Casting Pot Metal In A Silicone Mold

[@JamesPassmore]

Tuna Crucible would be a great band name.

[@emperorhadrian6011]

Better album name tbh.

[@Pygar2]

@@emperorhadrian6011 "Tuna Observatory" did my favorite Christmas record, hilarious!

[@PropGuru702]

Much like tuna, I too am drained and ready to eat ...

[@nekrataali]

It also sounds like something I'd call your mum in an Xbox lobby lmao got 'em

[@deucedeuce1572]

...or your moms vagina. lol.

[@opieshomeshop]

I haven't cast metal in RTV since my 20s. I was doing gaming miniatures because all my friends at the time gamed with them. There is RTV for high temp applications that will last a long time and then I also got into spin casting where the miniatures are placed around a mold that is circular and the metal is poured in the center of the mold and the spinning action forces the metal into the cavities of the mold and it helps to maintain finer details over just plain casting because shrinkage is reduced. Aside from the fine detail you get you also can produce 10 pieces at once in one casting.

[@annekabrimhall1059]

I never get tired of seeing the rubber degassed!

[@GRACEAK01]

This was ridiculously helpful in my casting project, thank you.

[@eagleironic5815]

So cool Robert! Can I please request more metal pouring content. Thank you!

[@truck6859]

Second that!

[@ZeePox]

@@truck6859 Thirded! Very interesting to see!

[@Nostalgiawave-im2vi]

I also support this notion.

[@h7opolo]

this video of yours is perfectly timed in regards to an obstacle i'd come across in my own hobby. so cool that you can melt metal in a can and cast it in silicone! i now have to research more about this "pot metal."

[@eugenesaint1231]

That was my question too. Exactly what is considered "pot" metal and what isn't? Gonna go Google-late it, I reckon. Good luck to you with your research. Just sane... :^) Saint

[@_ClericalError_]

@@eugenesaint1231 The most common metal for casting like this is going to be pewter, which is an alloy of tin.

[@eugenesaint1231]

@@_ClericalError_ Thanks, partner. That's great to know. I think I'm going to go ahead and just sand cast the part I need in aluminum.

[@ralphmourik]

This just popped up in my recommended, probably because I am a hobbyist metal caster. I have cast Pewter(Tin), Lead and Zinc in silicone molds many times, but never made my own silicone molds... yet, so this seems like the right place to learn something new! Subscribed and hit the bell. I'll be watching more of your stuff. 👍

[@jezfish1]

Great video Bob. I make my own pewter using tin and antimony. We dust the cavity with talc powder, extends life of mold and pewter flows easier into cavity. We would get about 250 to 300 pulls per mould, but would make the pouring gate much thinner and a bit longer. Also allow the mould to cool slightly between casts will extend it's life. Careful when using metal with lead in it, highly toxic. Contenti in USA supply pewter ingots and tools.

[@leafsounds8263]

aluminum has a melting point of 660 degrees, please advise what silicone can I use?

[@supergiantbubbles]

A stainless second hand measuring cup would make a really handy melting vessel. You won't need to burn it out or sand it.

[@chuckbailey7200]

When you pre-heat your silicone mold in the toaster oven, what temperature do you set it for and for how long? Love your channel!

[@TheHairyBeastie]

Ha :) I used to cast pewter from an old tuna can. Brings back memories.

[@annekabrimhall1059]

I recently used one of these molds to pour melted bismuth in it. It was pretty successful!

[@johncollins719]

I'm planning to try casting with cerrosafe. Now I know a silicone mold will work. Thanks.

[@nicolafiorelli1319]

Whew, my Friday night is saved. For a minute there, I thought we were not gonna get a video today !! Thank you Robert!!!!

[@georgetteassenetcardieldue9862]

Thank you for this video! I love how considerate you are for those of us who don't have power tools. I've been wanting to cast for a while, and now I wee I don't have to have fancy equipment!

[@camojake1005]

Such a great video! And honestly I love your humor. Not sure if you write the stuff before or just explain as you're working. Just the little bits of wholesome Sarcasm is so nice nowadays

[@johnqpublic9074]

Love watching you. Totally reminded me of watching Andy Rooney on 60min.

[@Miscast]

Hey Robert, I've seen some photos of silicone molds designed to fill the object to be cast from the bottom using a spout that travels from the top of the mold, to the feet of the model. Do you have any information on this? I assumed it might be for a better release of air, another mold maker suggested it was for pressure using the weight of the resin itself. I primarily make miniature things- around palm sized, so I'm wondering if this might be of benefit for me to explore. Thanks, Trent

[@backtalk666]

what an amazing tutorial. great production quality and you are an amazing host! thank you!

[@securityrobot]

That was very insightful - I didn’t realise the process would be more involved. Some handy tips and advice. Thanks.

[@CrazyALEvans]

long time coming! thanks for waiting it out Robert....!

[@karlh6692]

YAY! You did a metal casting video. Can you do a larger model next time maybe with the use of talc to let out the air and tapping the rubber to fill the mold details.

[@kjamison5951]

This gives me hope for casting parts for die-cast car models with metal parts. If I get a good spare part from a supplier, I can clean it up and polish it. I can make a couple of molds, and turn out enough parts for my collection with little to no work to do on them. With the spare parts, I always have to do some clean up.

[@MaxSMoke777]

The Hot Pot 2 is a super cheap, yet very effective means to melt pewter and other low temp metals. Runs about $50. You should also dust your mold with talcum powder to get a dependable finish. Pre-heating the mold is a good idea.... but if you pour one or two, pop them out, and remelt them, your molds will be plenty hot. By the 2nd or 3rd recast, you'll be set. Also you should have some SUPER tiny air holes to help the air escape any overhangs. Silicone is good, but there are better, more rigid rubbers like Smooth On 60, which help hold the metal better. The weight of the melt will deform parts in silicone. The "pot metal" he used most likely contains alot of lead. If you're making jewelry, use a decent quality modern Pewter, as they never contain lead. (older pewter though will!)

[@KristínGuðmundsdóttir]

I want to thank you very much for the information. They help me a lot.

[@monomakes]

Wow! The channel seems to have had an overhaul! Cool :)

[@scottturner3831]

You always seem to use rubber and resin that cures quickly. I understand that for production molding. But if you had something with lots of detail would you consider using a slower rubber or resin? If so would you do a video on that and maybe how curing times can affect the quality of molds?

[@nathanielrobles3284]

This is kinda late but Happy 80k subs Robert! This was 55k subs more since the 1st time I subscribe to your channel. Congrats!

[@sierraecho884]

Finally some metal, have been waiting for this video for soooo long =)

[@glowpon3]

I was thinking about trying this with some bismuth. I wonder how many cycles a mold can handle at bismuth temperatures. Thanks for another informative video. It's Always nice to see new clips from you, always more to learn.

[@jacobkavinsky1813]

i want to do the same thing but idk if my fancy sillicone molds can handle the heat so i have not yet done it did you try it and do you think standard sillicone molds would handle it

[@glowpon3]

@@jacobkavinsky1813 I've used my standard platinum silicone to cast R98 pewter before, but it doesn't hold up for as many cycles as MoldMax60 or other high temperature silicones. Also, be sure it's at least Shore A30. Anything softer WILL deform a lot during molding, making a strangely shaped object.

[@gawni1612]

Papa ROBERT!! Can we see some more metal/silicone vids!!?

[@zeretube]

Hello thank you for this great video, one question what is the metal used in this video? and what other metals can be pour into silicone without melting the silicone? Thank you!

[@TheZukru]

Brilliant!

[@crushingvanessa3277]

I was wondering how to do this. I'm thinking of making a 1/100 747 separate wings using metal instead of resin. I used resin but couldn't pressurize it because they are about 14" long. The wing I did make tends to warp and sag on it's own. I was also going to reinforce the wing with small square brass cut into the bottom side but as you get towards the tips it's gets thin, maybe a small brass sheet. If metal works that would be a lot stronger, just need a lot of pot metal.

[@AdanaKiller]

What type rubber you used¿ platinum cured mold silicone ¿

[@natew5544]

I have a few questions. im not sure if you are still making mold making vids or not, but it would be interesting if you could show how to do some mold making techniques involving rigid parts into the silicone. for instance if you was making a hinged ball joint for an action figure. or just a plain ball joint if you are sculpting and making an action figure from scratch. i was reading the POP sculpture book and it really only covers hinge joints. the only way i can figure it out is if you include a positive rigid shape (not resin, probably a metal alloy like in this vid) to dock it in the mold before you pour the resin/plastic to create the negative space for parts to fit together. and take the metal piece out of the plastic after it cures. i have seen other vids you have made and seen that it doesnt make sense to make thin silicone parts cause it would just tear and theres no guarantee that it would keep the shape. thanks.

[@kevinbevin2]

You make it look easy :)

[@ManOfSdeel]

So many good tips, a lot of people overcomplicate preheating in other youtube videos lol

[@ABU..ALWAFA100]

Thank you for this work, but can this silicon withstand the melting point of silver and copper?

[@liarspeaksthetruth]

Great timing! Where does one get low melting point metals like that? I'm hoping to make some simple custom jewelry...

[@speedandstyletony]

Does your "hi-tech auto-clave" also work as an air-frier?

[@just_a_cat_guy]

love the content robert thank you

[@catherinemartina6469]

I like your style

[@gentiligiuliano7882]

Which alloy do you use? Older time I used lead alloy, but I had to use a special silicon to be able to survive the temperature. Also It was stiffer than your silicone ant needed graphyte pouder as flux ( without finishing was really rough)

[@zekeriyaatilgan521]

I wonder how many models can be taken with one silicone mould

[@michaelgradomski9940]

Off note, have you purchased RTV from SilPak lately? They were bought out by another company. The hardener looks like watered down Kool Aid instead of the usual melted blue Jolly Rancher, and the cured rubber has a very pale blue unlike to blueberry milk I am accustomed to.

[@carmengianforte2501]

I would like to cast a part out of pot metal. Can you tell me where to buy some pot metal. Thanks for your help.

[@signprivate788]

The smooth on silicone, with smelted metal can it take the temperature of smelted stainless steel?

[@1docg]

How many times would you expect to use that silicone mold?

[@themopeduniverse]

nice one

[@anmayduong2432]

I wonder what kind of silicone you used to make the aluminum mold??

[@deepsam7678]

can we make ring out of pewter but will it get easily damaged?? Will it keep details and will it react on skin???

[@jordanmusleh6305]

What type of silicone did you use for the metal and what’s the temperature of the heat when putting in the oven..??

[@craigdzel6219]

Appreciate the info OG

[@benc210]

Also: Does the shine of the buffed aluminum surface stay shiny or does it oxidize and become dull? Thanks again.

[@deucedeuce1572]

Is Zamak "Pot metal" or is it more like Pewter? Most of the time "pot metal" can mean different things and the melting temperatures are very different between them. Some even consider aluminum mixed to be "pot metal". I've never been able to find a silicon with a high enough rating for Zamak or aluminum. Their max temperatures for silicone molding is like 500f while Zamak is about 720-730 minimum. I found a couple that claimed to be higher temp (a long time ago), but they were $100s for even the smallest amounts.

[@aaronmoura1234]

Hey robert if your still doing request on molds can you please try to recast a bakugan figure ? Any one would help me the pieces are very small and i have trouble cutting the molds and poring the resin in them. Please help!

[@RobertTolone]

It is tricky to cut and fill small molds. You may have to vacuum the molds to get the resin to flow in.

[@justachipofftheiceberg6313]

Is there a way to take a moldb made from silicon ruber and duplicate it into a metal injection mold?

[@truck6859]

Unusual question: I want to put a coating of durable but semi-soft resin on a thin metal hoop earring. Can I brush or dip it on? Will epoxy or polyurethane resin do the job?

[@mfx1]

Aluminium foil doesn't insulate as it's an excellent conductor of heat so if anything it would help the mould cool quicker, not that it seemed to matter in this case. If you did want to insulate then glass fibre fabric (fire blanket) would be an easy/cheap option.

[@costa_marco]

You are right, however, it is not insulating the conduction heat. He is avoiding it from touching the mold too much. Aluminum is an excellent IR reflector. It redirects the radiated heat back to the mold. That is how these ultra-thin emergency heat blanket work.

[@mfx1]

@@costa_marco Space blankets are plastic (mylar) film covered in a VERY thin layer of aluminium so they are poor conductors of heat but also good reflectors. You can't compare the two.

[@costa_marco]

@@mfx1 Chemists will envolve an distillation apparatus in aluminum foil to improve the process. If your theory was correct, the apparatus would be colder when using the foil, making the distillation process even harder. Non moving air is a very good insulator. The comparison with the blanket is valid. The plastic from the blanket does almost nothing to avoid heat transfer by contact. It protects the user from air currents. You can try it yourself: heat 2 cups of water to the same temperature, keep one open and the other you envolve in a loosely ball of aluminum foil. Every minute, measure the water temperature on both cups and record them. Plot them and see which cools down first.

[@costa_marco]

@@mfx1 I think I understand your point. The key thing is to have the aluminum foil loosely bound to the mold. You must keep air pockets between the foil and the thing you want to isolate. Otherwise it will act more like a heatsink. Cheers.

[@dconkey1]

What temperature and for how did you pre-heat the mold?

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

OK, dumb question: I have a monopoly token broken off the base that was a one off in a limited special edition. I could cast it in resin and then cast it in pot metal I guess, but for my instance would it just be simpler to just try to solder it? I'm trying to make sure the piece isn't lost to me forever. So far, I haven't found it on eBay or various places. I've bought a few of similar editions, but none seem to have that token as part of the set. It's dumb - I don't need it. I'm just a little OCD - not having it bugs me. There are over thirty tokens, and poor design of the case allowed this piece to bounce around enough to break off the base. The metal is the same as any standard monopoly set (odd given it was a limited edition). I thought about making a complete resin set mold. If I go that far, I could have the same to use for the replacement piece - but working with metal isn't trivial. I guess I just need some insight - can a monopoly token be soldered (or just heated enough to reattach to a base)?

[@RobertTolone]

If it’s pewter it can be soldered.

[@Frogmobile52]

tHANKS but it would help if you could give us more details: Kind of alloy, casting temperature of the RTV etc...

[@geocraftsman]

I've been getting into metal casting at home myself. For the first step about heating up the mold, would it be tenable to use a heat gun?

[@kokodin5895]

i was always wondering about this process and did some castings for my model trains but each time i had voids forming on the surface and little details that never fully filled does heating the mold only make it hot or is it more for drying any moisture ? how much detail was lost in this casting , and how much metal shrinkage make it not qhite the oryginal?

[@E_Proxy]

Probably dumb question: my car keys shell got old and crumbled to pieces. Having one new made by Suzuki costs a lot and was thinking about casting one (never castel anything in my life). Resin seems the easier but i doubt it'd have the right resistance to traction (gonna break at first usage, unlike plastic). So i thought metal but aluminum requires sand molding that i guess are way beyond a newbie's skills. Could something like this be the solution? Also how Hot should the mold be? And what exactly is pot metal?

[@randolphchappel6098]

What temperature and how long when using your “ultra-modern autoclave?.

[@gotc81]

wow amazing content you have 😊

[@esurfrider7687]

I applied spray on release agent to my model before pouring the rubber, next day I opened the mold and had cure inhibition on the model, is this because the release agent reacted with the rubber and didn’t cure? I didn’t bother to wait for the release agent to dry before pouring. Also, maybe I don’t even need release agent on the mold, as silicone doesn’t really stick to much. I suppose I should try again without the release agent.. any thoughts?

[@en2oh]

What silicone rubber would you recommend for zmak or zinc metal?

[@DreamRex]

What is Pot metal is that the same as aluminum

[@donxgraphics]

I can safely say I have done this and it works with pewter, lead and alumunium 😎 silver, copper and gold won't pass the heat melts the silicone mould

[@leafsounds8263]

aluminum has a melting point of 660 degrees, please advise what silicone can I use?

[@donxgraphics]

@leafsounds8263 Hi 👋 I just normally used Platinum silicone mould and can withstand the heat it's quite costly though might want to try to rather make a mould of any silicone and fill it with wax then cast

[@camcutcnc]

Hi, What is the silicone called? Where do you purchase it ? Same questions for the metal ingot. Thank you !!

[@zero_to_1000]

What is pot metal

[@telluricscout]

what is 'pot metal' ?

[@deepsam7678]

can we cast brass in silicon mould??? *Please tell me important*

[@RobertTolone]

No, the melting temperature is too high.

[@MasonStoddard13]

Please live a long life

[@hemzatalha3008]

what is Pot metal???

[@tarstarkusz]

What do you mean by pot metal? That's a generic term. What kind of metal was it? Pewter?

[@h7opolo]

i wonder, too. pewter is probably a good guess.

[@RandiRain]

Wondering myself. I found this, "Technically, when the alloy contains anything other than tin, bismuth, silver, copper, or antimony, it is no longer pewter, but simply a pot metal."

[@_ClericalError_]

With a "Dremel" from Harbor Freight! ;)

[@larspetersen2688]

where to buy Pot metal?

[@josephb3147]

Rotometals is one place

[@GregAtlas]

I figured silicone could handle pewter, but I didn't know it can handle aluminum temperatures

[@ThePeterDislikeShow]

Instead of heating the mold you can also dry it by putting it in a plastic bag with a cup of calcium chloride.

[@Johnny5Toy]

What the hell is "pot metal"

[@kalan4787]

Pot metal is metal thrown into a pot and melted down. It's called "pot metal" because it is never a formulated alloy. It's just "scraps of this and scraps of that"

[@manisarakornsritipa4840]

Loveu

[@runin1wild149]

Holy micro it was so tiny I couldn’t figure out what it was….

[@christopherpardell4418]

Okay- you ALMOST did it right. Number one, your mold is upside down. You should place the cup upside down over the master and cut a hole on the bottom to fill it. Secondly, You should ONLY use cups that have SMOOTH tapers to their sidewalls, like a waxed paper cup you get a fast food drink in. Do Not use cups with ribs or flutes of any kind. Third, Make sure the cup is tall enough that you can cover the master without filling the entire volume of the cup. That is, leave at least 1/4” Unfilled. Then, In operating the mold, forget the string and the rubber bands. If the mold was poured into an upside down cup, then you can use ANY cup of the same kind as the mold ‘casing’ to hold the mold closed. You just poke a small air vent in the bottom of the cup, and dust its interior with a trace of talc, and then drop your mold back into the cup. TAP the cup on the table and the smooth tapered walls will allow the rubber mold to settle deeper into the cup by exactly the amount that the rubber shrank. The result will be the cut separation line closing perfectly and you will get NO flashing and NO visible separation lines in the casting. This works so well that you will not be limited by only cutting up one side of the mold. You can cut the mold into 2, 3 or 4 pieces if thats what makes it easiest to get the casting out or to vent it properly, and dropping it back into the cup will close every seam perfectly, every time.

[@PetertheGreatest1]

Thats not propane, that's map gas

[@levinebette15]

36 people already saw it before I did!

[@h7opolo]

lucky number 37

[@FranklyPeetoons]

It gives me a little heart attack when you cut almost blindly into a lump of silicon. The stresses of professional toy-making would be too much for me. I wish the GM cars of my youth didn't have door handles made of "pot metal". Back in the day I frequently drove around with coat hangers and other oddness hanging out of my car door handle holes to allow them to function as intended.

[@PropGuru702]

You can tune a piano.... But ya cant tuna fish

[@Jkauppa]

very holey

[@Jkauppa]

it got cast away

[@Jkauppa]

economania tho

[@radioactiveag2531]

I truly love your show. Bet youre an amazing granddad.