Casting Aluminium Bars from Scrap

[@Kamal_AL-Hinai]

i love how the aluminum cools down fast, unlike copper or brass, they bring the water to a boil. and no man, you're not just a regular scrapper, you're a teacher to us.

[@eacsixty2796]

There must be something about us scrappers. We love the look of nice clean stock. I melt down copper and aluminum ingots and just stack them to look at them until I sell them or take them in. Those kit kat looking ones are gorgeous.

[@anthonypoole6901]

I melt down here in the u.s. . Its typcally off my service scrap stuff from heating and air . I saw your other video on the big copper bars and what not. If you can make yourself a torch stand to keep the torch tip center of your molds. You raise it up a bit and it helps keep your molds hot while pouring, but what it will also do for you is give you these real nice ripples in the pour on the bar. Very clean looking and nice appearance. You had mentioned doing the art bars all the ripples turn oht differently too.

[@seanbaker2971]

eWaste Ben I think those are the prettiest aluminum ingots I've seen on KZbin congrats

[@BrandonFrancey]

Aluminum is very reactive to oxygen, so much so that it nearly instantly forms a bond with oxygen from the air creating aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide has a much higher melting point and is very hard. Fortunately it is also nearly impermeable to air. Any aluminum will form a skin of aluminum oxide that will prevent the rest of the aluminum from oxidizing. Those bars that were just poured already have a skin, so if you melt them down again you will still get even more dross. Less than what you got from the scrap as your bar has less surface area. This is why pop cans are generally considered a poor source of aluminum. A can is all surface area protecting very little pure aluminum.

[@eWasteBen]

Thanks for that

[@csachevauxsansabri2612]

+eWaste Ben sorry my phone is stupid i ment to say watched

[@bhuvanlal150]

do you know where to get good quality aluminium scrap globally. can i get their contact no

[@mirzaummanbaig5651]

Bhuvan Lal i can give good quality of aluminium scrap with the purity of 97% to 99 % contact me on my whatsapp number [phone]

[@ninefingermining8694]

Very informative thank you

[@mynytdiver9617]

thanks for this, just made me notice im heating up my alum way too much, those bars are awesome. respect from the USA

[@bantalee2002]

I sure have a hoot watching you have fun with that furnace/foundry. The Aluminum is no longer scrape,it is a product.

[@supiriornatural2]

Very pretty bars, I love the metal pours

[@jasonhall7617]

Lol I love that you had to touch on the American version of aluminum. As an American I 100% respect how other countries pronounce there language. I never understood why people get all bent over how people pronounce their native language. Much respect to you I actually like the way y’all pronounce it.

[@theaussienurseflipper.8113]

I find it weird how yanks say soldering. Sound like they having bum sex. Lol

[@thatoldbob7956]

Great show, no fuss just fact, love it. I need Ali bars for lathe work. I’d appreciate if you’d tell me where to buy that furnace you are using, really smart. Also the crucible too. You produced beautiful bars, nevet SAW any betér. Thanks for that enjoyable video, please keep it up. Thanks again. Old Bob

[@BillyBob-si2db]

Would you please tell me what make of ELECTRIC FURNACE you are using, where do they sell it? You only provide links to a a gas unit that you "recommend"?

[@ms.digitalpiggy9274]

I'm an American and honestly I think we say it wrong. Love your work Ben!

[@E-BikingAdventures]

I don't think so because the rest of the world has an accent and we don't so we must be pronouncing it the right way. I suppose we drive on the wrong side of the road too?

[@dontftkyourself]

How do you remove the impurities?

[@TechGorilla1987]

I'm a new subscriber from the United States and I friggin' LOVE your channel. That was a really good pour. I think the dross is just aluminium. :D

[@razorsneck6379]

Can that thing melt copper?

[@wadeking]

Amigo.....the furnace you recommend is different from the furnace you use, please please tell me why that is??? Thank you so much!!

[@mikespatola4242]

Hello ben my name is mike what is the best brand name furnace and crucible and moulds and are they avalible in canada i watch your videos religulously and sharing what you know is priceless and i am very grateful thanks a million

[@tanker0001213]

this is odd... I just got home from a aluminium foundrie. why am I compelled towatch this

[@johnstryker8619]

matt c maybe you tube was monitoring your location on your phone.

[@shaneyork300]

Can't wait to start pouring my own in 2019! Good work, Ben!

[@constantinejamon6149]

What material are those moulds made of?

[@brfisher1123]

Pretty cool how the aluminium was all nice and shiny while molten but became slightly dull once it solidified presumably due to the formation of aluminium oxide on the surface.

[@TheChrisPineWorkshop]

If your one mold is about 1 inch square by at east 6 inches thee would make great blanks for making a pen on the lathe. Yes a writing instrument pen. :)

[@StudyKiDukan2006]

At which temperature @pure aluminum powder and pure silicon powder @melts?? I have aluminum powder and pure silicon powder and they are not melted. How do I make melts. How can I make melts to use chemicals? plz tell me soon

[@MadAussieMatt]

Hey Ben, what happened to your crucible, it looks a bit worn on the top?

[@eWasteBen]

Yeah it's an old one that's done a lot of pours, it's probably half it's original thickness so a lot more fragile. you can see my fingers after touching it, graphite powder comes off it easily now. Still ok to use for lower temp's like the 700c I had it at, but it's risky because they can bust open when too thin and the metal leaks into the element, graphite crucibles need to be replaced after around 15 pours

[@MrJob91]

AussieMatt are they expensive? I believe it contracts when it cools down hence the dimpel

[@chris5589]

eWaste Ben

[@eWasteBen]

$15 ea

[@wjp6480]

Ben, you will see a little difference in that gooie layer on the surface when you melt sheet or extruded Au. Cast Au has a blend of other elements to aid in the casting process. Nickel or something I believe.

[@novabullions1514]

How much is this machine?

[@Kaaskop84]

Hey Ben I hope to have a set up for melting metals within 1 or 2 years. I was thinking about buying the same furnace as you are using but the ones I see on the internet dont seem to reach over 1100 degrees celsius. So maybe Im going to build my own gas torch oven or buy one from devilsforge as they arent that expensive and are very economical in gas use. Love your videos! P.s. I see that crucible is getting thinner. How much pours in total it will last?

[@eWasteBen]

they don't last lost when melting copper so when they wear out a bit too much I used them for aluminium which is much cooler. electric furnaces are only good for gold & silver, best to get the devil forge and a clay graphite crucible like a salamander, they last a long time with high heat

[@Kaaskop84]

@@eWasteBen thanks!

[@roman6563]

How you cleaning your crucible? Do you use new crucible every time you melt different metals?

[@eWasteBen]

Yes best to have a crucible for each metal

[@shayson1357]

you preheat the molds before hand ?

[@JaegerTheBaker]

I've grown used to and comfortable to how you say aluminum. I no longer dislike the way others say it.

[@FataIiti]

What sieze does the first one have?

[@danielwolfe8]

Wouldn't stirring Molton aluminum be a bad idea as you expose more to the air

[@cheezal2]

Looking into this myself,where did you purchase your furnace? and the ingot mold's?

[@carpentryfirst3048]

Awesome pours bro! Quick question for you when you have a moment. I found in the dial of a clothes dryer, a gold coloured circle snapped switch. I have seen a few times in switches where there is no silver contact and instead just the gold coloured and it's pressed up where the contacts would normally be. My question is, is it most likely just yellow brass or is it gold plated and that's why no silver contacts? Is yellow brass ever used instead of silver contacts for certain applications.? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[@eWasteBen]

I'd imagine it's brass but not totally sure without seeing it

[@bantalee2002]

Hi Ben: Bit off topic,but i hear the weather down under is burning hot. How has your area been?. We been having terrible weather here in the states. Tomorrow it is going to be 60 degrees Fahrenheit here in Wisconsin. It is unusual seeing those temps in February,usually around O degrees and is supposed to be one of our coldest months. Makes me wonder if the northern lats will see what you are getting.

[@eWasteBen]

It's normally the hottest time of year here and yeah there's been consistent hot days in a lot of Australia but we're actually ok down in Melb', 90's mostly but we've had some very hot nights, 90's all night

[@Andrew-sc7hm]

bantalee2002 I live in Wisconsin as well and it was 65 Fahrenheit, I loved it.

[@scotto-2085]

I love the videos! I'm in the process of making a gas pottery kiln. I'm hoping I will be able to melt batches of metal in it as well in time. If you ever make any more austalia bars I would love to buy one. Maybe some Al AU bars would pour well!

[@EatingCtrlV]

Wow what a bar for that first pour! Looks amazing!

[@samirbluewin]

How it works the ofen

[@RJM1011]

NICE bars well done I have a green house frame I cut up I might do the same with it. Thumbs up and thank you for the video. :)

[@Ixquick979]

12:00 Where would you sell it to get its real price instead of the price of scrap aluminium?

[@eWasteBen]

it's worth 20x more than scrap aluminium to me, the question could be.. Where could someone buy one if they wanted a poured aluminium bar?

[@kamprato6299]

ebay. i buy rod stock and flat bar for machining

[@Kamal_AL-Hinai]

i know right! before i started melting my own, i was searching everywhere for metal bars. they're fortune indeed.

[@wildysnow547]

What is your advice on chrome plated brass, was hoping to cast some old tap ware? will the chrome seperate from the brass into borax flux or burn off? Good job on aluminium. Cheers

[@eWasteBen]

probably not burn off but might rise to the top so you can skim it out with the molten borax. if not then maybe add some clean brass to dilute it down to next to nothing. the chrome plate is only very fine, usually plated over a layer of nickel

[@wildysnow547]

Thanks for that Ben, will let you know how i get on. When it cools down a bit the weather. will only be about 6 or 7 ounces for the first go.

[@pintsizegrfx]

Both bars look super cool -- nice job!

[@svenvermeulen5088]

When is a new video coming? Love your video's! They are so informative! Could u upload another video of your workshop and you picking up scrap , Just like your buisness video

[@Sebastian-lu8en]

Your first ingot its very beautiful, i like to see this ingot but in copper!!

[@benny5190]

my yard takes ali dross so your yard may too love the vids iv been getting some great pick ups since your advertising advice video do you re-sell cables i got boxes of cat5 internet, pc power cables, phone chargers and hundreds of vga cables i going to try sell them as a job lot hopefully

[@eWasteBen]

sometimes I do sell cable in box, vga etc are very common so they don't sell well

[@benny5190]

eWaste Ben i didn't think they sell well im hoping someone who just sells cables at boot sales or flea markets would be interested i cleared out a few offices recently in the canary wharf skyscraper which were my best pick ups so far and got hundreds and hundreds of vga and vci cables anything over scrap value would be a bonus because im making money off all the brand new still sealed monitors they gave me #score

[@massimilianoilardi3571]

Ciao cosa significa casting alluminio

[@brendamiller8140]

Canada does as well we do most thinks the same but we got rid of penny's also use metric instead of miles.

[@jmsiefer]

Awesome looking foundry! Did you make it? Or would I be able to find it online?

[@eWasteBen]

it's in the description

[@jmsiefer]

eWaste Ben Oops! My bad. Watching on phone, and didn't know where to click to see it. Thank you!

[@hucks33]

You are correct in how you say aluminium, why did the yanks change it? i'm english, we gave them our language?

[@dalekenyon1779]

Hey Ben, I've just bought one of the furnace units. I'm curious how many heats your getting out of your crucibles? are you measuring as you go? I assume it will be different for lower temp melts. cheers Dale

[@eWasteBen]

about 15 good pours on average, yes the hotter the temp and longer it goes the more wear to the crucible. Aluminium would last 50 or more pours, lead maybe 80 pours, the crucible I used here had a very high heat for almost 2 hours straight once, then other copper pours so it's almost shot, only good for a few more Aluminium pours now. too thin and it will bust open and leak metal into the element which will short the unit out

[@dalekenyon1779]

eWaste Ben , are you using anything specific to measure or can you visually tell as it becomes unusable. I may give it a test run today as the weather has calmed down, and did you or are you adding borax to the melt? thanks for taking the time

[@eWasteBen]

I didn't add borax to the aluminium, might try it next time. the crucible will just get thinner, for high heat about half the original thickness is about it, after that just use them for aluminium or lead.

[@dalekenyon1779]

eWaste Ben, Thanks mate cheers

[@jenniferbrewer5370]

Not sure why all this fascinates me, but it does.

[@badsantaclaus4522]

If you add a little pinch of salt it help to get more aluminum from the trash and try to find a corn bread cast iron pan that has a design it like corn cobs etc it may help to sell ingots

[@losinglouie]

Those turned out nice!

[@nicholasb6781]

where did you buy the ingot molds from

[@eWasteBen]

ebay

[@damnexory2751]

where did you get your graphite molds from?

[@eWasteBen]

on ebay, cheap from china

[@heartfang21]

Cast aluminium is less pure than extruded aluminium; cast aluminium will have anything from salts to copper added to help the copper flow into the mold/prevent voids and bubbles and such. extruded aluminium tends to be more pure since its put through a die with tons of pressure. you can extract more aluminium from dross by using stump removal powder (forget the chemical, look at makerj101 i think is the channel) during the melt. good video!

[@genewickersham4593]

Al loom in e um vs. Al loom in em. That first bar looks like a soap bar. It might be a great practical joke gift.

[@wnytrashtrucks]

looks like a KZbin sliver play button when it is done. So shinny

[@jammadturn]

When you are pouring these small bars hold the lit torch on the pour and in the mold as you pour, I think you will be pleased with the results. I have not been able to get the equipment to do it myself but I have seen it done, it makes some beatiful pours and sometimes some interesting patterns, just saying. Also, I enjoy your videos and don't care how you pronounce things, God's speed.

[@ScotsFurian]

Hey Ben, Do you play Skyrim by any chance ? Its a Role Playing Game on PC and X Box, not sure about the playstation. Anyway if you do you should see my home in Whiterun. Full of Ingots ! There is an enjoyment to collecting stuff. Perhaps its a little OCD but hey it is fun so who cares right ! I wish I had the space for a furnace.

[@servedarkness]

nice video - thanks for the linking of your equipment in the description!

[@FamAccNr1]

hey ben. grant thompson uses steel thongs to remove the slag on top. maybe it works for u

[@artonmysleevearton5538]

gd day ben, your lucky my friend, its minus 3 here in the uk, cant wait for summer to come, lol anyway i just thought i would say interesting video, i enjoyed it anyway, when you find out what that top stuff is would you let us all know. would like to smelt some metal my self, since your first video i watched, i have been stripping down computers laptops and servers but i still don't feel like there is enough. ive been stripping it down for 6 weeks and there does not seem like there is loads. my idea is to get the acid next and start refining to see how much cash there is for 6 week worth of work, so ive been collecting gold, aluminium , copper and mlcc's. i will let you know once i have followed the process and how much i get cash. any way thanks for the video ben, got to say i like the look of alloy, its so much prettier then gold. :)

[@simoncarrillo6975]

It is fantastic, great experiment, thanks to sharing us.

[@joshuabest100]

dross is the oxide layer from the aluminium oxidising from the air

[@badsantaclaus4522]

Nice bars love watching your videos

[@uncle_thulhu]

Use a steel slotted spoon. You can probably get one at Woolies. Assuming you haven't already done so, of course, since this video is nearly 2 years old...

[@djsndcx]

Hey Ben! The bar dimples in the middle because metal expands as it gets heated, so naturally it'll also shrink when cooling down.

[@gamingbros7149]

How much money was that Foundry

[@eWasteBen]

US$350

[@leshk256]

This is probably an alloy of aluminium and zinc, which is offen used for casting thin and difficult form parts

[@andromeda1892]

it looks like the bars are heavily contaminated with zinc

[@CADdictsServices]

other scrappers say this cast form in worth more for resale than just ally scrap

[@duncanhorne962]

Great vid, but I would definitely go with a 3-kilo furnace & maybe a smidge more heat, but each to their own/many thanks as stated, great video, & best wishes, P/S Aliminiom, we ain't In The STATES ffs, British & Proud to be so!♏

[@westieBrucedavidson]

i wpuld still use a sprinkle of borax mate

[@vanbemme]

great video Ben!!

[@ephraimt1]

Awesome bars mate.

[@brianchester4218]

Ben a silly question but how do you clean the cruicible to melt another metal?

[@judybeckner5623]

Thanks for sharing Ben

[@chrisharris5535]

Oxidised aluminium. best way to recover it is to put it in at 750C with 5gramms of iodised table salt (wrap it in a piece of aluminium foil and drop it in too.

[@silverchip7910]

I don't know but I'm pretty sure that's zinc.

[@fartcloud150]

Nice work 👍

[@iplbig]

copper is better tempreture conductive then aluminium the good heatsinks are copper they use aluminium becose it's cheapper

[@richardburgess5215]

Because not becose

[@MH-hj2jk]

Interesting fact, when Aluminium was first discovered it was valued higher than gold.

[@IsyeRyan]

I was just really confused until you said Aluminium is Aluminum :D

[@jnf2211]

Have I been saying aluminum wrong my whole life? Hahaha

[@westieBrucedavidson]

over here in new zealand that dross we sell as swarf still worth money but not as much

[@jammadturn]

Nice Bar.

[@fortunateson6070]

As far as I'm concerned American, English, and Australian are 3 slightly different languages. Kind of like spanish and portugese

[@sofknsad]

That is some sort of aluminium / zink mix.

[@E-BikingAdventures]

An aluminum kit kat and an aluminum little debbie snack cake. You should do something more healthy like an aluminum banana.

[@bmacAK47]

I'm American and I think aluminium sounds waaay cooler anyway! lol

[@tombenes4461]

2 your ? dross the USA calls that slag and 1000 degrees to melt alumna not 660

[@jeffseaton5193]

Tom Benes he did say 660 Celsius

[@thelynchmob385]

Toss a little "Mortons Salt" in with your melt.... Should pull a lot more aluminum out of the dross.

[@thelynchmob385]

Actually is best to do so when/if you were to remelt your dross

[@Dawt_Calm]

First bar looks like a bar of soap. Good times.

[@phillgoodall8838]

15:31. Hard chewin' I think

[@Stormyday-zg7iz]

Nice job for your first go, it's something I would like to do, yes Americans pronounce a lot of words wrong, the most annoying is Mischievous.

[@jennythesquirreltrainer4252]

Thanks Ben

[@caydentgmthegoldenminecart3583]

Sorry, I'm from America is what I meant to say but I am for America too! It kinda works out either way!

[@scottellis7618]

Hey Ben The bar is turned out great you are to keep the first couple for your own collection you should polish them up real nice with a nylon wheel and rousen i’m an American and I don’t mind the way you say Aluminium I think Americans are boring anyway LOL great job

[@chrisharris5535]

also dont ever mix borax into aluminium. its bad for aluminium and can cause bubbling. use table salt

[@tanker0001213]

oh and as a Canadian im fine with how you pronounce aluminum. but we also say ingit instead of ingot

[@ScotsFurian]

Shut it you uncooth bum and speak proper English as us educated chaps do in the UK. Like anyone would care about your opinion. ( Sniffs derisively) ;)

[@tanker0001213]

ouch my feelings... time to use that free health care :)

[@tanker0001213]

oh and if what I was hearing in bradford was proper english im scared

[@ScotsFurian]

;) LOL Just trolling you bud.