Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 In another thread, I mentioned using old scraps of non-Fe material to cast new bars, either of the same alloy or creating a mixture of alloys. I make a few different alloys in my shop this way. I have made Shibuichi, a form of red bronze, and some other stuff that just looks like pale bronze. Preparation work: If you are cheap like me, you probably have a can of small bits of various metals hanging around the shop. Here I have separated out a bunch of nickel-silver pieces. If you will be mixing different alloys to try some new combination, you will need to buy a jeweler's scale and weigh the different materials. Jot these weights down so you have a "recipe" of sorts with the ratios by weight. This way, if you like what you made, you can get back to it later. Now you will need some stainless steel HT foil. This is very handy stuff, and if you plan on making any stainless knives and doing the HT yourself. You will need to buy some. I bought a roll about 12 years ago and I still have a lot of it left. Cut out a piece of foil that will fold up into the size bar you wish to make. If you want to cast a bar 1" square and 4 inches long, cut a piece about 3" by 6 inches minimum. Fold it into an open box shape and fold the corners over. This one is 2"x4" and I should have made it narrower. Take some scraps of steel and start welding the steel crucible around the foil box. Get the corners tight against the side of the foil box and weld a tail onto it. You will pull the crucible out of the forge by this tail. Use a propane torch to heat up the foil until it just starts to turn color. This oxidizes the surface. Load the crucible with your metal scraps. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Heating Pop the crucible into the forge. You want to be able to get upwards of 1850 for nickel-silver. When the metal collapses and looks like it has melted, turn off the forge and carefully remove the crucible to a flat stable surface to cool. Use a graphite rod to push the surface down into the molten metal below. When you cannot push the graphite rod into the bar, it has solidified enough to remove it from the crucible. Grab the crucible with some tongs and bang it upside down on the anvil surface. It should pop right out. Quickly take it and press it or hammer lightly to consolidate. Then quench in a slack tub of water. The foil will peel off easily. Anything that argues with you about that will disappear in 2 seconds with an angle grinder. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 Using this stock. Now I generally cut pieces off these bars and melt them in a standard clay crucible with an oxy-acetylene torch. I have some plate molds that make very nice 1/8" (a little fat for surfacing) plates. You melt the metal and pour it into the mold. In tis picture, I have shimmed the mold out an additional 1/16" to get a plate that is roughly 3/16" thick. The mold is opened and the plate is removed. These pics were from a set of Shibuichi spacers on a Bowie. They now look like this The same process was used to create red bronze guard and spacer for this little hunter. Have fun! Link to post Share on other sites
Jerrod Miller 443 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Thanks for putting this together Joshua! It looks like your corners are not welded shut on your crucible, and the foil is just folded over. Is this accurate? I would have thought that the molten metal would leak all over the place. Do you find this to definitely not be an issue? This seems so much easier than I would have thought if that is the case. Link to post Share on other sites
Bruno 89 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Awesome info Joshua! Thank you. Now I have yet another thing to try... Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 (edited) Jerrod, the foil is just folded over at the corners and the steel box is literally tack welded together. I have never had any leaks. I have spilled some stuff out into the forge though..... Edited February 17 by Joshua States 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 9 minutes ago, Bruno said: Awesome info Joshua! Thank you. Now I have yet another thing to try... Wait till you get into sand casting....... Link to post Share on other sites
Brian Dougherty 1,166 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 Hmm, It is a struggle to find nickel silver in the cross sections I want. I never considered pouring my own plates. You may have just set me free Any thoughts on melting brass? I have a lot of it about, but have been scared off casting it because of the zinc burning off. However, I don't know if zinc burns off in an alloy, or if that is internet lore. Zinc fumes are seriously dangerous, I know that part isn't lore! Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 6 hours ago, Brian Dougherty said: Zinc fumes are seriously dangerous, I know that part isn't lore! This is very true. All of these NF metals have zinc in them and good ventilation is critical. Brass is difficult only because there are so many different grades and they all behave differently in the melt. I have mixed it into my red bronze recipe. Those thick plates can be tricky. I have poured some stuff in 3/8” thicknesses, but I usually run into some air bubbles hidden in the casting. Link to post Share on other sites
Gazz 7 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 You might want to try adding some flux to your melt. It will help to gather up oxides and crap. Link to post Share on other sites
Bill Schmalhofer 111 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Very cool. You make it look so easy. Been saving up all my nickel silver and brass scraps for this exact reason. Was wondering if it is possible to pour into your plate mold from the initial melt, or is that just asking to make a hot mess? 5 hours ago, Gazz said: You might want to try adding some flux to your melt. It will help to gather up oxides and crap. What flux would you recommend? Link to post Share on other sites
dragoncutlery 48 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 your scrap pile and mine are way different sizes Link to post Share on other sites
Gazz 7 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Regular borax would work. Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter-Paul Derks 210 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 I love remelting scraps, did it a lot in goldsmith training. That stainless steel foil trick is really nice. I really like the red bronze you made, commercial bronze is often too yellow for my taste. Would you mind sharing the recipe for that Yoshua? Link to post Share on other sites
Joshua States 1,716 Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 On 2/17/2021 at 6:20 PM, Bill Schmalhofer said: Was wondering if it is possible to pour into your plate mold from the initial melt, or is that just asking to make a hot mess? Probably get a hot mess. I use this mostly to mix alloys into a new compound with variations in color. So, it's best to form a large homogenous bar that I can cut pieces off of and pour small castings that will match when I need them. Link to post Share on other sites
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