Raw materiel for casting ??

[ksor]

I'm a complete newbie to this casting - the only things I have casted is lead for my fishing rod years back.

Now I seldom go fishing and take a beer instead and I have got lots of these beer cans - can they be used as raw materiel for casting a flywheel, frames or stuff like that for models ?

 

[PTsideshow]

yes and no, First the cans are coated both inside and out with a plastic type coating, one to keep the product fresh and the other to keep the printing ink on the outside.

No going along with keeping them clean and free of trash and moisture inside. If they are crushed water or other liquid can be trapped inside and water expands something like 1,100to 1,200 times when changed to steam.

And if you weigh them you will see that even for a small casting you will need a boatload.

Plus the fact that the smoke and fumes from the coatings may be toxic!

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/forums The guy that started the above forum. Started by beverage cans and aluminum lawn chairs.

Biggest reason is the old Time, Fuel, Money equation.

Takes to much time, you use to much fuel and you waste to much money.

 

[macona]

Its best to get alloys specific to casting. They pour better. Alloys that are inteded to be formed are different and can have issues. As long as you start with cast scrap you should be fine though for most things.

Another problem with alu cans is that they turn to mostly oxide when they melt due to the thinness of the walls.

Good industrial supply shops should stock ingots locally. We just picked up 69lbs of silicon bronze for some projects. Local price was $5 a pound. 3x ~20 lb ingots.

 

[Krown Kustoms]

I shop for raw materials at all of the local mechanics shops, they are usually glad to get rid of old transmissions, bell housings, and burnt pistons. pistons have a high silicon content, purfect for pouring. Also dont forget the small engine shops, a blown briggs is usless unless you want to melt it.
-B-

 

[johnthomp]

I shop for raw materials at all of the local mechanics shops, they are usually glad to get rid of old transmissions, bell housings, and burnt pistons. pistons have a high silicon content, purfect for pouring. Also dont forget the small engine shops, a blown briggs is usless unless you want to melt it.
-B-

not entirely true ive got a briggs i found in a local pond stripped it down emptied the water out rebult it and it runs like new great afternoon project hee hee

 

[Ed T]

Damaged alloy rims. Free or cheap. Just be sure you have a good way to break them down to a meltable size. This applies to all of the big lumps mentioned above. Wheels don't have all the oil and stuff you get with a Briggs or an old transmission. Less stinky to melt and a wheel weighs 15-20 pounds which a bunch of beer cans.

 

[tmuir]

Damaged alloy rims. Free or cheap.

I have heard of someone doing that to discover the alloy was not one of aluminium but magnesium.

Something to bear in mind if you are unsure what the rim is made from.
Cut a small bit off and hit it with a blow torch and wait to see what happens before you drop a lot into your furnace.

 

[Kermit]

Don't forget electronics scrap. The body casing of many (almost all) car stereo amps is pure aluminum, as are the heat sinks and heat sink blocks found on circuit boards of all types. 12VDC to 120VAC inverters have been around long enough to show up in junk piles in copious amounts. Just like auto stereo amps, they are almost 100% aluminum cased. All the smaller,usually painted black, construction 'bits' in the electronics assy piles are thin aluminum plate. A day in some brake fluid and a scrub with a wire brush in some paint thinner will remove any trace of paint. test with a small magnet. Any machine that has a cooling fan will likely have a rather large chuck of aluminum acting as a heatsink, radiatior.

Kermit

 

[Ed T]

Indeed, you might run into a real "mag" mag wheel, and it would be real good to know that before putting it into the furnace. The odds are low, but not impossibly so. Good to check first. Also, old VW blocks are some magnesium alloy as I recall. Watch out for those. I don't know if it makes a real big difference, but cast parts are going to be made from readily castable alloys while extruded and cold formed material (beer cans, old flashing and sheet goods) are different alloys not intended for casting. That doesn't mean they won't work as you can see from looking at the internet. Plenty of folks making swell castings from extrusions and other not-casting alloys. I guess I just feel that if you're going to go to all the effort of setting up a foundry making patterns etc., why not go with an alloy intended for the purpose? Just my opinion, worth as much as you paid for it.

 

[johnthomp]

all this time ive been casting bits of flywheels and the odd solid block base here and there ive never bought a single ingot in my life even my swarf gets melted back down and reused i get all my brass and aluminium from builders skips in the form of brassware from doors and windows and the aluminium in the form of showerscreen frames and carpet tracks also the odd light fitting and shelf bracket now and again the odd aluminium bitter keg floating down the canal
the aluminium i found before i consider useing it in a mould i melt it down in the pot and while its liquid ill scrape the impurities off the top of the liquid metal then put in one tablespoon of dishwasher soda to further the cleanseing process it does two things it makes the liquid aluminium more fluid when pouring and lifts any remaining impurities to the surface for scrapeing off i then boost the mix with a good tablespoon of common table salt wich makes the liquid aluminium a little more stable by staveing off the hydrogen gas that builds up when its gone in the sand
i then pour the resulting 80%-95% pure aluminium into ingots by aid of useing the missuses bun bakeing tray wich when remelted down it usualy ends up as some of the best aluminium ive used so far
as for brass the old door handles and letter plates i mentioned are already cast so dont need all this work

 

[shred]

Old hard drives are mostly Aluminum chassis and have cool magnets and bearings and stuff as well. Worth looking out for.

How does stuff like 6061 scrap cast? I've got lots of small bits and pieces of it.

 

[Artie]

Hi Shred, all my Aluminium is 6061.I have kilos and kilos of it. Its a material designed to be forged, such as scuba tanks and fire extinguishers. It could be better but I have great success with it. I ingot it first in batches.

Last batch....

This is 6061 straight out of teh sand, it rings like a bell when tapped.....other ali sounds dull.....

Machines up ok as well....

Cheers Rob