SMELTING AND CASTING

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
Does anyone here cast their own guards or do any smelting of brass or bronze? I want to start doing this and maybe even working with cast iron. One question I do have is, do you cover the top of the smelter, or in other words, the top of the crucibel? I saw a picture of a large smelter online that looked like the lid had a hole in it where the crucibel went. It looks like you would lose an awful lot of heat that way!Also, do you align the burner so the flame strikes the crucibel directly, or off to the side, like in a forge? Thanks in advance for any help I receive. Take care! Michael
 
cast iron melts at 2300 degrees f. while brass melts at 1660, and bronze is 1625- 2000 depending on grade. i'd say away from cast iron, besides the fact that the forge needs to get that hot, you need a cruciable that can stand the heat. here are a couple other metal melting temps in fahrenheit-
aluminum- cast- 1175
copper- 1981
gold- 1945
lead- 620
nickle silver- 1955
platinum- 3218
silver- pure- 1762
stainless steel- 2640
tungsten- 6152
zinc- 786
have fun, and there where two temps for different types of stainless steel, they called it 18-8, and 18-8 low carbon, i gave you the higher temp.
 
A smelter is lined with fire brick or castable. The flame angles from the top pointing at the center of the pot. Liquid metal is poured from the bottom. there is a door at the back to clean the slag off before you pour.The hole in the top is for putting raw material in,and to vent the pot from smoke and gas build up. you dont lose as much productive heat as you would think. be care full not to get water inside something you are melting as if it gets below the molten metal line it can blow the liquid out ok the pot.The same holds for you mold it must be warm and dry.

------------------
 
Pyramid Products 1-760-354 4265, sells small foundries just large enough to cast a single grip to much larger ones. Their catalog is $2.00.
Pyramid Products Co.
85357 American Canal Rd.
Niland, CA 92257
While you can cast iron in these (according to their literature) it is mainly useful for casting brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver, and aluminum. You cannot use the same crucible for more than one metal without ruining it. Their products are reasonable in price. I had their largest model for years, until recently I gave it to a knifemaker friend. There is no lid on the crucible. There is a lid on the furnace.
 
You can do this with an electric furnace or build your own gas vertical smelter for under 150.00. Its simple for all who want to know.
One thing I have learned the hard way is that some metals ... gold silver ect are finicky..
You can also just use a crusible and a torch :]
Search Don Foggs web site for info on building a gas forge cheap ... I weld damascus , smelt ect in mine all the time.

------------------
Web Site At www.infinet.com/~browzer/bldesmth.html
Take a look!!!




[This message has been edited by Darrel Ralph (edited 02-07-2000).]
 
What did the Fireman say when he looked over your homebuilt rig prior to issueing your permit to use it? After I drew up plans of the acreage, buildings and proximities, etc. I was refused and had to buy a commercial product approved by the Fire Dep't. and install it according to their directions. Even the installation of a propane tank requirees F.D. approval.
Check you local zoning laws before you install anything that could be a fire hazard. You may find that this saves you a lot of fines and unpleasantness in the future. And check with your fire insurance to see if they will pay off, should a homemade rig burn down your buildings. The nice man who hands you a large legal document has no sense of humor.
In my book, the people who peddle this kind of do-it-yourself information without a specific warning to check local zoning laws are on a par with the guys who tell you how to make machine guns and napalm in your basement
 
After checking with your local F.D., as previously mentioned, check Lindsay publications. The author is Dave Gingery, the book series is "Build your own metal working shop from scrap", and the first book is the one that you want. It's called "The charcoal foundry". It shows you how to set up a furnace in a five-gallon steel bucket. Plenty portable, and will do plenty of metal for crossguards. I'd reccomend buying crucibles commercially, though. Check http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com for materials. They also have casting sand, which is what I'm missing at the moment, because I'm too much of a cheapskate to buy it from them. Aluminum can be melted in iron crucibles, but brass/bronze will need something more stout, or very careful temp control. While the copper based metals we're talking about melt pretty far below the melting temp of iron, that iron gets pretty brittle at the temps before it melts. You reach a rod in there to stir the charge, and you'll end up prying it off of the bottom of the furnace later.
Above all, be careful, casting is a couple dozen times more dangerous and less predictable than forging. Molten metal becomes like a living animal. A really wild one.

------------------
Oz

"When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt."
- Henry J. Kaiser
 
You can use beach sand that has been sifted, or you can buy a bag of sand where sandblasters are sold. You might even get a bucket free from a sandblasting company or the railroad. (Being cheap, I have.)
If you are going to make a run of an object and don't want to make up repeated copes and drags, you can mix in some portland cement before sprinkling down and come up with a fairly permanent flask setup. You can find complete details of this in the book on Backyard Foundries by B. Terry Aspin, sold by Brownells and several other sources.
 
THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP PARABELLUM 9 and OZ!!! I'll get the books you mentioned. I am realy looking forward to trying my hand at casting.Take care! Michael
 
Along the same line here, of those who smelt their own bronze, where do you get yer supplies? A friend of mine wants to test his hand at smelting it from mixing the copper and tin. Copper, piece of cake. Where is a good source to buy tin for this?

Jamie
a.k.a. Stiletto
 
L6,

I just got my first book in the series on the "Building your own metal working shop from scrape" and am on the 2nd or 3rd read-through. Can't wait to order the rest of the series. Going to have to get them one at a time, but will be getting all of them. Lots of good information, read in the winter,do in the spring.
biggrin.gif


Rick
 
Rick, where ya gettin those books??? Sound very interesting for sure! Take care! Michael

------------------
"Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!"
 
RA, you are right, the Lindsay Publications website is hysterical and looks like they've got books we've all been looking for at one time or another. I laughed so hard my wife came to see what was going on, but after reading some of things that I thought were so funny she informed me it was a "man" thing and left without a snicker. Go figure-Guy T.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top