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[S. Jester]

Here's a neat site about making tools

http://www.homemadetools.net/

S.

[gaurdduck]

http://www.homemadetools.net/coffee-can-furnace

Do you suppose this would work for copper too? I have a ton of scrap copper from when they replaced the water heater and I was thinking of casting some copper and bronze parts (hinges, drawer pulls, and knife fittings). It's too much of a pain to sell the scrap here because of a long registry process and having to prove you own it... So I've got a big pile of it and was thinking that putting it to use in making bronze doodads would be more easy and efficient...

[amagi]

Copper can't be cast.  it bubbles.

[gaurdduck]

Copper can't be cast.  it bubbles.

Wow... I had no idea. Okay, but if you make bronze out of it by melting tin and copper together, you can cast that right?

[amagi]

AFAIK.  I don't actually know much about casting.  But there is a funny story about, I think, Franklin.  He bet someone they couldn't cast a copper cube.  I was something like 10 when I heard it. I am sure it was more interesting than I am telling it now. 
I have heard of, and seen the results of casting bronze though.

[gaurdduck]

I know Elias does Lost Wax castings, but I haven't heard from him in ages.

[gaurdduck]

Does anyone here know how to make an aluminum bronze that would be good for making a Tsurugi?

Tsurugi is an ancient type of sword from Japan that appears in the Record of Ancient Matters. It seems to be very similar to a Han Dynasty Jian. They were originally made of bronze, so I want to make it as a reproduction sword with a silver inlay and possibly 2 different types of bronze. The Chinese bronze swords made for kings and high-ranking nobility were often made of several different blends of bronze and at least one sword was made of a damascus steel and damascus bronze in a complex geometric pattern and a bronze edge... I'm not good enough at it to do that...

What I can do though, is make a laminate blade of 2 different bronzes and with a copper and silver inlay. The inlay is likely to be of some writing in the seal script font and the manyougana writing system that predates the Heian Period.

Below is a bronze Tsurugi:

[Rarick]

For making forms for casting and a lot of reusable plastic 1 offs.

http://store.makerbot.com/replicator2.html

We are getting there, the one Star Trek gadget that has not materialized yet aside from the transporter......

[Speaker]

Copper can't be cast.  it bubbles.

While I am not expert on copper alloys, there are some things that seem obvious to me:
* Copper was one of the first metals to be smelted.
* It was cast in antiquity as the first step after smelting.
* It is cast, today, into billets and ingots from the smelting process, and into cast parts.
* I would look into the crucible materials used in copper founding along with the fluxes used.
* Aluminum  has a melting temperature of 1220.58 °F.
* Copper has a melting temperature of 1984.32 °F. It is poured in excess of 2,000°F.  The difference between the melting temp. of aluminum and copper is 764°F, which is a lot.
* The "coffee can foundry" at < http://www.gizmology.net/furnace.htm > is made for aluminum, has no numbers in the article (indicating a public school victim) and seems to be rather obviously designed by a beginner.
* The "coffee can foundry" does not use any refractory in the furnace, so it would be very inefficient in the use of fuel and would not reach a very high heat. Do not forget that extra 764°F that you need for copper.
* The coffee can machine is tiny; you need much more capacity for swords or other large castings. Don't forget that you must fill the sprue, gates and risers; as well as having considerable metal left over for safety margin in the pour. The excess is poured into ingot molds to empty the crucible. I would consider a melt volume of twice the finished casting as a reasonable minimum volume for long and thin castings that require risers and extra-high sprues.

You can buy a manual, written by David J. Gingery, on the construction of a proven gas-fired crucible furnace that is designed for a capacity of 20 pounds of grey iron or brass, that will heat to over 2,800°F. It will also handle the lower temp. metals just as well, such as aluminum and zinc. 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 Paper Back. Perfect Bound. 108 Pages.
See:
< http://gingerybookstore.com/cruciblefurnace.html >
Cost is $12.95

The charcoal furnace for lower temp. metals with a one quart iron pot capacity is at:
< http://gingerybookstore.com/charcoalfoundry.html >
Cost is $7.95
 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 Paper Back. Perfect Bound. 80 Pages.
This is a complete "get started casting" book, including all the equipment and tools to set up your foundry. It is part of the "Build Your Own Metalworking Shop From Scrap" series. If you want the complete machine shop with deluxe tooling, buy the series as a package at a discount.

Other books are available here, such as making your own crucibles for the high temp. metals and all the machine tools of your machine shop. Read the index page at < http://gingerybookstore.com/index.html >.

See Steven Chastain's foundry, machine shop and alternative energy web site at < http://stephenchastain.com/store/ >.

Also "Nation Builder Books" at < http://nbbooks.com/index.cfm >.

T. J. Lindsay has retired and closed-down Lindsay's Technical Books, but his titles are available from "Your Old Time Bookstore" at < http://www.youroldtimebookstore.com/Default.asp >.

See the "Navy Foundry Manual"
By: the United States Navy
reprinted by Lindsay Publications, Inc.
8-1/2 x 11 - Softcover - over 300 Pages, $23.95
< http://www.youroldtimebookstore.com/product-p/20072.htm >

A good source of bronze might be damaged boat propellers. See Michigan Wheel (manufacturer) for specs at < http://www.miwheel.com/ >; and boat yards and propulsion repair companies for broken props for melting stock.



Don't burn your fingers!
Speaker

[Rarick]

The Navy Foundry Manual is what my 8th grade shop teacher used as a textbook.........

We would get it for free as "educational Assistance Surplus" from a government program    and work our way thru the chapters.  The high school would continue thru the book too, so depending on when you started metal, wood, auto, electrical, detrmined where you were in the various courses and the number on the shop class from 8th thru 12th grade had more to do with how many years you had been taking the class rather than what you knew......a model I wish more schools would use.

We had guys taking and passing the Journeyman tests a year after graduation in a lot of the trades, mainly due to "work experience" requirements.

[gaurdduck]

Thank you. This info seems really useful.

[clarence]

all about metals  this place will take hours of your time but will definitely give you much to think on and much more to do.

build your own  kit from the above site.

clarence

[gaurdduck]

I saw a ceramic sink by the side of the road that I wanted to make a new forge out of, but when I came back to get it, someone else had already carted it off. I'm still sore about it even though it couldn't be helped. I should probably go check at the dump and see if I can get one for cheap. My idea was to support it with common steel pipes as legs, then fit a steel pipe with an elbow coupling to the drain with a thrift store hair-dryer on the end, then I was going to put a small round grate over the drain, and cover that with some lava rocks to protect the grate from melting and distribute the air, then fill that sucker with charcoal and light it up. I could probably build a large bellows at some point, but I don't have the leather for that at the moment.

[Tipitaka]

Can a stick welder and sticks be made in the garage?

[homemadetools]

Here's a neat site about making tools

http://www.homemadetools.net/

S.

Jon here from HomemadeTools.net.

I know this thread is an old one, but thanks for the mention

To celebrate our 20,000th homemade tool, we made a new ebook featuring our top 50 homemade tools. You guys are welcome to it for free:

http://download.homemadetools.net/50MustReadTools.pdf