Making my first Bronze bar, Mixing Copper and Tin

[@tonysimons4883]

Thanks for taking the time to make this and sharing it, I'm just getting interested in this myself. I will say just this though *my kids roll their eyes! the mould for a 1kg ingot of gold wont be big enough to hold 1kg of a lesser weighing metal unless it is oversized. Keep up the good work buddy

[@johndilsaver8409]

I enjoyed watching this, thanks for posting.

[@ralphmourik]

Thanks for watching and commenting. And happy New Year! 👍👊

[@arnoldlayne252]

It's really cool watching that process, I only ever read about it

[@YouCoontsSeeMe]

A nice bronze bar Ralph! Id say your dumpster drill polished it up nicely.

[@ralphmourik]

Hey Coonts! Thanks for watching, I was really surprised when I found the drill, even more surprised when I found out it works. It will be in a future dumpster diving video. 👍👊

[@alfredmolison7134]

It does look beautiful. Thank you for your video.

[@Freeisbetter86]

👍 Cool Bronze Bar 👍 I Think it looks cool when its not mirrored just rustic like that

[@sharkscrapper]

A very interesting melt - thank you for taking us along today.

[@lightfeather6238]

I enjoyed your video from start to finish nice work

[@weremouseworkshop8206]

Nice bar Ralph and great video, I'm still working on my foundry amongst other projects but hope to have it up and running soon👍

[@Moonstruck_Diva]

This was so fun to watch! I got this copper necklace and we started talking about things, and then he started talking about bronze and how it was made. Than we found you LOL! Thanks!

[@ralphmourik]

Thanks for watching and commenting, bronze is a very nice alloy to cast with 👍

[@MichaelAndKayla]

Great outcome.

[@ralphmourik]

It's OVER 9000!!!!!!!

[@kapitanleutnant1]

That video is gonna be a great guide to my project with homemade cast bronze figures of the Star Wars characters

[@ralphmourik]

That sounds awesome! I'll keep a lookout for that 👍👊

[@kapitanleutnant1]

@@ralphmourik I’ll have to save up to be able to buy what I need first, like a piggy bank

[@tobiakinola2472]

Thank you, this helped a lot with my science presentation about making bronze!

[@ralphmourik]

You are very welcome, and thanks for watching👍I also have a video of what I make from this bronze bar, have a look if you are interested 😁

[@UKscrapper]

Nice job looks like a gold bar

[@ralphmourik]

When I do Aluminium Bronze you will see it looks even more like gold 👍

[@UKscrapper]

@@ralphmourik can't wait

[@avatagx9082]

50% 50% Gold

[@alfredmolison7134]

Be prepared to scrape of the slag/impurities. Other people sprinkle their mix with borax to create slag for removal.

[@gingesmagnets6554]

You are cool bud keep it up and I like you videos

[@MohammedMusa-w7k]

Now I know what is bronze exactly.... Thank you

[@ScrappingIrish]

great video ralph turned out well

[@AliMackMechanical]

Don't want no more exploding bronze lol.😂😂 allways good to see you melting. Ralph Ingots 👌

[@scrapman502]

5:47. That "slag" as you call it is pretty nasty stuff. When I melt that coated wire in my furnace, the coating doesn't always rise to the surface. Sometimes it creates pockets under the molten copper and actually insulates the copper from the crucible, and the copper doesn't melt. It creates a crust on top and the copper is molten just underneath. I find the best way to deal with this stuff is to pre-heat the copper in the furnace first, burn off the laquer and then empty the copper into a bucket of water. Most of the coating will fall off and then you can actually melt it then. I call this process "cleaning the copper" it doesn't matter how hot you get the furnace, that stuff will not burn completely away. I'm about ready to repair the coil in my furnace, I've got some ideas on how to re-join the ends of the broken coil together. Perhaps I'll make a video!

[@ralphmourik]

Thanks for this info, I will look into doing the same with coated wire in the future, for now I will stick to clean stripped wire 👍

[@streetcopper1151]

Nice .. good job brother 👊🏻

[@CarpyChris1964]

Very nice bar m8

[@dumpsterjerry3577]

Nice bar of bronze, be interesting to see what Ian is gonna use it for. I missed what you said on the lives ✌️

[@rajaramphalke5525]

This is gold. Check

[@MichaelAndKayla]

This is going to be good. How have you been?

[@VladisRed]

That's beautiful 😎😎🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@ralphmourik]

Thanks, I agree, bronze alloys are very pretty. 👍

[@arianduran1725]

How can i find tin in household items? Thanks . nice video

[@ralphmourik]

The solder on electronics is mostly tin, although it might contain some Lead too, same for old pewter, if the pewter items are stamped you could find out what is in it, some even says like 98% tin on it, that is the good stuff. And you could always buy Lead free solder at a local hardware store, I bought it before it was 99% tin + 1% copper, so great for mixing with copper to make bronze. Hope this helps, thanks for watching and commenting 👍👊

[@hossamslime9354]

Nice video Can remove tin from copper

[@MarkStoneLimited]

wow cool

[@Rob337_aka_CancelProof]

Do you not use any kind of flux? I know they use boric acid (borax) with gold and silver and I wouldn't have any idea what to recommend but seems like some sort of flux would be useful I think.

[@ralphmourik]

I have recently used borax for the first time while making Nordic gold, and this does indeed seem to be helpful, so I'll be using borax more often in the future. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍👊

[@rebelbiker9956]

I found out that lead was added in the mix for a better cast

[@ralphmourik]

It was Tin actually in this Bronze, there are indeed Leaded Bronzes for some applications. I do want to try making many more different Bronzes and alloys. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻

[@rebelbiker9956]

@@ralphmourik you are absolutly wellcome! I cast beonze myself!

[@aidavewaste2576]

Hiw do you find that furnace..I'm in 2 minds of what to do..was thinking of just building my own furnace but buy the burner from devil forge and build the rest myself ..decision decision. I'm liking your channel

[@ralphmourik]

I really like using the little electric furnace, had it for 3 years now. It's great for small projects. When melting a large amount of Lead, Pewter, Zinc or Aluminium into ingots I set up my big charcoal furnace. I now have access to a refillable propane tank so I will be building a new and better furnace in the near future. What it comes down to is having the right tool for the job, and as we all know, you can never have enough tools 😋👍👊

[@deanosshed387]

Great vid, could you please tell me the make of your electric crucible i cant make it out, thanks

[@ralphmourik]

The furnace is the Goldbrunn Therm 3000, it is a German brand, more expensive than many others on the market, but cleary of higher quallity, faster and stronger, I have been using it for over 4 years now without issues. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍👊

[@deanosshed387]

Perfect, thanks for the info 👍

[@AlphaBeta-cf5wf]

I wonder is there a solvent you could use to remove the lacquer. Would it make any difference if you soaked it in acetone or toluene or something overnight

[@ralphmourik]

That might actually work, however I have now collected loads of copper wire without any lacquer on it, so that is what I'm using now. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍

[@AlphaBeta-cf5wf]

@@ralphmourik Thanks for replying. I guess i was mostly just thinking out loud. i'd be curious to know how it works out if you ever tried it though.

[@tobhomott]

Looks nice, what will you make with it?

[@EstonianScrapper]

how many kg that furnace holds up? :) if it holds 1kg of copper so how long does it take to melt 1kg copper wire to copper bar? :)

[@BensWorkshop]

The question is, what are you going to do with the bronze?

[@s-s-p704]

I wonder if that dusty stuff at the bottom of the Crucible would ever rise to the top ??

[@ralphmourik]

I have had some weird things happen with coated wires, next time I will burn it off first or only use clean stripped wire 👍

[@ganeapaul-marius7121]

Use borax In fact ,for cleaning your material you could use borax or Himalayan salt. In ancient and medieval times salt was used to clean melted non ferrous metals. It was used even for refining copper (melting point of salt is 800°). Keep in mind that borax and salt will not mix with molten metal,it absorbs all oxides made by melted Pb,Sn,Al in contact with air and clean all other impurities. It's the basic/must do technique when melting non ferrous metals ;).

[@Sebastian-lu8en]

Where did you buy the graphite mold from 1:03?

[@ralphmourik]

I think I got the small mold from either Wish or Aliexpress, just look up Graphite ingot mold and you will find all kinds of shapes and sizes. Thanks for watching 👍

[@Sebastian-lu8en]

@@ralphmourik but then you have the aliexpress address of the mold?? I like you mold size for aluminium bronce, you can help me??

[@ralphmourik]

@@Sebastian-lu8en well I got that mold years ago so I don't think I still have the link to it 🤔😅

[@Sebastian-lu8en]

@@ralphmourik ohh jajajaja the graphite molds are very restintant and give very noce ingots

[@Metalstacker]

Nice bar Ralph! LOL I melted so much copper bars I have gotten used to the weigth :P Is it that the graphite mould is brand new that the ingot had so much trouble getting out? I have alu bronze and copper bars just falling out my moulds easy... Why don't use som rebarb or other piece of steel to mix it up in the crucible? Should do the job too I guess?? That dumpster find is just awesome! I'm looking for a wired electrical drill like that too, but do not want to pay 50 EUR for a crap brand or 100 EUR for a proper brand :P A dumpsterfind would just be awesome! Great find my friend! Looking forward to more melting fun here.

[@ralphmourik]

I think I did not wait long enough for the bar to cool down so it drops out the mold. I did get a graphite stirring rod now, that will work way better than a piece of steel, I was very lucky finding the drill in the trash, that will be in a future dumpster diving video 👍

[@hossamslime9354]

Hi Nice video How can remove tin after mix with copper

[@ralphmourik]

Well you could keep adding more copper until the % of tin is very low, but actually removing the tin would be a chemical proces that is not worth the time or cost.

[@muriaticacid7004]

Thumbs Up

[@skidsnscrap2952]

What is the spatula made of? Stainless? Its amazing to me how the first people who made brass or bronze just sat and added metals together till they thought it was ok to use for something. lol Great vid Ralph

[@ralphmourik]

The spatula is indeed steel, cheap 1 euro item, works well enough. In the olden days the blacksmiths and metal workers would always live on the outskirts of towns because what they did was considered sorcery to many others, they were the scientists of their time 💪👍

[@lennynash8221]

That's a cool looking bar, lots of character! I want to try to cast some ingots, do you think I can use my blacksmith forge to melt?

[@ralphmourik]

If it can hold a crucible and gets hot enough it could work, give it a try, start with aluminium and if that works try copper 👍👊

[@lennynash8221]

@@ralphmourik it's an old bbq grill with a brake drum in it. I have accidentally melted steel in it, so it gets hot enough lol. I'll have to give it a try.

[@brotech03jay42]

What are you going to do with the bronze?..

[@RoeMantic]

is that the one you found in the street the long zinc i think

[@ralphmourik]

Indeed it is, it is a Tin/Lead solder stick for roofing work 👍👊

[@SilverSpur1]

I would be curious, if you added 2 % germanium to CuSn8 bronze, would that make it stainless? Would you try it for me? I invented bronze watches, for real.

[@ralphmourik]

I have not yet worked with Germanium, but I have looked it up before, if I can find a nice amount for a decent price I will look into it for a future project. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍

[@SilverSpur1]

@@ralphmourik I check every day for notifications about you, to see if you mixed germanium with copper, and I think about it at least once per hour, I invented bronze as a watchmaking alloy, and it would be nice if tin bronze became stainless with germanium

[@ralphmourik]

@@SilverSpur1 Thank you for your continued interest in my casting projects, I will look into getting some Germanium and try to learn all about it. However it could take a while before there will be a video about it, I don't always have access to the workspace I use, and I have a full time job, so please be patient, it will happen. 👍

[@SilverSpur1]

@@ralphmourik Please don't get annoyed with my questions, I would like to ask politely, the next time you are back in shop, how many months that's gonna be approximately? I am not impatient, just wanna knot, is it like 2 months time or 8 or 6?

[@JRDIESEL1]

Thanks Ralph for subscribing to me

[@Man-in-da-shed]

I just love ingots, Nice working out. I really have to get a electric smelter, a awesome Ingot., Lol Snail mail. Looking forward to it

[@AliMackMechanical]

Am sure you could make one Ian Matthews. I watched a few of your video's mate I have faith in you even tho you don't think you could lol.😂

[@gagan_gaming_yt5819]

I saw first that this has 6000+ views and 0 dislikes😱😱😱🤯😌

[@ralphmourik]

I am surprised myself, I guess people like bronze 😁 thanks for watching and commenting 👍

[@naraharinarahari778]

It's is nitric acid test proof sir please tell me sir

[@ralphmourik]

Sorry, I don't understand your question.

[@naraharinarahari778]

@@ralphmourik this metal is nitric acid resistant proof metal

[@ralphmourik]

@naraharinarahari778 Although I have never worked with nitric acid, I am pretty sure it will desolve Copper and Tin. More than this I cannot tell you.

[@sundaravadivelelangovan6529]

What colour is the outcome? Golden or brown

[@ralphmourik]

It's more like a orange / light brown color with 12% Tin. I also made it with 25% Tin and that was more golden. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍

[@sundaravadivelelangovan6529]

@@ralphmourik Thanks for your response. I want to achieve Red color bronze . Please let me know what the combination was to achieve red color bronze..? Also , after some days the bronze color changed from a light brown color?

[@sundaravadivelelangovan6529]

@@ralphmourik How to achieve bronze brown color with the combination? Please tell me the combination for copper and tin

[@ralphmourik]

Well the Tin Bronze I made in this video is like that, around 8 to 12% tin will get you the light brown color. Most Copper alloys will tarnish over time and turn more brown, or sometimes a green-ish / blue-ish. Aluminium Bronze is nice and golden and will not tarnish and stay golden, I'll be making that too in the near future. I am now working on another type of bronze called Sunset Bronze, it also has Bismuth in it, that will be my next video.

[@sundaravadivelelangovan6529]

@@ralphmourik thank you friend.. we are going to do casting of the statue

[@SomervilleBob]

Write on the ingot what the alloy is.

[@ralphmourik]

I have a few sets op steel punches so I actually started marking what is what, because I have a lot of them now 😁 thanks for watching and commenting 👍

[@JulianMakes]

Very nice mate. Looking forward to seeing what you make with it. I have to make some myself soon, ill be doing a 20% tin i think (not sure yet). Id love to get one of those bigger graphite moulds, what size is it? Cheers julian

[@ralphmourik]

Hey Julian! Thanks for watching, I think the graphite mold is a 80-85 Troy ounce, very handy size when using the electric furnace, the ingots fit in there perfectly.

[@Metalstacker]

Hope 20% doesn't make it too brittle... Have fun making it though :)

[@JulianMakes]

Ralph Mourik cheers mate

[@JulianMakes]

Metalscrapper im hoping to do a bell and a cannon at some stage (cannon from bell bronze too i think)

[@rajaramphalke5525]

I am, Right

[@Mr.Coldfire421]

In runescape i have learned that tin + copper = bronze. And that is my first armor that I made.

[@ralphmourik]

Runescape... now that brings back some memories, played that like 20 years ago just before I switched over to playing World of Warcraft. It's the gathering materials and crafting weapons and armor that got me interested in doing stuff like this. Thanks for watching 👍👊

[@UCPHI]

Do you try it what I tell you !?

[@ralphmourik]

Yes I will be making many types of bronze and other alloys, so stay tubed! 👍👊

[@UCPHI]

@@ralphmourik thanks very thank you

[@UCPHI]

@@ralphmourik what’s happened with you ralph ?!

[@UCPHI]

@@ralphmourik what happens?!

[@UCPHI]

To 50% 50%

[@ObeseusVsPhallacy]

Mmmm cheese

[@Hchris101]

Neeto

[@rajaramphalke5525]

I am Indian i work this

[@rajaramphalke5525]

C, 29 tin 50 =69 gold only color

[@vinodinamdar6184]

I want to do Alloy plating of Copper and Tin (Cu 88 and Sn 12) on Low carbon Steel .Thickness 10 to 15 microns. Can anybody guide me the process details.

[@ralphmourik]

That process is beyond my current skills and knowledge, sounds interesting though. Thanks for watching and commenting 👍🏻👊🏻