The Shop > Metal Stuff

Smelting

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John Hill:
Darren, I expect any diecast bits you have will be better metal that cans and cheap sheet material.  I save old floppy and hard disk castings and the scrappy is real keen to sort those from the rest.

Darren:
Funny you should say that John as I was stripping some dead hard drives down just the other week and kept all the cases.... :thumbup:

PTsideshow:
The hard drive casting are a real good grade of alloy. The problem with cans is two fold really, one both sides are coated with an epoxy plastic coating the inside with BHP to protect the contents from picking up the metallic taste or the Ph assorted food item from reacting from the metal. The outside of the cans has an ink receptive coating layer, then the multiple passes of ink colors, then a clear protective layer to protect the printing.

Then we can add into the mix all the crap that gets stuffed in the inside the cans before they are scraped. Not to mention all the remaining wet and dried contents. Plus the fact that the thinness of the metal some goes up in smoke, and the repeated adding of material to the melt to make up for the air space. Unless you have a large capacity crucible it is fuel and time/work foolish.

Pistons are generally a good grade of metal, engine blocks and heads next, tranny cases and others are a mix of all most anything and therefore should be avoided if possible. Not even taking into account the oil all over them.

One of the better safety issues is clean and dry, will prevent the steam and other liquids converting to steam when least expecting, during the melt. And flinging molten metal globs in all directions.

As far as some of the disingenuous internet video's and sites that are giving info be careful, as they put out some bad if not genuine information. As with the video's of things that aren't what them seem. Faking it with editing, or saying one thing and then doing something else. Abounds on the net.

Most of the die cast can be of any alloy that the caster has at the moment. As when it started out it was zinc die casting, or zinc casting. Some of the brass dust catchers from India at the local flea market have some much iron in it it is magnetic. Much to the dismay of the Indian/Pak guy that has the stand, when I walk by with my magnet. As he is BSing somebody about his family foundries "high standards of purity for their brass castings". :lol: :lol:
 
Here is the start of some of the best books on metal casting furnace, crucibles making etc in the bookshelf section of the forum.
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=84.0 they are on pages 9 and 10 starting with this one.
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=111.0 more than you might ever want to know about forges,furnaces and kilns.

Any of the books by C.W.Ammen are as current today as when they were written for the basics.

Lindsay publications are also good.
glen

Darren:
Thanks for your insight on this subject Glen,

Have you done any casting yourself?

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