Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Hey gang, has any of you been into melting metals like aluminum, copper, zinc?

I've been thinking of this for a while now, to build myself a small foundry.

Eugen wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 10:07 am Hey gang, has any of you been into melting metals like aluminum, copper, zinc?

I've been thinking of this for a while now, to build myself a small foundry.

only thing I have done in the past was to melt down wheel weight ect. to cast into ingots for race cars . That was done right in the mould and steel clips fished out fish magnet .
What kind of things were you thinking of casting ?

Nope. Still in the wishful thinking mode, have not made it past youtube videos I had worked in flat roofing for a while and collected a ton of scrap lead from stack tops and roof drains. I wanted to melt it into weights. But it keeps sliding back on the todo list


Gordy

Well, if I wanted to melt lead it's as easy as putting it in a cast iron pan on a fire. Too easy!


A few times it happened to me that I want a piece of metal to turn in the lathe, for various projects, and the price and accessibility of a lump of metal was a show stopper. An alloy like aluminum, zinc, and some copper can be melted at temperatures achievable in a backyard foundry and is hard enough for many uses. The one project I've been sitting on for a long time is an espresso grinder using the largest burrs ever made, 83mm diameter (3.27in).
This is what the big burrs look like. In comparison, a $200 conical burr grinder you can normally buy in store will have burrs the size of only the shaft of these big guys. And yes, the grind makes a big difference in the end result. Right now I have a 60mm diameter flat burrs grinder, and it's really good too. If you're into expresso/cappuccino you will know already that a proper grinder is very very expensive, and one of the most important items in getting good results.

But there are many other uses, like getting a piece of metal hot for some forging, etc.

Nope. Never done it and more than likely never will. May have thought of it at some point, but why, I don’t know.
Was in Enterprise stove works, Sackville, NB years ago when I had my own propane business, and watched them make cast parts for stoves. Some hot. They use to chrome pieces there too. Sadly the place is gone now.

Noel

I routinely pour zinc when resocketing cables. Zinc is pretty easy with it's low melt temperature.

I have no experience with a foundry, or bean grinding!

The foundry sounds like a cool project to set up and learn.
I’m going to show my ignorance and ask a question about grinders. How does a modern espresso grinder differ from an old school coffee grinder? I’m assuming it has to do with how fine the grind is?

I know it’s a terrible thing to say to a coffee aficionado, but ever since Keurig came out with the coffee pods thats what we use for convenience. I guess that’s like telling a wine expert that you like the wine that come in a box!

Jeff, I'd hate to give the impression I'm one of those snobs. They used to have a really expensive automatic espresso making machine at work and nothing else. So being cheap, I drank that free coffee for a few years and found out after that I disliked other coffee so I found myself trying to do that at home. There was a guy I knew who gave me advice, and that's how I got to know more about it. Let me tell you this, I don't think it's like with the wines. The way I perceive it is like a huge difference between the coffee I make and almost anything I can get elsewhere. Only one coffee in the morning, regular size, with milk. That's my limit. But I'm looking forward to that first sip, every day.

You're right about the espresso grinder that it is capable of grinding the bean finely. But that's not really what sets it apart from a regular grinder. You can pulverize the bean fine enough in those cheap grinders that has a rotating propeller. But the grind is very uneven. It'll have very fine particles, and some coarse, and anything in between. The net result is that the coffee comes out bad tasting. I don't know all the science, but apparently as the water goes through, not all those soluble substances have a good taste, and the grind in large part decides this. A good grinder will have the distance between "teeth" stable and small. Also the burrs will be sharp as to cut the bean more than squish it. The the temperature and pressure of the water, and the force with which the coffee puck is compresses, are important. It's all kinda complicated until you do it once and it comes out good. Hard to go back after that.

You're right, it's not the most convenient. Takes me about 15 minutes to make two coffees in the morning.

I've decided to build a small foundry. Found someone else that has been casting his own bronze stock for bearing, which is an idea I like, and I have access to some copper cables to provide some of the raw material. I'll post my progress once I start

You didn’t give that impression at all, I just didn’t want to give offense by asking a dumb question!

You explained the process well. I like to learn about more than just old tractors
I’m sure this will sound funny, and maybe an odd correlation, but your description of ending up with a bad cup reminded me of something I’m kinda picky about. Catfish! I don’t know if it’s from living my life on the river or what but either a big fish or more importantly one that’s not cleaned properly tastes like river mud to me! A 3 to 5 pound cat done right can almost be a delicacy, done wrong it’s disgusting!

Anyway I’m looking forward to your foundry thread. I might have to try it at some point!

I have plans to do some metal casting, beginning with aluminum. Whenever I get around to it.

I recently cast a lead hammer in a hammer mold, and that was a neat experience.

But for aluminum, or anything conceivably hotter, I have most of the raw components on hand, if not ready to go.

I have an old propane tank that I intend to make into a lidded foundry.
I have high-temp ceramic sheeting/"paper" that I'll use to line and insulate the foundry.
I have a 1 liter (1.5?) graphite crucible.
I have a couple bags of fine silica sand.
I have the plans in hand and the various plumbing pipes I'll need to make a natural gas burner to heat the foundry.

I still need to track down some powdered clay to turn the silica sand into green sand.
I still need to bang together a couple of casting boxes/forms. (The "drag" plus the "cope" equals a.... what do you call that?)
I still need to actually build the foundry, the burner, and some tongs to handle the crucible.
I still need to assemble enough aluminum to actually mold into something.
I still need to track down enough fire bricks to line the bottom of the foundry.

So you can see I have wonderful plans/ambitions.

I just don't know what will bring this project to the front of the list.

For today, I'll be building a swing-away outfeed roller to attach to the back side of my table saw. Swing it out and lock in place when you need to rip long stock, unlock and swing it closed/out of the way when you don't need it.

My fuel sender and gauge came from China, but no telling when I'll get around to installing it. I have to drain the fuel tank, and that's a big mental obstacle.

Bob