r/Metalfoundry • • 4h ago

Any good designs for a DIY dual-purpose charcoal-fueled forge/melting furnace?

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1 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 14h ago

How to sell used gold?

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4 Upvotes

Hi everyone. I made a ring for my fiance within a few months so i kind of crammed all my focus onto getting a final product.

So i am now stuck with about 16 grams of gold that was melted but never used because of failures or it got stuck to the bottom of the crucible.

While moving the ceramic crucible it fell and busted open. So i decided to only take the pieces that had any metal on them and sort them with the used gold.

What is the best way to take this gold and sell it to make some of my money back?

Some context: i have a furnace, kiln, magnetic tumbler, pickle solution and ultrasonic cleaner in case any of those tools help the process.


r/Metalfoundry • • 15h ago

Sintering IN625 metal powder at home using activated carbon — how can I improve my results?

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3 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 19h ago

Ceramic or graphite crucible

2 Upvotes

I usually use ceramic but due to an increase in humidity of where I live I noticed some things in my studio are not liking the moisture. I have set up a dehumidifier, etc but I am kinda concerned about my ceramic crucible having moisture in it that causes it to crack when I put a flame to it… is graphite a safer option? Usually using it to sand cast with Sterling. Also want to get into casting with bronze. So wondering if I should buy 2 graphite ? Or stick with ceramic?


r/Metalfoundry • • 1d ago

Quick question

2 Upvotes

Quick question, I'm trying to find a way to either buy or build a home furnace setup for melting small ingots and if not melting at least being able to heat steel up enough to recast or hammer forge a new shape out of it for making smaller knives or larger blades, I don't know the best place to ask but figured someone here might know.


r/Metalfoundry • • 2d ago

Uses for scrap bronze?

9 Upvotes

I was gifted some bronze bars that are of several unknown mixes, it is known at least 2 are bearing bronze, but it's hard to tell who is who. Anything fun to do with this? Doesn't really stack for value because idk what it is, and idk what to make with unknown mixes lol.


r/Metalfoundry • • 3d ago

First Melt: Devil Forge 10kg

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34 Upvotes

Bars are about 6.5 lbs each. Very surprised how quick it goes once the initial melt heat is reached. Loved every second of it. Think I found a new hobby.


r/Metalfoundry • • 4d ago

A video explaining diferences between alloys and intermetalic compounds and why do they matter

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6 Upvotes

I demonstrated properties of alloys and intermetalic compounds on Cu-Al binary system. I also explained why and where we use intermetalics in every day life.


r/Metalfoundry • • 4d ago

looking to commission some solid gold nipple rings

2 Upvotes

since hard to find them for a consistent but decent price in major online retailers/stores for a quality and reliable product, i’m coming here to the pros for help.
i’ve tried my hand at foundry, have casted some silver and gold bars but never anything fancy like jewelry. i was kind of hoping someone could make a lost wax mold for me to use, since i don’t have those tools readily available.
second option would be to ship out some melted 10, 14, or 18k gold to whomever takes this on, to use it for the project and keep a percentage as payment.
would also be happy to trade silver and gold bullion/jewelry for them to be made from clean gold.


r/Metalfoundry • • 4d ago

Anyone in the Seattle area with a hobbyist smelting setup?

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0 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 8d ago

Looking for brass or bronze round bar with ≤100 ppm lead. Any specialty mills or small-batch producers?

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1 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 8d ago

Restoring hammer head

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11 Upvotes

TLDR; removing rust from hammer head without grinding it smooth.

So I don't know if it's an actual blacksmith hammer or just a regular old sledgehammer, but either way, it was used for some blacksmithing by my wife's dad, who passed when she was 14. It was given to him by my wife's grandad, who passed when she was 12. I would like to restore it and need some advice.

Replacing the handle (chewed on by dog) I can handle: hickory, sanding, linseed oil, etc.

For the hammer head, I have most of the surface rust removed. I read that you can heat it up without exceeding the tempering point and rub linseed oil on it and should give it a nice rust resistant coating and sheen.

Question 1: Is this basic process correct?

Question 2: Is there a good way to remove all the rust?

I don't want to go the whole route of grinding, then filing it down and then sanding and removing the scratches to make it completely shiny and perfectly smooth and looking like a new hammer. It was a working hammer. I still want it to retain its character. But I would still like to remove all the rust in all the uneven spots/pits/dents, etc, before I coat it. Suggestions?

Edit: I soaked it in vinegar multiple times (it was RUUUUSTY). Tried the wire brush. It just doesn’t seem to get down in all the low points.

Further edit: I'm dumb. A little more effort and varying the pattern seems to work just fine.


r/Metalfoundry • • 8d ago

Just picked up a decent haul of silicon metal for some upcoming alloying

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7 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 9d ago

Is there a cheap way to determine the purity of copper bars?

3 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 9d ago

Can you pour metal into a thick glass jar?

16 Upvotes

I know it sounds kind of stupid at first glance but I want to pour some Zinc at about 500 degrees Celcius (about 50-100ml) into a Nuttella jar because of its shape. Will it crack, or can I do something to make the jar more sturdy?


r/Metalfoundry • • 9d ago

Is this enough to get started ?

1 Upvotes

Hi all looking to buy a forge and start melting some stuff after some research this is what ive come to , im in Australia by the way in short ebay 6kg forge , then 2.2kg duracast refractory and 1ltr ceramic fibre rigidizer

https://ebay.io/m/V4L1uR

https://artisansupplies.com.au/product/duracast-castable-refractory-2-2kg/

https://artisansupplies.com.au/product/ceramic-fibre-rigidiser-1l/


r/Metalfoundry • • 10d ago

DIY Temporary Ventilation Setup

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1 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 10d ago

Is this ceramic crucible still usable?

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5 Upvotes

I recently bought a small induction furnace, mainly to smelt aluminum, but I would also like to try copper. However, a crack formed on my only 3kg ceramic crucible. Do you think this can still be used? Or should I just buy a new one. Thanks


r/Metalfoundry • • 10d ago

Budget friendly beginners forger

2 Upvotes

Hi all looking to get in to melting down say metals aluminium, copper etc im looking for recommendations for a a beginner thats budget friendly just to start of with , thanks all


r/Metalfoundry • • 10d ago

Amount of clay needed for a small bloomery?

2 Upvotes

If I were to make a small bloomery, would 2 10-litre buckets (before mixing it with sand and fibre) be enough? I have some fireclay bricks, could I use those to further lessen the amount of clay needed to construct it?


r/Metalfoundry • • 10d ago

New (to me) old kiln. How to test?

24 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 11d ago

Working with Billon (80/20CuAg) alloy

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3 Upvotes

r/Metalfoundry • • 11d ago

Forst copper bar, any tips for rippling

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173 Upvotes

This is my first ever copper pour I'm wondering if anyone here has any tips to prevent the surface ripples and have a smoother finish any help is appreciated thank you very much


r/Metalfoundry • • 11d ago

Aluminium Sticking to the mould and hydraulic punch

0 Upvotes

I’m new to the foundry process. 2 days back I have melted aluminium but it got stuck on the mould cavity plate and hydraulic punch.

I have a gravity die machine. Can anyone help please.


r/Metalfoundry • • 12d ago

What are the casting defects in this?

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15 Upvotes

We have a course on Casting and Solidification. We had to prepare an Aluminium cast for the lab work

- The pattern was created using thermocol/styrofoam

- The mould was created using plaster of paris and water. After it dried out I removed the pattern by hand and there were not any visible cracks or damages as such. It was left for around 3-4 weeks for drying after that.

- There was no gating system although their was one cast which seemed to be perfect without any gating system somehow aswell.

- Before casting i put the mould in an oven for 3hrs and then 15 minutes of blowtorch on it. After that Aluminium melt was poured into it

For viva, our prof has told us to analyse the cast and talk about all the defects present in the cast and why it has formed

Im guessing the large one, its a blowhole but im not sure enough. Please help with it. Thank you! The last 2 photos are the pattern and the mould. I'll be attaching a video of the cast and the mould in the comments if its possible.