Making a Brass Ingot from Scrap

[@firesurfer]

Use a cement block or brick about 3x the height of the mold to steady the tail of the crucible in order to better control the speed of the pour. You can also make a swing for the crucible to really do a neat job.

[@E-BikingAdventures]

One of the most important properties of copper is its ability to fight bacteria. After extensive antimicrobial testing by the Environmental Protection Agency, it was found that 355 copper alloys, including many brasses, were found to kill more than 99.9% of bacteria within two hours of contact. Normal tarnishing was found not to impair antimicrobial effectiveness.

[@bantalee2002]

That's is real good for a first pour with brass. As a wise one once said "practice makes perfect".

[@DominicUbble]

The relatively low melting point of brass (900 to 940 °C, 1,650 to 1,720 °F, depending on composition) and its flow characteristics make it a relatively easy material to cast. By varying the proportions of copper and zinc, the properties of the brass can be changed, allowing hard and soft brasses.

[@jaytalon6075]

Great video. I love smelting metals. I don't know why, it's even fun to watch other people do it. Strange addiction material maybe? lol

[@MSApeace]

Me too. I'm currently building a smelter working with coal i'll probably make a video out of it.

[@colegutteridge5730]

Im building what with you ? xD

[@MSApeace]

Sorry bad english. Corrected it. thanks :)

[@yeetman4953]

jay thiest11 it's probably from our ancestors since they did a lot of casting

[@BlueDevils123]

jay thiest11 same

[@moosescrapper5928]

Love it!!! I REALLY want a furnace now

[@ReasonAboveEverything]

Moose Scrapper One used in the video goes around 500 euros.

[@MrNigel1340]

Interesting video thanks Ben, contemplating smelting brass for steam model manufacturing, would be interesting to see a cross section of one of your brass bars.

[@ernestpetzrick7741]

Can't wait for your 1 K gold bar!!!!

[@Screamingtut]

Brass = Copper & Zinc, Bronze = Copper & Tin

[@keytefirerefining1355]

Not always just that other stuff can be added often

[@coffeebuzzz]

@@keytefirerefining1355 Yes always. Thats what the words mean. There are different metals added to both bronze and brass to achieve different properties but brass is primarily copper and zinc and bronze is primarily copper and tin.

[@bgdavid228]

try skimming the top layer before you pour. love the vids..

[@sothisisamerica2]

love watching bar pours. look forward to more.

[@ephraimt1]

Can't wait for a new melt n pour video mate!

[@TheLovelyChris]

I would love a video of you showing off your precious metals stack!

[@garretthole1033]

I've learned when polishing to put the drill in a vice and that way you can have better control

[@FamAccNr1]

Hi Brass-bar, i love how your Ben turned out.!

[@stevenmccallion3676]

Love the videos. Keep them coming. Planning on getting that furnace soon.

[@ertyderty7]

The trick with getting a good brass pour is to not over heat it and it has to be within a certain temperature range while you pour it.

[@jeremyjames83]

You should run this with a power meter inline of the forge to see what the consumption is. Just to get an accurate look at total cost.

[@roberthargrove3770]

You shouldn't turn the heat off until you're done poring it into the mold and you should rig up a stand to hold your torch for the mold. I love your videos you inspired me I will soon be doing the same.

[@simplifygardening]

Ben you dropped a screw or something when u emptied the scales originally with the big busbar. when you cut back showing it all in the crusable it was still on the pile. you may have gotten the kilo if that was in. great video though mate

[@eWasteBen]

oh bugger, that must of been it :)

[@marytheodosis]

I love your videos. The information is golden.

[@hotkey180]

G'day eWaste Ben great video Ben i'm starting to get stuff together just the basics to see if i do want to do this sort of stuff. And i hope you see this like just the basics i have all the main things not all! i don't no to go with gas or. TRY wast oil and make it work to save a bit of money as you no being Australia not cheap to go out and bey all this stuff new then you don't like it. but i think i will it would only be copper and alloy or aluminium i come across stuff like that a bit.

[@RoeMantic]

Freaking beautiful bar my friend! Mine are way smaller till I order a bigger furnace!

[@piperdoug428]

Hey bud, greetings from the Prairies, I've noticed in videos from foundries that pour high value ingots they have flames blowing across the moulds as they pour, it seems if you remove the oxygen at the point of pour you don't have the issue of oxidizing that causes the dribble at the end. Love watching yer vids while I sit at my sort table.

[@Kaaskop84]

It's not only flaming when too hot but you can see fluffy white stuff coming off too. VERY TOXIC!! wear a respirator next time. Enjoyed this pour again!

[@keytefirerefining1355]

Best time to add borax is when its melted because by the time it's starting to melt the borax will have burned off so wouldnt help. Also borax will eat graphite when cold so the crucible wont last as long. When hot borax wont eat the graphite

[@eatiegourmet1015]

Did I read you say in one comment that you wouldn't do anymore brass ingots? I wish you would. Brass and copper ingots are something I'd like to get into when I retire next year.

[@jackparlee6748]

Hey, I was wondering where you bought your furnace

[@stealthop]

What furnace is that ?

[@MetallicEnderman]

6:40 may i ask what the point of heating the bar up before placing into the smelter is? Total noob here, what would otherwise happen if you didn't heat it prior?

[@eWasteBen]

mostly to remove moisture which adds hydrogen to the copper and will pop when adding, like a small explosion.

[@mpetrus100]

One thing I do when I pour is to shake the mold right after pouring to get some air bubbles out.

[@torchandhammer]

Here comes a new channel: "Will it Smelt?"

[@karlchipak643]

Hello. Borex goes in once the metal is melted.

[@darkstar7897]

The white stuff you are referring to is zinc oxide and is VERY TOXIC. You should always wear a respirator when melting brass

[@ΠαναγιωτηςΣαριδακης-ω8ν]

how much does such a device cost? and where can one get it? Thanks in advance.

[@saffosscrapping9865]

Does anyone know what coating is on the power plug tips that look silver? I have double checked and inside they are definitely brass, but it seems to have some sort of silver looking coating that I am unsure of? I currently have these mixed with my pure brass, should I seperate them for when I go to melt?

[@ΠαναγιωτηςΣαριδακης-ω8ν]

WELL DONE IF IT COMES INTO THE GOLDEN MACHINE IN SKONI, WILL IT TAKE IT CROSS OR IN RAVDO? THANK YOU FOR THE FIRST AND GOOD CONTINUATION

[@thebigkenny5575]

You can always melt it down and redo it if you don't like the look of it

[@MH-hj2jk]

Reminds me of bars the English stole from the Spanish back in the 16th and 17th centuries looks like the real thing.

[@ccsportsdad]

Not bad for a first time with the brass, and you almost got the 1 kilo :) What about coated brass, how do you think that would work as well as the uncoated brass? Great video Ben, if I didn't have to travel in January, I may already own a furnace ;)

[@eWasteBen]

not sure about how coated brass will go, I will be trying it to see what happens

[@Bronymago]

you should heat mold in oven to prevent roughness after filling it with liquid metal

[@firstlast-qy6xn]

im going to buy such a furnace too but now i wondered how to clean the crucible after using

[@firstlast-qy6xn]

and what do you use to polish?

[@eWasteBen]

the crucible is graphite, anything that sticks when hot comes off when cool. lot's of polishing wheels available at hardware stores, wire, stone, pastes.

[@harperjmichael]

Last I remember when melting brass it's a good idea to add some crushed brown glass to act as a flux.

[@thealex2200]

Subbed, looking forward to the gold ingot one day :)

[@jamieround2072]

ok i'm way new to all this... so teach me whats the borex do to the differant sort's of brass... when melting it down.....??

[@eWasteBen]

Borax or flux does a few things, mostly it helps remove impurities, after pouring the borax forms on top of the metal in glass form holding the rubbish within, so you just chip it off, it also has more technical advantages that i'm not qualified to answer

[@rezwarrior615]

You want to clean the slag while it's in the pot just scoop out the top layer it should almost seem sluggish and if you really want clean poors you gotta buy a bell not sure what the actual name is but it gets all the air out of the pot

[@ernestpetzrick7741]

Another great vid Ben - thanks

[@xdebugxDotNet]

Nice bars Ben! Do scappers get more money at the scrap yards for large chunks of metals like ingots than they do for the bits and pieces you started with?

[@eWasteBen]

no same, but people who want to stack bars will pay more, but mostly copper, not brass, this is just for my personal stack

[@xdebugxDotNet]

I've heard people talk about number 1 or number 2 copper. www.southernmetals.com/quick-tip-whats-the-difference-between-copper-1-and-copper-2/ If you melted down small wires and dirty copper #2, into ingots could you get number 1 for it?

[@eWasteBen]

depends on the yard but wire is #1 already and ingots are #2, it's only when you have dirty wire that's classed as burnt or laquered, when melting you melt that off so it becomes #2

[@vitezslavrozum]

The white thing on the mold is burned zinc.

[@eatiegourmet1015]

How do you keep that crucible so clean?!

[@17hmr243]

Q&A if u left it in the crucible that u heat it in will it shrink and come out round ?

[@eWasteBen]

Yep it usually does shrink enough to slide out when cool, sometimes though, borax can make it stick so i'd only do it with clean metal and no borax

[@iamhull723]

What melter you got

[@TheGamersOfAuz]

Ben, how do you get such good plug prongs I can only try and pry them out but they usually end up breaking off half way

[@alvaliable]

why only bronze emits vapors

[@edamamebiru3960]

Dear Sir, I was looking on ebay about the same furnace you got. I saw some at 400 euro, some at 150. The blue one is apparently not sold anymore. Can you advice about the right price?! Thank you! 🙂

[@PNat_GAMING]

What's the name of the foundry

[@shaunyshaun86]

Bigstack D is the youtuber you want to look at mate! He always scoops out the schlag at the top of the crucibal before pouring the ingot and as well

[@biggkidd71]

Love your videos! What are you bar moulds made of? Did you ever get a large copper pancake to work?

[@eWasteBen]

moulds are graphite

[@dwightgordon9354]

So, my scrap yard told me that even the white prongs from electrical plugs are brass, just not yellow. Is there a reason not to melt them together?

[@eWasteBen]

not really, I did it to keep it all yellow brass, brass can have different metals mixed in with the copper.

[@intjonmiller]

A silver-looking coating on brass is usually nickel. A small amount of nickel in brass or bronze is not only acceptable but desirable.

[@brandonwebb7670]

ever tried dipping the graphite into some water?

[@eWasteBen]

no, water & graphite don't mix

[@eatiegourmet1015]

Brandon: To what end? You looking for an explosion?!

[@andrewfield4072]

Anyone know how pure bullet casings tend to be? I live about 15 minutes from an outside gun range and I was thinking of smelting the damaged (or useless to me) brass.

[@thebigbadax9052]

Andrew Field the brass ones are somewhat pure but you have primers and burned powder in it so you may have some slag

[@theallroundcraftsman8959]

Shouldnt u add (flux?) and remove slag from the crucible before u pour ???

[@eatiegourmet1015]

Borax IS the flux.

[@uncledazz6817]

nice video Ben. if the furnace breaks can you just replace the wire? if so how do u do so and what do i buy. also, where do you find all this stuff? scrapyards?

[@eWasteBen]

yes the element slides out, it's one complete unit with the insulating walls, costs around $100 to replace though but they shouldn't burn out like the other style on ebay. where do I find what stuff?

[@uncledazz6817]

ohhh right i get you. thanks a lot for that. i was actually going to get an ebay one haha i guess thats a bad idea then? im from the UK myself so not too sure where else i would find one. and i mean all the things you melt down like the brass and copper heat sinks, tv's etc

[@eWasteBen]

best to get one from the US suppliers, they have better models. my latest video explains how i get stuff

[@uncledazz6817]

eWaste Ben ok thanks a lot man, will check it out right now :)

[@SomervilleBob]

Some of the white stuff is from the zinc. Try bronze next time. Cleaner than brass.

[@thecrudelab3204]

oh boy, must be a heck of a mess cleaning off that zinc oxide

[@DominicUbble]

Melting brass? The Dad One wrote: All molten metals are dangerous that way. Brass has the added problem that if you overheat it it'll give off zinc oxide fumes, which can cause metal fume fever.Sep 17, 2011

[@RevoltNationYTGaming]

the yellow stuff was zinc thats boiled off

[@ZetaDaemon]

I got a question mate, what type of crucible are you using and where did you get it?

[@eWasteBen]

3kg graphite crucible. on ebay

[@rubencanas4230]

The reason it was lighter was the zinc that turned into the white smoke

[@SimParadox]

Why didn't you look up the melting point of brass?

[@eWasteBen]

need to be hotter to pour because it cools quickly

Cool

[@jr-a-cat]

looks like the scrap yard gave you a hard time with small parts, way to go

[@Brammage]

Where did you get your furnace/forge? How much was it?

[@eWasteBen]

wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/220V-3KG-JC-Vertical-Type-Small_60542219696.html

[@Brammage]

Thanks! Appreciated! Happy and safe melting sir!

[@DiverCTH]

OK, I've been binging on your videos and I just have to ask: WHY ON EARTH do your supermarkets sell borax as in such small quantities? I'll admit that we have a large deposit here in the States, but I've never seen it sold in anything less than 4 LBS (1.8 Kilos)

[@johnbates9467]

I melt brass a few times and found that it has magnesium in it that cause the yellow powder smoke. Nasty stuff

[@zachamy4444]

when are you going to melt the gold from the fail attempt .

[@zachamy4444]

995 grams better luck next time

[@MSApeace]

How much can a smelter like this cost ?

[@eWasteBen]

500 bucks

[@intjonmiller]

That's Australian, right? Your furnace is listed a little under $400 USD.

[@eWasteBen]

were is it listed for under 400us?

[@glueandsparks]

I found several sites when I searched for it with the JC 220V model number from your link. Now that I look closer it seems you can get it closer to $350 USD. Not sure what the shipping charge is since I don't have an Alibaba account, but they're HUGE so I doubt it is unreasonable. Minimum order is one unit. wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/220V-3KG-JC-Vertical-Type-Small_60542219696.html

[@eWasteBen]

excellent research G&S, thanks, I might get a second unit next year

[@keiji1531]

can you smelt aluminium next?

[@eWasteBen]

aluminium is very cheap and not worth doing in this furnace because you can't fit much in.

[@keiji1531]

Ok...hmmm.... iron?

[@mrgreenswelding2853]

where do you get the borax from?

[@eWasteBen]

grocery store

[@mrgreenswelding2853]

eWaste Ben thanks!! wasnt sure. i was hoping mapp gas would melt copper but not really

[@shaneyork300]

👍👍

[@brando3164]

Nice video:)

[@hucks33]

Ben, I think you should wear face protection just in case that explodes.

[@Moto_Pete]

Better yet I think he should just leave it to people who actually know what they're doing, in an environment designed for the purpose. I've no doubt all the folks out there home-brewing ingots will all die early deaths. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should...

[@skaciupl]

sup nigga, great video you made there

[@MrJob91]

Wow Another forging video!!! nice!!!!

[@xmodalloy]

Brass sucks to cast. I've done it (have a video on my channel) but I don't like it. The only way to get it to turn out nice is to get it hotter than zinc's ignition temp. The white zinc oxide smoke is also toxic...

[@rogers491]

Make sure u wear a mask brother, brass releases some harsh chemicals

[@ericwazner6521]

👍 brass🔥👊

[@ponkiebonk]

turn a cone on it's head bum up, then pour it down the cone cruicble

[@thepakgamer6866]

9:48 see the face on the ingot? xD

[@farisfaris7177]

Super Sir

[@scrapwomblecreatives6944]

900 to 940 °C, = brass

[@myst5454]

with the powder on it, it looks like rancid butter

[@joestewart7487]

dang dude put some gloves on. that wire brush will shred your finger

[@DungLe-yi4ld]

đẹp thật

[@terminator572]

Dung Le holy crap how you pronounce that?

[@Mr316red]

Ben check your facebook

[@umairahmed1601]

Hello sir us mashani

[@smallcnclathes]

Why are you taking sellable scrap and melting it, it is still scrap and you used energy to create the ingot. Price difference between swarf and solids may make it worthwhile to melt down swarf, but the solids? Polishing an ingot? Why? It is scrap!

[@massimilianoilardi3571]

Ciao che oro e

[@massimilianoilardi3571]

Quanti karati sono

[@Justinbeehoney]

Brass it out

[@DarkPlayz_Gaming.]

hahaahha funny voice