine tablet (like the swimming pool stuff) and submerge into the melt with a small piece of pipe on a rod. Let the chlorine gas will remove the hydrogen gas that has concentrated in the melt. Take precautions and avoid breathing the gases.

I wait till the crucible is an dark orange red color (overheated melt), remove the crucible and let it sit for a about 20 second then pour into my mold. You want to pour a solid stream into the sprue of the mold without over flowing. Thats one of the most important parts of the pour. Pour the largest stream of melt into the mold without over flowing

I'll be making a few things soon and will post the items then.

P.S. Melting cans is almost a complete waste of time unless you use a charcoal fired melter with a big neck that you can dump bags of cans in. I would guess that 60 percent of the can ends up being slag.

Peace.

[thecfarm]

Seems like I did some casting when I was in ship class.Was suppose to make a cannon.The cannon part was cast alumium and we was going to make the rest out of wood.We made a form in sand and than filled that up with alum.Seems like I dropped the class for something else.Can't remember why now.Thanks for the infro.

[getoverit]

Thanks for the info!

I'll see what I can round up as far as the books are concerned, but I'm still interested in the pics of an actual mold pouring.

Thanks again!!!

[mikeandike]

you know. it's going to be guys like you all who will get us

through the next dark ages. Forge ahead....

[highpockets]

Modat, I am glad you posted this thread.  I think you had I had discussed this in private mail.
I have built two furnaces but both were much bigger and I wasn't happy with the time, fuel consumption, etc.  I feel that there are folks here that have the same interest.  Who knows maybe we'll cast bandwheels in time.

[Modat22]

highpockets, knowing what I know now I'd say use charcoal for the big melts and propane for the small melts.

I admit I hate making the molds thats why I went with lost foam casting, that blue insulation foam at the hardware stores works very well and cuts real easy with the wifes electric knife  :D

You should post the pics of your setup highpockets it looks way better than mine.

[getoverit]

casting bandwheels was one of the things I had in mind when I saw Modat talking about casting aluminum. I'm ready to learn from someone who has been there/done that and then try my luck at it.

[Buzz-sawyer]

I have been messing around with building forges and casting aluminum for about15 years....i can try and grab some pics on our next pour( I am teaching my daughter the trade)....I can dig around for some I have of casting an all aluminum hammer

[highpockets]

Buzz, we'd like to see what you are doing.  I don't have any decent photos of my last project other than one of the side of a fifty five gallon barrel I was using. It was to have a hydraulic cylinder to make the pour.  Just too large to learn on. 

For those who are interested in casting, you need to Google for "The Tsar Bell".  I have been in Moscow and touched this bell. It is totally awesome.  Still, I can not understand how they did those kinds of castings with what they had to work with. 

Modatt, I am going to play with some lost foam but it is going to have to get below 90 degrees.

[highpockets]

I understand that one of the utility companies near here uses Wyoming Coal to fire their boilers for power generation.  I was wondering if anyone ever used this coal to fire a furnace.   I am thinking about trying my hand at a small steam engine and need some brass castings.

[submarinesailor]

HP,

A buddy of mine made me a heavy ass digging bar from drill rig stock using coal and a vacuum cleaner.  Some bricks and sand to make a small forge, some coal firing in the forge with the vacuum cleaner as the blower.  It worked great.  Still use that bar after thirty years – not as easily as I once did. : : :

Bruce

[sandman2234]

Why do you want to import coal? Don't you have any of that "domestic propane"?

Hint: Look on the front of Jacque's camper and see if there are a couple round metal things. Grab one of them when she heads off to teach school.

    David from jax

[highpockets]

Jacque's propane bottles are probably near empty after the D.C. trip so that is out.

I do have a new crucible that I have never fired. It is a 35 lb., I think. It is about 14" x 5". the first one I bought was a 350 lb.  I realized that was too big. 

I am tinkering with a steam engine model.  I wanted to make it from aluminum and brass. I have some nice scrap brass but most of it does not seem to be think enough.  I am thinking of trying to trade it for a finished product in Shreveport. 

I have located a source of Wyoming coal near here.  I have some connections with a guy who manages a coal fired power plant.  My main concern is if the Wyoming coal is appropriate for the furnace.

[submarinesailor]

HP,

Don't see why the Wyoming coal won't work.  It has a lower heat content than West Virginia or PA coal.  But the sulfur content is much lower.  That's why the power companies are buying it up.  The SO emissions are much lower – over all cheaper to burn due to less exhaust gas treatment required.

Bruce

[metalspinner]

Modat22,
These guys are driving around here all the time.  Maybe I can redirect one your way. :D

[leweee]

Nice tilting reverb funace their metalspinner 8)

They going to your place? ;D

[Modat22]

Wow, I don't think I could afford the BTU it would take to melt what that thing could hold.

[metalspinner]

Naaa... those aren't being brought to my place. :D :D

The trucks carry those furnaces to and from different plants in Alcoa, TN.  It's pretty cool to see them smoking sitting at the red lights.  

The opposite side of the bucket reads, "HOT MOLTEN ALUMINUM".

[Dan_Shade]

hah, that reminds me of a cover for a radar thingy we had shipped for work...

in big red letters on the side of it, it said "CAUTION RADIATION HAZARD"

the guy said it took him an hour to figure out why people kept looking at his truck all funny :D

[highpockets]

I found a source for sme Wyoming Coal near me. Actually some of the family is the manager at a power plant. He told me that he had coal and also petrocoke.  I going to try to get down and pick up a couple of barrels of each.

Has anyone ever melted in the ground?   Reason is I had a small hill, ( I shaved down to put my shop. It is solid red clay.  I am thinking of taking the backhoe, digging a shallow slot in the bank and lining it with fire brick.  I have a new 35 lb crucible that I can put at one end. I want to fill the slot (ditch) coal, and petocoke , cover up and attach a blower.  I figure the earth would be a pretty good insulator.  I believe they have been doing it for some four thousand years.   

[Modat22]

yep, ground based smelting has been done for a long time. watch for exploding pebbles.