Making a Copper Ingot from Scrap Copper Wire

[@WisdomVendor1]

I have no idea why I find seeing molten metal poured into ingots so soothing.

[@verualcancer5988]

you are one of the few blacksmiths that keep things interesting

[@skarmex3439]

Who else would love to hang out with Ben while he makes ingots :)

[@Wysiwyg101]

Very nice video. Love that ingot. A couple of suggestions I would have are safety oriented. When polishing I would wear a glove on the hand holding the ingot being polished. The reason is because that wire brush could rotate right up your hand at some point and being barehanded you could lose some skin. Also, I would wear a clear face shield during that process. The reason is because sometimes those wires in the wire brush come loose and fly away at some pretty high speeds. That's one way to lose an eye.

[@simplifygardening]

A great little furnace Ben. been saving for one myself but very expensive in the uk. great video and nice pour

[@cvdo85]

$250-300 incl shipping on ebay so thats £200 ore something like that not a lot money i think

[@BillAC-]

I think you did a great job. Really love these kinds of videos and the excitement in your voice makes it better. Hopefully one day I'll be able to this myself. You got yourself one more subscriber.

[@angrygaming8377]

Bill C me too

[@DioWarriorsWeb]

Well, I liked this video. Hearing your enthusiasm got me enthusiastic as well. I'll be experimenting melting some metals in a few weeks so doing a bunch of research seeing what folks have done. Enjoyable video and informative.

[@phil_k777]

Excellent video. I’m scrapping copper now and plan to be doing this soon too. Very helpful and informative. Thanks!

[@stevenhorne1609]

Looks good. I like to use a bench grinder one side with a wire wheel to clean up my castings. the other side with a polishing wheel to shine. Love the videos keep um coming.

[@KevinThompson16180339]

The reason why the wire produces so much flame and smoke when you dump it into the hot crucible is that the wire is insulated with a polymer film insulation. If the wire were very pure and uninsulated, it wouldn't be shiny (oxidation) and it wouldn't flame up nearly as much (no polymer to burn off). They're insulated because the coil windings have to be isolated otherwise the current just shorts across the coil and doesn't set up that nice toroidal current to get the nice linear magnetic field.

[@bobby4sheds]

Kevin Thompson

[@krisztianszirtes5414]

What fell out at the end is called slag and not flux. Flux helps flow and degreases surface tension in water. Slag is leftover additives and oxides plus the starting crap that went in along with the metal

[@thealex2200]

Loved this vid, its nice to see someone so genuinely excited about this kind of thing

[@MrShekoexile]

brilliant, Ben! I just sold about 40lbs of 'bright and shiny' copper wire the other day at USD1.79/lb. painful to let it go. I'm next with the furnace. thanks for all you do - instruction and inspiration, shining brightly ...

[@sebastiangraham7773]

Great stuff, glad it worked. Went very well and amazing how quickly it all happened. Keep them coming and some more scrap tips too.

[@nejiki1]

Blacksmithing increased from level 1 to level 3

[@quagmier3]

Wow Ben that bar really came out nice. I like that naturally poured look that yours has so much better than the extruded look that some commercially made bars have. That is going to be a great way to build up a thousand pound stack or so. Copper is only a bit over 2 dollars a pound right now and I could easily see it going back up to 4 dollars a pound again in the next few years. Bars like the one you have though will go for more than just plain ugly copper though because of its pleasing look. I have always wondered how hard it would be to make a bar like that out of phone cable or some other low grade wire. Also if you had some small ugly brass pieces laying around it would be so fun to see it being turned into a nice ingot.

[@eWasteBen]

Thanks Scott, yeah I will be trying a brass pour soon.

[@SestoElemento93]

eWaste Ben Hi Ben, amazing bar! Could you provide some details as to what equipment you use? It would be much appreciated, cheers!

[@eWasteBen]

this is the main website for the furnace www.china-jiuchen.com/main.asp?pid=41&id=5

[@Jl4zio]

Its on fire because its enameled wire, its pure copper just coated with enamel.

[@ephraimt1]

GROUSE! I remember the first time I watched this, I was hooked. So much FUN!!!

[@wjp6480]

great job Ben. Exciting stuff

[@bantalee2002]

The Benjamin Mint. That is real cool Ben,you should get some kind of kickback from the company for doing a great job at advertising the product and showing what it can do and how easy it is to work with. I ordered one for my shop. Sometime during the fall of 2011 spot price for copper popped up to nearly $4.00 a pound. hang unto those bars. P.S I like your bench set up. I cringed when i seen you using the iron rod to tamp the copper into the crucible,.go to the hardware store and get a 1 1/2 inch wooden dowel x 16 inches long,depending what you prefer. I wouldn't want you to crush through your new one.

[@kalleklp7291]

Can't help to get a smile on my face, when I hear your enthusiasm in your voice. Nice job..! I'm in the progress of building a furnace myself, it won't be electric and not so good looking as your setup, but it'll work. What kind of flux did you use, if any?

[@eWasteBen]

I just use borax

[@multidimensionalexploratio3985]

Beautiful! This was a lot of fun to watch and I even learned a thing or two. Thanks for posting!

[@mrtrains7274]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR NAMING THE DISTRIBUTER

[@SomervilleBob]

You can make a simple mold in sand to pour the metal into. Make a wood frame, press a design in and pour. There are youtube videos on how to prepare the sand.

[@keiji1531]

agree with that but need to be clean when pouring the molten copper on homemade mold there's sand stick on the copper ingot so needs to be clean as well

[@GF_Burke]

Nice pour man. I love pouring brass the best. I think my fav things are cleaning the slag off and pouring lol! The lady and I go to the gun range, in about 20min using classifiers, we pull about 50lbs lead, 3lbs copper, 3lbs brass. Just built a new waste oil foundry. She is ready for a test tonight.

[@eWasteBen]

awesome, waste oil is fantastic. good luck and keep safe

[@metaldetectingwiththesilva8311]

Sweet video Ben, nice job mate!

[@Coruphius]

Awesome work mate! Always wanted to melt some metals :)

[@uberism81]

Cool! You need to get a nice personalized stamp for next time.

[@ericwazner6521]

Money!!! Love it! just got my Little furnace and cant wait to make my first Copper Bar!!!

[@oscarnuno2168]

awesome video. love the accent and the way you did the video. keep it up!!

[@ericlaplante8339]

Hey Ben, its probably been said already but weight your copper before you melt it. You can get quite accurate final weights. Congrats and welcome to the ingot club!!

[@JohnnySwedishScrapper]

how long did it take to melt the copper before you could pour it

[@knglaser]

you can use diluted sulfuric acid to get rid of the oxides and borax/flux

[@sammy5576]

the "impurities" is the thin vanish insulator coating on the wire

[@Luci4_]

Samuel Wilson fdvdf

[@Alrik.]

Haha I'm glad you're so happy about making these, looking forward to all your other smelting videos!

[@renosralphprospecting138]

You might wanna use a scotchbrite or another brush to clean it. Bronze brushs usually just cover, not clean.

[@7wy573D]

try using a vice with wood slats on both sides to hold tightly without damaging the ingot. makes polishing easier and safer.

[@MrJob91]

Really really cool video!

[@DioWarriorsWeb]

Wow! That came out very nice.

[@herpderpnoob]

Great Pour Ben, Keep it coming :D

[@karlp5007]

Awesome work mate ! Thanks for the video !

[@JKPound]

the brass wire wheel makes it look like gold

[@brando3164]

Nice video you can weigh up the copper before you melt it. Every pound of copper go one ounce over should give you what you want each time in weight. Thank you for the video best wishes

[@flacoral]

Watch Rick Gunter making copper sheets out of tubing and he has a wash that he calls "pickling" and it takes the oxidation off of it. Might save you some polishing.

[@jepeo1]

I know you were all excited and I would be too. But safty first sir. always wear gloves and eye potection when working.

[@randomgaming5240]

how much does a machine cost where'd you get it at

[@jacekatzung7499]

I recommend that for it to cool quicker leave the crucible out of the forge

[@disposophobic]

Great job! It came out beautiful. I always see people dump the TVs in like alleys and stuff instead of using e-waste to recycle. Now I'm going to bring a little power screw driver with me. Wow, thanks for all the info!

[@mikekarrie3412]

hey Ben next visit you should smelt some mlccs and have the ingot tested at the scrap yard like you did the gold foils

[@17hmr243]

try hammering the wire to make it more condense

[@SEEVCar]

If you mix by weight 11% aluminium and 89% copper you get a really nice golden colour Aluminium Bronze.

[@ba2hln14]

tip: use the mold itself as a crucible so you can get the ingot in a perfect shape

[@asiaancient3547]

Coool furnace How can I buy? And How much?

[@flametongu]

Nice furnace

[@destroya3303]

With all that graphite dust coming out at the end, how can you be sure this didn't end up inside that copper?

[@Persian_Rug_Merchant]

A mighty little fine copper ingot!

[@wetwriterrr]

I have a mix of mostly copper and some brass bullet casing which I melted out the lead centers. Since brass melts at lower temperature will I be able to pour off, leaving only the copper solids. I have no experience in melting high temp metals, and can't bear throwing this metal out.

[@eddiesedgewig1699]

I love watching copper melt. Have you ever watched Heinrichs Made? He does this all the time.

[@JoshuaEarlEmery]

Awesome video! Thank you so much for sharing .

[@T0R4HB0y]

Awesome! Great video and Melting!

[@griffon3275]

that appears to be a : Kerr 3 Kg, 120 VOLT US Automatic Electro-Melt Maxi Furnace and according to the manufacturer is not recommended for melting copper as it will damage inner core any update on how long this lasted ?

[@eWasteBen]

the link to the furnace is in the description, works good.

[@torchandhammer]

Oh man, you're going to need a special shrine to stack all those copper bars, with seductive mood lighting to reveal the burnished sheen of the copper.

[@mman454]

Just a warning for anyone trying this, although you do heat up your mold to prevent the hot metal popping (steam explosion), you still need to remember that what you have your mold on may also hold water (cinder blocks, concrete, etc). So while your mold may not "pop" the concrete can if you spill or if the mold cracks.

[@DIESELMAN8V92]

kick ass :) what kind of furnace is that and what is the voltage? and how much does it cost?

[@eWasteBen]

link is in the description

[@Kaaskop84]

A beautiful clean bar Ben! Enjoyed it a lot!

[@CricketyChris]

how about pouring on your scale to make the ingots uniform in weight? I would definitely have some sort of insulator in-between your scale and the mold to protect your scale but should work right?

[@jessenorris1672]

hi Ben could you take it and have it tested and post you purity?

[@QarbitraryQ]

Hey ben you can always weigh it before you put it in.

[@opdestroyer937]

That look's amazing

[@mikewest9033]

how do you plan to clean the black stuff off what is that the impurities

[@spectre4421]

dude where did you buy ur furnace?

[@eWasteBen]

www.china-jiuchen.com/main.asp?pid=41&id=5

[@uncle_thulhu]

Looks like a chocolate bar that's bloomed a little. I haven't heard anyone describe anything as "grouse" in years. Thanks for that.

[@mindofmetal]

Nice Ben,always fun to see what your up to :-)

[@RoomiesGarage]

loved the entertainment ..that was awesom....thanks

[@heading7593]

Either way great video. Like your voice it defiantly makes the video better.

[@derickmitchell5521]

how much does that lil furnace cost and who sells them?

[@eWasteBen]

link is in the description

[@MajesticPanda1]

You should try mixing 2 metals together like silver and copper and see what happens. I haven't found anybody on KZbin who has done that yet

[@nighthawk759]

Toxic sterling silver : 92.5 % silver 7.5 % copper .....

[@sirpugsalot6113]

Where did you get the foundry because I really want one

[@TheNintendobomb]

I was gonna say the same question

[@matto505]

TheNintendobomb me too

[@eWasteBen]

link of the manufacturer the video description, you probably need to email them

[@matto505]

eWaste Ben thanks

[@matto505]

eWaste Ben I love your videos

[@Mycobob]

The link to the furnace isn't working for me mate.

[@eWasteBen]

Try it now, or copy & paste into your browser

[@chrisharris5535]

Little help for you and keeping your crucible for a long time. get a circular Bunsen burner stand/tripod from ebay and when your done, instead of putting crucible back in the forge, slide it into the Bunsen stand, cools way quicker and sits perfectly.

[@strangelyfamiliar1729]

I didnt scroll through all the comments but did look for a bit and didnt find a reply or response to questions re. the price of the smelter in this vid'. I dont think i'd buy one personally, cheaper to build one i imagine, just curious, how much for the melty thing there? Checked 'Description' after my comment/question and found link for furnace there. Thnx!

[@gpcaraudio]

What's up man, where did you get your furnace from? that seems to be a nice all in one unit

[@ghiblinerd6196]

Forgive my ignorance; why go through the trouble of making these ingots and how did you get so much copper wire from TVs? Were they old SD TVs?

[@eWasteBen]

Because it's fun and I like ingots, yes, old tv's you can find free

[@tinyzoo]

Love your enthusiasm!

[@steve3964]

Where does the borax go? Do you worry that it will go into the ingot, or does it stay on the surface of the ingot? Will it buff out?

[@eWasteBen]

Borax just at the end to lift out any inpurities, it forms on top like glass, it just break off

[@steve3964]

@@eWasteBen yes that's what will happen in the crucible, but are you skimming the top to pick up the dross?

[@LoneDeathWolf]

With those temperatures that thing will be hot for another 8~12 hours. I'm curious as to why you think it's best to let it cool between pours, if anything it will degrade the crucible even faster. The crucible is a consumable, it will only last so long. Smelt and pour to your hearts content before the crucible breaks. Keep the bar form on those cinderblocks, they can take the heat. The grime on your table probably cannot, and might even ignite if there is oil or something combustable around. Could you link me where you got the furnace? I'm interested because my propane burner cannot reach temperatures high enough to smelt copper. Take some of my comments with a grain of salt, as I'm still a beginner at this aswell. Anyway I've rambled on long enough, thank you for the great video and keep up the good work.

[@eWasteBen]

I appreciate you advice, main issue with continuous melting is the heating element on these types of furnaces, they can burn out when heated for too long I was told. www.china-jiuchen.com/main.asp?pid=41&id=5

[@LoneDeathWolf]

I didn't think about the heating elements, I was certain you meant that the crucibles would burn out. Excuse my ignorance. Thank you for the link.

[@shalala4571]

Where can i get a hold of one of those furnaces?

[@Mr316red]

e-bay they not cheap £300 plus

[@shalala4571]

Oh damn, nevermind then xD

[@fourteencrows1244]

build your own.

[@themyceliumnetwork]

great channel ben !! do you have any videos with your methods of refining gold ? or do you sell all your sorted parts and pieces....

[@eWasteBen]

I sort and save gold recovery stuff until I have enough to refine one day

[@themyceliumnetwork]

going big, that's good. saves on costs & waste liquids. looking forward to seeing the shiny totals one day

[@brendone171]

I'm impressed with your furnace and a nice bit of copper, did you say that a lot of the fine stuff that came out of your crucible was the graphite from it intriguing hey anyway very nice job from your first attempt I'm not buying a furnace but going to try and make one but hey you done well keep doing and you'll become a master at it

[@eWasteBen]

Think it was partial graphite and carbon, from what i've been told, the more air contamination the more carbon produced, so I need to keep the lid closed when cooling down.

[@brendone171]

ok I'm with ya, Geez that will take a while as it was still pretty hot even after what was it 15 minutes as you said one a day

[@marcusmckenzie9528]

Ben just a quick question if I may, for you or anybody else who might know, if i smelt tinned copper down into ingots, will the tin taint the copper ingots? and if so is there anything i could do to separate the tin from the copper?

[@eWasteBen]

it might depend on how much tin, bronze is 88% copper, 12% tin but most likely tinned copper is much lower. so it might just mix in and not be noticed, I will try it one day with tinned copper wire and see what happens

[@mauriliozamora6627]

That's a nice looking bar Ben !

[@leandrozacovichi5537]

great video, it was fun

[@Veso266]

how much was the furnace and crusable and where did you get them?

[@cameraman1234567890]

how much could you even get selling one of those bars after melting the wire? Is there a big increase in value towards melting things to recycle them into ingots then selling them?

[@Blackridge.]

Americans: Copper Uk: Coppeu Aussies: CoPa !

[@nuttychickenman]

I’m just the uk and we don’t say it like that wtf? When do Americans ever say anything the right way 😂

[@CubicCreator136]

its actually Americans: Ceeaapper Canadians: Copper

[@Heneling]

@@nuttychickenman aloominum 😂

[@mikewest9033]

you should try mixing gold an silver or something different that will be cool

[@VicsYard]

That's really cool.

[@jonashjelle]

Thanks for filming this, Nice hobby :)

[@robertveronda4225]

great video! next time weigh the copper wire first and then after the poor, would be interested in the difference [ impurities] that is actually in the wire.

[@dr.s.o.k.7259]

Just curious... I am interested in melting copper, you show and state that your melting at 1160 Celsius, however the link to the Small Melting Furnace only goes to 1150.

[@eWasteBen]

you can re-set the furnace, mine is set to 1165 max