melting copper and nickel

[ryanwrath]

i have been playing with melting copper and nickel, just pennies and nickels(5c piece) but after it cools, if i so much as look at it wrong it breaks like grainy glass into many peices.....the symptoms tell me im overcooking it, but even when i get the metal to just molten, quick stir with a stainless rod, and out, let cool, tap with hammer, shatter....how do i overcome that or is it even possible. thanks.

 

one thing i forgot: i have a larg cast iron ladle that is my container for the melting material, and my propane forge is the heat.

Edited April 22, 2012 by ryanwrath

[Mark Green]

Try covering the melt with charcoal. Your problem is likely oxygen uptake. the charcoal will keep out the O.

 

I have never tried copper/nickel smelts. I see that the new nickels are copper & nickel.

I'm not sure they would work in a water cast, but maybe. That would help a lot with the oxygen uptake.

 

Wait, nevermind, new pennies are mostly zinc. That is likely the big problem. And for sure will not water cast. New penniees are 97.5% zinc.

 

Skip the pennies, add just pure copper. That should help a lot. Still use the charcoal.

 

1962-1985 pennies make a very nice brass. 95% copper 5% zinc.

[Doug Lester]

Mark's right, the nickel coin is already a copper/nickel alloy. If you want copper, get some heavy copper wire. You might also consider a carbon or ceramic crucible for melting. That's generally what is recommended for melting and casting metal with a higher melting point. Cast iron ladles are mostly use for lead, pewter, and other white metals.

 

Doug

[Rogerrr]

It was 1982 that pennies went from copper to zinc

 

1982 pennies can be either zinc OR copper

[ryanwrath]

AHHHHHHH ok ty ty..........i knew there was something VERY wrong with the pennies.......i got seriously bad yellow powder, this really strange white fuzz, all the same crap i get when i am forced to weld already glavanized steel..............no i did not breath it i know better))...........but the 90+zinc .........ok ty now i know

 

edit:

ty for advice adding charcoal.........i will do that next time, this is not the first time i had brittle metal, i turned a 4x4 angle iron into a V shape, welded square plates on the ends to form a very rude triangluar mold, and melted down a ton of copper pipe into it..............that stuff was very nice copper, at least it burned w/o all the crappy colors from different elements in it...(it was about 70 yrs old)from a demo prodject, and had intended to put accents on a custome stairway i built, but it was SO damn brittle, like glass , just would not work for me, hope the charcoal works, that will be awesome.........ty

 

gah, re-edit:

 

what sir mark is a water cast? ty in advance)

Edited April 26, 2012 by ryanwrath

[Rogerrr]

water casting thread:

 

http://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?showtopic=22507