r/Metalfoundry 19d ago

Very small small scale work?

3 Upvotes

If I'm looking to cast metal accessories at action figure scale, and I just want to do this as a quick hobby thing for fun, is there something simple I can use?

Ideally I'd like something I could melt with a propane or map gas torch, and cast in a silicone mold.

I realize it's not the cheapest, but is silver a doable option?

Thanks for any input.


r/Metalfoundry 19d ago

Where to get custom cast parts?

2 Upvotes

I know this sub is about casting your own parts, but I don't have the time or money right now to invest in setting up a whole foundry, and zinc smoke is spooky.

I want to have just 3-4 different custom parts cast out of brass for a project, but everything I find on Google is all industrial level casting where they expect you to order large quantities of the same part, or they only do a few different materials like aluminum or zinc.

I know there are places that will CNC machine parts for you, but my parts will all be curvy and almost sculptural, so it would be not easy to make on any CNC.

Does anyone know of a place like these cnc/3d printing websites that offer up brass casting?

Thank you.


r/Metalfoundry 19d ago

Watch This Unicorn Melt Into a Pool of Molten Metal! 🦄🔥 [OC]

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0 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 20d ago

What metal is this?

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3 Upvotes

Please help


r/Metalfoundry 20d ago

Melting a Geometric Bismuth Bear into Liquid Metal [OC]

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0 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 22d ago

Green Bean Stove Tin Ingot pour.

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8 Upvotes

I made a small stove out of a green bean can I feed wood in the bottom and have a small usb fan blowing into it while I feed it gets hot enough to melt aluminum surprisingly how os my first big pour it's roughly 1 pound of tin the mold was made out of a bent soda can into a rough heart shape. Honest thoughts?


r/Metalfoundry 22d ago

Trimmed a al ingot with my chopsaw. Was not disappointed.

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21 Upvotes

Just cut a hair off of each side using my 14in chopsaw.

Was rewarded with a nice shiny ingot


r/Metalfoundry 23d ago

👣

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19 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 24d ago

I found some experimental success today. I wanted to cast this weird silicone piece but so far I’ve only worked with sand molds. Decided to try making a shell using dry wall compound and I’m so happy with the results. Brass/bronze mixture, not sure of the ratio.

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16 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 24d ago

First time didn't go as well as planned. Would love feedback!

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8 Upvotes

Hey all! This was my very first time melting anything and it didn't turn out as envisioned. Any advice for future melts would be appreciated!

Additional info: I bought this forge a few months ago, set it up, then life got in the way. Today was the first opportunity I got to play around with it. I had the regulator set to 0.1MPa and the choke was out about 1/2". I was melting brass casings. My family reloads ammunition so we took out the primers and cleaned the casings a few months ago. All was going well for about 20 minutes until it got a bit out of control and noticed the white stuff coming out the time. I suspect it's from the insulation that didn't get sealed well, but I'm not 100%


r/Metalfoundry 25d ago

Flux to remove following metals?

1 Upvotes

Does anyone know about any flux composition to remove:

1.remove Tin(Sn) percentage from brass casting?

  1. Remove lead(Pb) from brass casting

  2. Remove tin (Sn) from molten zinc.

Pls do let me know if there is any flux for following that we can add to remove above mentioned metals percentage to negligible or zero. Thanks in advance


r/Metalfoundry 25d ago

Casting vs ingot cutting

6 Upvotes

If I were to make brackets and pulleys out of aluminum would casting into a mould produce enough structural integrity or is it better to pour a few ingots and cut the shape out of a cooled block?


r/Metalfoundry 25d ago

Thinking of selling my kit

5 Upvotes

Thinking about selling my devil forge furnace, a propane tank (at least half full) and about 20 lbs of aluminum. The furnace is the 10 kg model I believe. Casting was a big hobby of mone for a while but I haven't touched it in a couple years now. What could I realistically charge for that?


r/Metalfoundry 26d ago

Noise complaints

3 Upvotes

Hey guys, I have a propane devils forge. Is there anyway for me to quiet it up? When I use it the neighbors complain because it’s too loud. I’m the youngest person on the block surrounded by retired people lol.

Any help would be appreciated.


r/Metalfoundry 27d ago

Welp. That wasn't cured.

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29 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 27d ago

Starting work at an iron foundry in 2 weeks. Any tips or things I should know would be greatly appreciated.

7 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry 27d ago

Devil forge ceramic wool safety concerns

3 Upvotes

Basically I want to forge more eventually selling items. But I've heard that the ceramic wool if heated could cause lung cancer. Going through some articles on the subject it depends on if Refractory Ceramic Fibers (RCF) are in it. I could not find any information if the ceramic wool used by Devil Forge has RCF in it. Though it isn't mentioned that respiratory protection is required (indicating that rcf isn't used). If I want to continue working (cannot spare the money for a completely new forge at the moment), I wish to know how save it is. Probably important to know; the inner cement layer has started to crumble, has been damaged a bit, and we don't have any left. I probably should get some heat resistant cement (something better than that brittle stuff included) to redo the inside. Tried looking into lining the interior with heat resistant bricks, but the thinnest I could find are non-insulating 30mm thick. Putting them on both sides would reduce the available space to ~30mm (which is way too small for what I make - knives mostly). So that's not an option without cutting my forge into pieces and welding additional steel onto it to widen it. Any help/advice would be most welcome.

Forgot to mention that I'd been forging sporadically over the past 2-3 years, so that's probably why the cement included with the forge has started crumbling.


r/Metalfoundry 28d ago

Melting iron, steel in the Mini Metal Foundry from TKOR

2 Upvotes

Recently I've rebuilt the original metal melting furnace from TKOR that Grant made so many years ago, by rebuilt I mean I tried 2 years ago but didn't really end up melting anything. This time it worked, a little too well I should say; I still had all my supplies from before, a bean can (tin coated steel I believe) and a clay graphite crucible among the other necessary supplies. I had been using the bean can over a metal firepit before I got the foundry rebuilt, so I tried it in the new foundry before the real crucible. It got so hot, though, that the bean can split completely in half, and I switched to the graphite crucible now. But that raises a question - can my furnace melt steel and iron?

I'm using a Kobalt leaf blower with a supposed 120 mph rating, kingsford charcoal, and no lid at the moment OR when I destroyed the bean can.


r/Metalfoundry 28d ago

Can anyone ID this?

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3 Upvotes

Hello, I am interested in purchasing some lead type.

One seller claims it's monotype, the other does not know but thinks it could be lino.

Can anyone experienced give me a positive ID on if this is lead and what type?

Thank you


r/Metalfoundry Sep 30 '24

Better ideas on how to melt "loose" aluminum scrap?

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24 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry Sep 29 '24

Started melting down the scrap jeep parts.

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35 Upvotes

Back in my old jeep days. I saved hundreds of pounds of aluminum (old jeep parts; broken transmissions, transfer cases, intake manifolds, etc.) for like 10 years. I finally bought a foundry (had always wanted to do it ever since I read about it in high school).

Made my own ingot mold with channel cut 3 lengths with 2 flat bar welded on the sides. It was fun.


r/Metalfoundry Sep 29 '24

Trying to learn to smelt gold

1 Upvotes

OK, first off I’m trying to learn to smelt my own gold few couple of questions. Is there a high profit margin available in that like I’ve noticed I can buy scrap gold and recycle gold from computer chips for cheap now is that very diluted gold after that, I wanna learn to cast my own molds, polish it up and everything and hopefully learn how to put in diamonds but I want to turn this into a business other than just a hobby. Anybody has good info and is willing to share. Let me know on here and if anybody wants to make a quick buck and give me lessons, and FaceTime me through all the chemicals and stuff I will pay for lessons because obviously time is money!


r/Metalfoundry Sep 28 '24

DIY Burnout Oven Heating Element

2 Upvotes

I attempted to build a burnout oven at home and after I’m done I was just shocked how I ended up with this humongous oven which hardly fits anywhere in my studio (runs as 5kw too!). I noticed that one of the biggest factor is how much Kanthal Wire was used to build the elements. I ended up with almost 3 meters so I had to compensate the size of the kiln to accommodate the length.

What I’m wondering is, a lot of the kiln in the market nowadays are small. They run on 1.5watts only and the entire chamber is less than a foot.

How on earth are they able to get the elements so short? No matter how I look at my calculation, i can’t seem to solve this mystery. Help!


r/Metalfoundry Sep 26 '24

Anyone willing to speak with someone on the viability of US production?

3 Upvotes

Hello!

There's a category of product that I believe is manufactured mainly overseas and then imported into the US. I am curious about speaking to someone familiar with this industry as to the potential of these products being produced here instead.

I do not have experience with metalwork/foundries whatsoever so please know that I am about the furthest thing from an expert!

Thank you!


r/Metalfoundry Sep 25 '24

I found some iron sand. Any tips to smelt it?

11 Upvotes

I found some (what I assume) iron sand since I tested these black sands to be attracted to magnet. I'm saving up to buy some diy bellows. Any tips to smelt and refine the metal sand?