Vevor Furnace: s.vevor.com/bfQYTT Code: VVMH5%OFF (5% off on all products) Rotometals Za-12 Ingot box: www.rotometals.com/zamak-za-12-mini-ingots-pack-of-12-1lb-each-free-shipping/ Want to learn sand casting using your 3D printer? I can teach you!: paulsmakeracademy.mykajabi.com/joinus Spear point STL: www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-spear-372026
thanks! and yeah those smaller ingots are super nice. The huge ones are even too long for my biggest crucible in the propane furnace, they stick out the top.
@@PaulsGarage ordered a box. Have lots of stuff that’s too big for my new little furnace like yours. This solves having to make small ingots to try it out. (I have large gas one too, but it’s under snow still.
As someone who started their journey with aluminum cans and a very diy setup I'd actually argue that it might be better for someone getting into the hobby from a matter of feeling the power of metal casting and getting the passion to continue with it. Starting them off with super simple patterns that you can still make from cans and then after they've had their fun with the cans they move up to the actual good stuff. Taking this approach myself its given me lots of perspective on just how good this metal is and made me feel super passionate about the craft in the early stages. It also just kinda feels like the "Hello World" of the metal casting community haha. Obviously results are going to be worse due to worse metal, but seeing that they can melt an everyday object and reform it just lights a fire I love seeing in peoples eyes.
@@PaulsGarage yes!! Everybody order a box so they start offering them also. I have like monster 20 pound real ingot. And bunch of big scrap and pistons.
I 100% will be castimg from alloy cans at some point. No matter what you or anyone else says. Simply has to be done, even though it's shit. :-) I'll also be using sliced up clean alloy wheel metal, too. This IS the right metal for casting as you yourself hqve stated right here a few times :-)
Love your vids so much! Finally have enough for the remaining supplies, will be building a propane furnace for sand casting, have a thousand ideas and already a good amount of metal, good metal
Note that in an AC circuit, resistance is only one form of impedance at play. A coil of wire also has inductive reactance that further restricts the amount of current. The only way to really check wattage is to measure current flow through the system. As an example, do your math on an old incandescent light bulb.
Nothing wrong with making castings from extruded aluminum. That's what i use most of the time. Window and door frames are 6061-t6. I turn them into ingots for storage and before casting. All the aluminum, brass and bronze i got was free. I just put the word out i wanted any scrap, now i have about 300lbs of those alloys. Probably more than I'll ever use. All metals are cast at some point in their manufacturing process. Just use an alloy that suits your needs. The electric furnace sounds good. But it's a little hard to use offgrid.
If offgrid is your thing, gas burners and propane cylinders are a much more attractive option. This furnace is more for apartment dwellers and those living in HOA hell.
@kfoltman I'm living 40 acres, no neighbors close enough to give me a problem about what I do. Unfortunately we have a POA to maintain the roads. Even in the middle of nowhere, people have a HOA attitude 🙄
Extruded aluminum vs aluminum cans...to get clean aluminum from aluminum cans, you end up scooping off more dross than actual aluminum...like ALOT of it...a fluffy foamy looking crud...end up using like 20-30 cans to get 1 lb of aluminum. Not sure the small little kiln would even hold cans unless you smashed the bejesus out out of them..maybe one of those larger 8lb ones in a propane kiln maybe.
@@haydenc2742 Would be pretty simple to make cans fit in smaller crucible, but would require more processing. Just cut the top and bottom off, cut the aluminum cylinder in half, and roll it up. Presumably, all while wearing gloves. May even be able to melt off the plastic coating on the inside before melting at that point, too.
You NEED a Simpson analog meter (found at a garage sale because the new ones are painfully expensive). Also, thank you for asking for hobby-sized ingots!
Awesome video! A couple questions, would you recommend these electric furnaces over your homemade propane furnace? I ask because my outdoor area for melting metal does not have access to an electrical outlet. Also, what do you do with the blackened or burnt sand after casting? does the sand degrade over time? Thanks!
I would almost be into the new one if it handled a bigger crucible. Banging my scrap into small enough strips that it fits in the Vevor is getting to be painful. If only they made a 10KW 240V furnace.
vertical elements are critical. If it works on the limit, over time the element "flows like noodles", and settles to the bottom, causing electrical damage. Helicoidal channel is more durable
i feel like i never had the i dont know where to start, i was always able to do things even insane things like a tesla coil ;-; for a grade 9 project, made it from an old tv and some pc psu and other scraps :)
ah that's a bummer. there are probably other sources, i think most of the ones that look the same are from the same source, just sold through different suppliers
There's some that look almost identical to Paul's (both models) on evilBay. Australia is a great place to live, but holy crap do we get screwed over on availability of products, and the price of what IS available.
The big problem is the different voltages. While it is easy to design heating systems like this to be adapted to either voltage, some companies remain America-centric and do make such provision.
Would there be any additional strength benefits using this Za-12 for an Aluminum Bronze casting? I appears there might be to much zink in these ingots for the making of bronze but I am definitely not a scientist?
so instead of 5.50/Lb and needing a bandsaw, it's 10/lb... alright then, I was thinking of going electric but now I'm glad I have my gas unit, can fit my head in it
zinc poisoning (or zinc fever) is by the way completely harmless, sure, uncomfortable, but you wont die and it wont damage anything in the long run. also you would need to weld like a LOT of galvanized steel in a day for you to get sick. (goes faster when melting brass but still, if you do it outside, its fine anyways)
One of my first jobs was welding galvanized frames. Little spider web bits floating in the air all day long. My boss told me if I breathed too much it'd make me feel weak and nauseous, and if that happened to drink a glass of milk to feel better. I thought he was full of crap about the milk, but I guess it's true. I never took any precautions, cause I was an invincible teenager, but it never adversely affected me.
Let's say some one was... not so observant... and missed that you released this video mentioning the smaller ingots before they ordered some of those 4lb Za-12 ingots... How would you cut those down to fit in that crucible with as little metal loss as possible?
You would have to rip the ingot lengthwise then cut them in half. I suppose a band saw could do it with the least metal loss, but this stuff can gum up blades. Not sure which kind would be best
Vevor Furnace: s.vevor.com/bfQYTT
Code: VVMH5%OFF (5% off on all products)
Rotometals Za-12 Ingot box: www.rotometals.com/zamak-za-12-mini-ingots-pack-of-12-1lb-each-free-shipping/
Want to learn sand casting using your 3D printer? I can teach you!: paulsmakeracademy.mykajabi.com/joinus
Spear point STL: www.myminifactory.com/object/3d-print-spear-372026
Use a card scraper instead of sanding for 3d prints. Saves a ton of time.
Ordered my box of ZA12 and in the order comments I put "I came by way of the TH-cam Channel Paul's Garage."
Thanks so much for the RotoMetal tip :)
Excellent video and thank you for asking Rotometals for smaller ZA-12 ingots!
thanks! and yeah those smaller ingots are super nice. The huge ones are even too long for my biggest crucible in the propane furnace, they stick out the top.
@@PaulsGarage ordered a box. Have lots of stuff that’s too big for my new little furnace like yours. This solves having to make small ingots to try it out. (I have large gas one too, but it’s under snow still.
As someone who started their journey with aluminum cans and a very diy setup I'd actually argue that it might be better for someone getting into the hobby from a matter of feeling the power of metal casting and getting the passion to continue with it. Starting them off with super simple patterns that you can still make from cans and then after they've had their fun with the cans they move up to the actual good stuff. Taking this approach myself its given me lots of perspective on just how good this metal is and made me feel super passionate about the craft in the early stages. It also just kinda feels like the "Hello World" of the metal casting community haha. Obviously results are going to be worse due to worse metal, but seeing that they can melt an everyday object and reform it just lights a fire I love seeing in peoples eyes.
Holy shit the smaller ingots are so helpful
I agree! I'm glad they started selling them. Now if only someone sold a356 aluminum like that
@@PaulsGarage yes!! Everybody order a box so they start offering them also. I have like monster 20 pound real ingot. And bunch of big scrap and pistons.
It's always important to use the proper alloys for casting, as you've pointed out.
One of your videos is featured on the mini-ingots store page heh :D
Big cheers to Rotometals for being cool cats
Chill out! 🎉😂
Nice Paul! I’m excited Rotometals is being so supportive!
I 100% will be castimg from alloy cans at some point. No matter what you or anyone else says. Simply has to be done, even though it's shit. :-) I'll also be using sliced up clean alloy wheel metal, too. This IS the right metal for casting as you yourself hqve stated right here a few times :-)
Love your vids so much!
Finally have enough for the remaining supplies, will be building a propane furnace for sand casting, have a thousand ideas and already a good amount of metal, good metal
But I love the way you explain things, I have so much admiration for you
Inspiring vid man, nice going! Looking to get in to metal casting, specifically jewelry.
Note that in an AC circuit, resistance is only one form of impedance at play. A coil of wire also has inductive reactance that further restricts the amount of current.
The only way to really check wattage is to measure current flow through the system.
As an example, do your math on an old incandescent light bulb.
A heating element is going to have almost no reactance, I would guess less than 1%.
Nice job getting the smaller ingots from the company. I have a feeling they will be selling a ton of those now.
I hope so! It's kind of a risk for them to offer something new just because a TH-camr said "just trust me bro" 🤣
@@PaulsGarage no kidding. Glad they were willing to give it a try.
Nothing wrong with making castings from extruded aluminum. That's what i use most of the time. Window and door frames are 6061-t6. I turn them into ingots for storage and before casting. All the aluminum, brass and bronze i got was free. I just put the word out i wanted any scrap, now i have about 300lbs of those alloys. Probably more than I'll ever use. All metals are cast at some point in their manufacturing process. Just use an alloy that suits your needs. The electric furnace sounds good. But it's a little hard to use offgrid.
If offgrid is your thing, gas burners and propane cylinders are a much more attractive option. This furnace is more for apartment dwellers and those living in HOA hell.
@kfoltman I'm living 40 acres, no neighbors close enough to give me a problem about what I do. Unfortunately we have a POA to maintain the roads. Even in the middle of nowhere, people have a HOA attitude 🙄
Extruded aluminum vs aluminum cans...to get clean aluminum from aluminum cans, you end up scooping off more dross than actual aluminum...like ALOT of it...a fluffy foamy looking crud...end up using like 20-30 cans to get 1 lb of aluminum. Not sure the small little kiln would even hold cans unless you smashed the bejesus out out of them..maybe one of those larger 8lb ones in a propane kiln maybe.
@@haydenc2742 Would be pretty simple to make cans fit in smaller crucible, but would require more processing. Just cut the top and bottom off, cut the aluminum cylinder in half, and roll it up. Presumably, all while wearing gloves. May even be able to melt off the plastic coating on the inside before melting at that point, too.
You NEED a Simpson analog meter (found at a garage sale because the new ones are painfully expensive). Also, thank you for asking for hobby-sized ingots!
that would be nice! i'll have to look around. Digital is nice but they don't seem to last
@@PaulsGarage The problem is usually the leads.
Awesome video! A couple questions, would you recommend these electric furnaces over your homemade propane furnace? I ask because my outdoor area for melting metal does not have access to an electrical outlet. Also, what do you do with the blackened or burnt sand after casting? does the sand degrade over time? Thanks!
I would almost be into the new one if it handled a bigger crucible. Banging my scrap into small enough strips that it fits in the Vevor is getting to be painful. If only they made a 10KW 240V furnace.
If you have big scrap, you really can't beat a gas furnace
vertical elements are critical. If it works on the limit, over time the element "flows like noodles", and settles to the bottom, causing electrical damage. Helicoidal channel is more durable
WOW!
Can I melt zamac in a crusible? I use just little bits of metal for my artwork?
i feel like i never had the i dont know where to start, i was always able to do things even insane things like a tesla coil ;-; for a grade 9 project, made it from an old tv and some pc psu and other scraps :)
Will it get hot enough for aluminum bronze? Melts around 1900F but needs to be hotter to successfully cast
Have you replaced the leads on that Multimeter? The leads are a common failure point that cause bad readings.
Vevor don't sell the electric furnaces in Australia yet. Only the gas ones.
ah that's a bummer. there are probably other sources, i think most of the ones that look the same are from the same source, just sold through different suppliers
There's some that look almost identical to Paul's (both models) on evilBay.
Australia is a great place to live, but holy crap do we get screwed over on availability of products, and the price of what IS available.
The big problem is the different voltages. While it is easy to design heating systems like this to be adapted to either voltage, some companies remain America-centric and do make such provision.
@@MickTee2k True, but there's plenty of the rest of the world that runs on 220-240V, and we miss out on a lot of their products too.
@@dfross87 I'm in the same boat mate ;)
Would there be any additional strength benefits using this Za-12 for an Aluminum Bronze casting? I appears there might be to much zink in these ingots for the making of bronze but I am definitely not a scientist?
There is definitely way too much zinc, yeah. You would end up with a brass with aluminum added instead of aluminum bronze with zinc added
so instead of 5.50/Lb and needing a bandsaw, it's 10/lb... alright then, I was thinking of going electric but now I'm glad I have my gas unit, can fit my head in it
just heard your story from northen. i have felt the pain also
Lol I literally feel your pain! I'm glad he read mine out, he's a good dude
The thing blocking me is space. I live in a large apartment complex, I don't have anywhere to safely cast.
That's a bummer. Definitely need a safe area for anything that can break 2000f
zinc poisoning (or zinc fever) is by the way completely harmless, sure, uncomfortable, but you wont die and it wont damage anything in the long run. also you would need to weld like a LOT of galvanized steel in a day for you to get sick. (goes faster when melting brass but still, if you do it outside, its fine anyways)
Good points for sure. I've never felt zinc fume fever but I'm always working with some ventilation.
One of my first jobs was welding galvanized frames. Little spider web bits floating in the air all day long.
My boss told me if I breathed too much it'd make me feel weak and nauseous, and if that happened to drink a glass of milk to feel better.
I thought he was full of crap about the milk, but I guess it's true.
I never took any precautions, cause I was an invincible teenager, but it never adversely affected me.
I was always told to drink milk for zinc poisoning.
Can say milk works for minor cases, but it could have also been leaving the area and getting fresh air.
But Paul....what about the Zinc fumes? 🥴
😤🤣
👍👍😎👍👍
Let's say some one was... not so observant... and missed that you released this video mentioning the smaller ingots before they ordered some of those 4lb Za-12 ingots... How would you cut those down to fit in that crucible with as little metal loss as possible?
You would have to rip the ingot lengthwise then cut them in half. I suppose a band saw could do it with the least metal loss, but this stuff can gum up blades. Not sure which kind would be best
@@PaulsGarage Thanks for the tip and videos!
Stupid red arrow is a must these days?
lol unfortunately yes if you want anyone to click. Yellow circles and a face with a stupid expression helps too.
@@PaulsGarage I see you're up to date on the meta.
Never heard of the yellow circle tho.
lol the yellow circle might be old, more like 2018 thumbnail strategy