I just noticed that this video was unlisted for who knows how long, so I am just publishing it again. I don't know if people get notifications on videos that are unlisted and then made public again...if you did and you have seen it before, well now you know why. 😀😀
This was a very entertaining project. I learned a few things and had to search for more hammers after a failed cast. Not only did I find the hammers, but I also paid significantly less than their in-store price. However, the savings didn't cover the 30-minute car ride (1 hour in total) it took to get them 😃😃
Zinc loss is very probably from too high temperature. You've got to keep it fairly low. Check online for some ideas of what casting temps to use for brass, it varies from alloy to alloy. Zinc itself starts to get obliterated at about 900C, but less when alloyed. So try to fine tune your process, and work out a way to calculate the temperature for a given soak time (i do realise it'll vary from melt to melt due to changing volume, so maybe a quick check every x seconds with the digital thermometer?) The sprue idea at the end is correct, that would very much be how you combat the temperature shock and metal shrinkage in that part of the cast. Love the recycling of the silicone carbide material, very innovative, I've never seen that approach from anyone, same with the microwave kiln technique. I may well adopt it and give it a go for melting metals, as my crappy electric furnace keeps popping coils even with mere copper, which it barely gets to melting point! Thanks so much for sharing ^_^
Have you considered building a ball mill (large rotating cylinder with heavy metal ball bearing balls) for turning hardened silicon carbide back into powder ? Does the sodium silicate you add the silicon carbide, burn away during curing or will it accumulate on each recycling until the silicon carbide is unusable for mold making ?
Someone else has probably already mentioned this, but just in case: you should have poured the handle upside down, with the head at the bottom, and left a pocket under it for the brass to flow into as a hot well. This will help you fill better, because that small opening is going to want to freeze first, particularly with the cast iron acting as a heat sink. If you pour from the end of the handle, you'll be much, much better filling.
I appreciate some of the safety precautions you're taking but you're forgetting one of the most important ones. Please get some oxy-acetylene eye glasses, staring at crucibles or metal in those temperatures will damage your eyes. A welder's hood will protect your face skin from that radiation too though may not go too low unless you get a fixed lens.
I will suggest a cover slag for your brass/bronze melts composed of a mix of powdered glass and borax. This cover slag will protect the melt until you are ready to pour. Skim the melt just before pouring to minimize zinc loss...
Oh yes, I tried it recently! I saw someone doing it in a TH-cam short, so I looked into it. Thanks! I also got borax, but I have not tried it yet. Before that I used to use boric acid.
I just found your channel and you gained a new subscriber. I love how your stuff is actually DIY and not DIY*. (*you have to own all sorts of expensive equipment to do anything-type of DIY) EDIT: That wobbly table scares me! Hope you'll get something sturdier to play on with molten metal.
Covering the molten brass in crucible with flux somewhat reduces zinc evaporation. But molten flux is also very aggressive towards ceramic fibers, so it's better done inside a normal oven with firebricks on the bottom
Si-carbide form - seems expensive (although reusable). Some use organic solvents to melt the plastic out of the form. Vinegar (some suggest even caustic soda) might destroy water glass polymer and ease the form grinding to recycle Si-carbide. I'm no expert, but from what I've read, a bit of Al (or Be or Si) added to crucible should reduce Zn evaporation: it will melt early and float, preventing Zn evaporation. Yes, this requires you to scoop it out somehow afterwards. Also, temp must be below 950C, but you already know this, I bet. One idea, perhaps. Metal-metal composites. I know they use steel to reinforce Al (it's preferable to cover steel with Zn-Al thin layer beforehand for good adhesion). I tried to look up zamak-steel or zamak-tungsten composite, but no luck thus far.
Silicon carbide is not that expensive if you buy it in big bags. I buy 25KG bags of silicon carbide for 130 euros including shipping. So making 1 small crucible costs 0.52 eur/cents in silicon carbide. For EU viewers search for "ots-store". That's where I get it from - Germany. I am curious to try caustic soda to dissolve waterglass. Thanks!
Thank's for sharing the amazing content! I've been using your methods in my crafts! I am wondering if you could create a reusable mold using Silicon Carbide or something else at home.
Thanks! You can make a reusable silicon carbide mold, but it won’t work with all metals, and, just like graphite molds, it won’t last forever. It’s on the list of videos I want to make, but to be honest, the list is so long that I don’t know when I’ll get to it. I might make an iron mold-making video first. Cheers!
They are hight temperature resistant gloves. There is no plastic in them. It was silicone coating that caught 🔥 They are rated to withstand up to 800c for short periods of time. There are better gloves available, but I like these....been using for years. Edit: There is also a possibility that there was some wax on gloves and it caught fire. After investigating the gloves the silicone coating looks intact, but other finger had a drop of hard wax on it.
Can you use this technique to get enough details that you can make your own coins? I suppose 3d-print them and make the silicon carbide mold and then just do as you did? But I don't know if the details will get good enough. I suppose that at the very least you will need a fine grained silicon carbide?
When sandcasting (delft clay casting) jewellers not only create a sprue hole but also air vents to allow expanding air to escape, is this why you got a hole in the handle? very informative on many levels, thank you.
Thanks Max! The moka pot funnel is connected to the vacuum cleaner using a silicone hose. The mold does not leak, so the metal remains inside it. I have never experienced any accidents where the mold would break and the metal would leak into the vacuum cleaner. While I have had molds break before, metal leaking into the vacuum cleaner has never occurred. There was one instance where I made a mistake (brain-glitch) and poured aluminium directly into the funnel without using the mold. As a result, the funnel melted and aluminium got stuck in the silicone hose. There are also stainless steel moka funnels, those would not melt. Cheers!
Watching you drive that Monstrous 40" spike into the wooden block in 1 hammer strike was truly impressive! XD [edit] oops, sorry...it was almost 40 hammer strikes on a tiny 1" nail. My Mistake.
👍 quick question. graphite or SiC for heating. Bought a grobet graphite heating flask and it didn't work worth beans Had no problem fusing glass with the carbide, but the grobet flask just got warmish when it came to melting metal. Lots of work for me to do!. Your videos are so incredibly well done! And the knowledge you are presenting is so detailed! Eric in Calgary Alberta Canada
I have a question. Using this method, if you poured a complex mold and suspected it didn't fill completely, for example, when pouring copper through the hammerhead, could you reheat the entire mold in the microwave since it's made of silicon carbide? If so, what would prevent you from creating a crucible with a hole at the bottom, acting as a funnel, filling it with raw, unmelted metal, and placing it on top of the mold-both inside the microwave? This way, in one fluid motion, the metal melts in the crucible and, once molten, drains directly into the mold.
You could do it that way, but not with all metals/casts. For example, if I wanted to do it with iron, it would be a tricky process given the size of the mold. I would need to bring the mold to a very high temperature in order to melt the iron, which is not easy. The larger the mold, the longer and harder it will be to heat it up. I would also need to make the mold bigger to accommodate the raw metal. It can definitely be done in some cases. Cheers!
Silica sand is cheap, and commonly used with sodium silicate and/or other binders in iron casting. Curious to know why you used expensive silicon carbide instead for your molds.
I'm guessing because silicon carbide helps avoiding some of the oxidation in ferrous metals? I'm not sure either. Could be that, or could be it's a finer grain so more detail in the casts.
I've never seen anyone use silicon carbide as a casting material before, neat. The hammer turned out pretty nice! No blemishes or voids or anything. Will the cast iron be more prone to shattering than wrought iron, or whatever hammers are made of?
I believe it may be more susceptible to shattering, but I don't think it will be a problem for a hammer of that size. I won't use the claw side of the hammer, just in case. Hammers used to be made from cast iron, so it's a legitimate hammer, just smaller. Cheers!
Love the silicon carbide mold as well. Cured sodium silicate should redissolve in sufficiently strong hydroxide solution, especially with the help of a little heat. (at least thats my unfortunate experience in trying to hydrolyze PLA out of sodium-silicate sand molds). Should be more convenient than the blender I think., and it leaves the silicon carbide untouched.
Hi, what temperature do you reach when melting the cast iron? From what I can find, the melting temperature of cast iron (even in the low range with a lot of lead) is 1200C. What I don’t understand is how you reach temperatures above 900C based on your kiln design… If I get it right, your kiln works by microwaving the silica carbine lining. The microwaves should only be able to heat things that have a dipole moment (capable of dielectric heating; I.e are magnetic), but silica carbine has a Curie point at around 900C… So any microwaves above 900C should be affect the silica carbine anymore, and thus not be able to provide more heat anymore, which should mean the maximum temperature of your kiln is 900C. Or I’m missing something in its working principle. That’s why I’m so curious what temperature you reach!
Hi! I don't know the temperature since there is no way for me to measure it. All I can say is that it works. I don't know all the theory behind why or whether or not it should work, but it does. I can also melt small quantities of stainless steel, but only very small amounts. Cheers! Denny
@@ShakeTheFuture hello! could you elaborate on what you mean by small quantities for example : 100 g ? or more I am really curious in using this for a similar purpose it would be a huge help if you could elaborate thanks !
@@ShakeTheFuture hello! could you elaborate on what you meant by small amounts of stainless steel , as in how much was it , I am trying to do something similar with stainless steel and it would be a huge huge help if you could thanks !
What is your original language i here your family speaking Spanish but your accent while speaking English is not from Spanish it sounds German or maybe one of the Nordic countries o and subbed who would have thought you could melt metal in the microwave 👍
So you basically leave the plastic handle of the hammer in place and spill the molten metal into it... the plastic will melt all right but is that a good thing where does that melted plastic goes? Into the coating you break off from it?
I just noticed that this video was unlisted for who knows how long, so I am just publishing it again. I don't know if people get notifications on videos that are unlisted and then made public again...if you did and you have seen it before, well now you know why. 😀😀
This is amazing. I’m not sure why this video isn’t going viral. Thank you 🙏
Thank You!
This was a very entertaining project. I learned a few things and had to search for more hammers after a failed cast. Not only did I find the hammers, but I also paid significantly less than their in-store price. However, the savings didn't cover the 30-minute car ride (1 hour in total) it took to get them 😃😃
Add your flux (boric acid) after melting and right before casting.
Zinc loss is very probably from too high temperature. You've got to keep it fairly low. Check online for some ideas of what casting temps to use for brass, it varies from alloy to alloy. Zinc itself starts to get obliterated at about 900C, but less when alloyed. So try to fine tune your process, and work out a way to calculate the temperature for a given soak time (i do realise it'll vary from melt to melt due to changing volume, so maybe a quick check every x seconds with the digital thermometer?)
The sprue idea at the end is correct, that would very much be how you combat the temperature shock and metal shrinkage in that part of the cast.
Love the recycling of the silicone carbide material, very innovative, I've never seen that approach from anyone, same with the microwave kiln technique. I may well adopt it and give it a go for melting metals, as my crappy electric furnace keeps popping coils even with mere copper, which it barely gets to melting point!
Thanks so much for sharing ^_^
Thank You for the feedback! I will take the note 👍
I need to do more, you've definitely proved that there's always an option to making something cool
Thank You!
Have you considered building a ball mill (large rotating cylinder with heavy metal ball bearing balls) for turning hardened silicon carbide back into powder ?
Does the sodium silicate you add the silicon carbide, burn away during curing or will it accumulate on each recycling until the silicon carbide is unusable for mold making ?
Someone else has probably already mentioned this, but just in case: you should have poured the handle upside down, with the head at the bottom, and left a pocket under it for the brass to flow into as a hot well. This will help you fill better, because that small opening is going to want to freeze first, particularly with the cast iron acting as a heat sink. If you pour from the end of the handle, you'll be much, much better filling.
Oh yes, I agree. If I'll cast another hammer, that's the way I'll do it. Cheers!
I appreciate some of the safety precautions you're taking but you're forgetting one of the most important ones. Please get some oxy-acetylene eye glasses, staring at crucibles or metal in those temperatures will damage your eyes. A welder's hood will protect your face skin from that radiation too though may not go too low unless you get a fixed lens.
Love your videos. Please keep them coming
You really do make excellent videos! I enjoyed watching. I don't know why but I loved the hole in the handle. It gave it a homemade look.
I will suggest a cover slag for your brass/bronze melts composed of a mix of powdered glass and borax. This cover slag will protect the melt until you are ready to pour. Skim the melt just before pouring to minimize zinc loss...
That's interesting. Thanks You for the tip 👍
Silicone oven gloves might be a good choice.
We used to throw a wine bottle into the crucible of brass. The molten glass helps preserve the zinc.
Oh yes, I tried it recently! I saw someone doing it in a TH-cam short, so I looked into it. Thanks! I also got borax, but I have not tried it yet. Before that I used to use boric acid.
Extremely cool. Love what you do.
Cheers!
@@ShakeTheFuture :)
I think it's terrific how anyone could do this in their kitchen.
I am not doing it in the kitchen. It's a well ventilated balcony, tiled floors etc.
Cheers!
@Shake the Future it's obvious you are on your balcony but anyone COULD do it in their kitchen. Of course neither of us are saying they should.
Oh, I see what you mean - my bad. Cheers!
I just found your channel and you gained a new subscriber. I love how your stuff is actually DIY and not DIY*. (*you have to own all sorts of expensive equipment to do anything-type of DIY)
EDIT: That wobbly table scares me! Hope you'll get something sturdier to play on with molten metal.
Covering the molten brass in crucible with flux somewhat reduces zinc evaporation.
But molten flux is also very aggressive towards ceramic fibers, so it's better done inside a normal oven with firebricks on the bottom
That's some great info. Thanks!
Si-carbide form - seems expensive (although reusable). Some use organic solvents to melt the plastic out of the form. Vinegar (some suggest even caustic soda) might destroy water glass polymer and ease the form grinding to recycle Si-carbide. I'm no expert, but from what I've read, a bit of Al (or Be or Si) added to crucible should reduce Zn evaporation: it will melt early and float, preventing Zn evaporation. Yes, this requires you to scoop it out somehow afterwards. Also, temp must be below 950C, but you already know this, I bet.
One idea, perhaps. Metal-metal composites. I know they use steel to reinforce Al (it's preferable to cover steel with Zn-Al thin layer beforehand for good adhesion). I tried to look up zamak-steel or zamak-tungsten composite, but no luck thus far.
Silicon carbide is not that expensive if you buy it in big bags. I buy 25KG bags of silicon carbide for 130 euros including shipping. So making 1 small crucible costs 0.52 eur/cents in silicon carbide. For EU viewers search for "ots-store". That's where I get it from - Germany.
I am curious to try caustic soda to dissolve waterglass. Thanks!
Awesome video, can you make one on the specifics of making silicon carbide molds, what components do you need and proportions needed.
Thank's for sharing the amazing content! I've been using your methods in my crafts!
I am wondering if you could create a reusable mold using Silicon Carbide or something else at home.
Thanks! You can make a reusable silicon carbide mold, but it won’t work with all metals, and, just like graphite molds, it won’t last forever.
It’s on the list of videos I want to make, but to be honest, the list is so long that I don’t know when I’ll get to it. I might make an iron mold-making video first.
Cheers!
At 15:15, maybe add some background music by the composer Handel ? 🤪
It took be a while to get it......nice one 😃
Gloves with plastic and molten metal is a nogo!
They are hight temperature resistant gloves. There is no plastic in them. It was silicone coating that caught 🔥 They are rated to withstand up to 800c for short periods of time. There are better gloves available, but I like these....been using for years. Edit: There is also a possibility that there was some wax on gloves and it caught fire. After investigating the gloves the silicone coating looks intact, but other finger had a drop of hard wax on it.
is there a reason why you're not hardening the mould with CO2 since it contains waterglass/sodium silicate?
Wow this is awesome. Thanks for sharing. Following you!
Thank You!
How cool is that ❤
Thanks! 😎
Can i use aluminum oxide from grinding wheel instead of silicon carbide
Can you use this technique to get enough details that you can make your own coins? I suppose 3d-print them and make the silicon carbide mold and then just do as you did? But I don't know if the details will get good enough. I suppose that at the very least you will need a fine grained silicon carbide?
When sandcasting (delft clay casting) jewellers not only create a sprue hole but also air vents to allow expanding air to escape, is this why you got a hole in the handle? very informative on many levels, thank you.
Very nice video!
How is the Metall not poured into the vacuum cleaner?
Thanks Max!
The moka pot funnel is connected to the vacuum cleaner using a silicone hose. The mold does not leak, so the metal remains inside it. I have never experienced any accidents where the mold would break and the metal would leak into the vacuum cleaner. While I have had molds break before, metal leaking into the vacuum cleaner has never occurred. There was one instance where I made a mistake (brain-glitch) and poured aluminium directly into the funnel without using the mold. As a result, the funnel melted and aluminium got stuck in the silicone hose. There are also stainless steel moka funnels, those would not melt. Cheers!
Watching you drive that Monstrous 40" spike into the wooden block in 1 hammer strike was truly impressive! XD
[edit] oops, sorry...it was almost 40 hammer strikes on a tiny 1" nail. My Mistake.
I was not trying to make it look more impressive than it was 😃
👍 quick question. graphite or SiC for heating. Bought a grobet graphite heating flask and it didn't work worth beans Had no problem fusing glass with the carbide, but the grobet flask just got warmish when it came to melting metal. Lots of work for me to do!.
Your videos are so incredibly well done! And the knowledge you are presenting is so detailed!
Eric in Calgary Alberta Canada
Very entertaining!! New sub
Thank You! Welcome to the community!
I have a question. Using this method, if you poured a complex mold and suspected it didn't fill completely, for example, when pouring copper through the hammerhead, could you reheat the entire mold in the microwave since it's made of silicon carbide?
If so, what would prevent you from creating a crucible with a hole at the bottom, acting as a funnel, filling it with raw, unmelted metal, and placing it on top of the mold-both inside the microwave? This way, in one fluid motion, the metal melts in the crucible and, once molten, drains directly into the mold.
You could do it that way, but not with all metals/casts. For example, if I wanted to do it with iron, it would be a tricky process given the size of the mold. I would need to bring the mold to a very high temperature in order to melt the iron, which is not easy. The larger the mold, the longer and harder it will be to heat it up. I would also need to make the mold bigger to accommodate the raw metal. It can definitely be done in some cases. Cheers!
Could probably fix that hole issue with brazing wire/rod and a torch.
Would this method of casting work with a 2 pound mold
The question I have is. Can we use the components from a microwave to build a bigger microwave? Then we can melt a greater quantity of metal?
Don't see why not. I don't have the knowledge or wish to try it out (very dangerous), but it can be done.
Cheers!
How much time you can melt cast iron in your silicon carbide crucible??
Silica sand is cheap, and commonly used with sodium silicate and/or other binders in iron casting. Curious to know why you used expensive silicon carbide instead for your molds.
I'm guessing because silicon carbide helps avoiding some of the oxidation in ferrous metals? I'm not sure either. Could be that, or could be it's a finer grain so more detail in the casts.
The heat from cast iron is too hot for sand mould
@wesleymccravy901 all over the world, every day, cast iron is poured into sand molds. The proof is all around us!
Would it be possible to make an open mold out of Silicon carbide/water glass that would be reusable to cast multiples of the same object.
Yes, definitely!
I have a video about it in my bucket list, let's see when I get to it.
Cheers!
U r great guy 👍
Where's your link to the other video? :-)
I've never seen anyone use silicon carbide as a casting material before, neat. The hammer turned out pretty nice! No blemishes or voids or anything. Will the cast iron be more prone to shattering than wrought iron, or whatever hammers are made of?
I believe it may be more susceptible to shattering, but I don't think it will be a problem for a hammer of that size. I won't use the claw side of the hammer, just in case. Hammers used to be made from cast iron, so it's a legitimate hammer, just smaller. Cheers!
Love the silicon carbide mold as well. Cured sodium silicate should redissolve in sufficiently strong hydroxide solution, especially with the help of a little heat. (at least thats my unfortunate experience in trying to hydrolyze PLA out of sodium-silicate sand molds). Should be more convenient than the blender I think., and it leaves the silicon carbide untouched.
Hi, what temperature do you reach when melting the cast iron? From what I can find, the melting temperature of cast iron (even in the low range with a lot of lead) is 1200C. What I don’t understand is how you reach temperatures above 900C based on your kiln design… If I get it right, your kiln works by microwaving the silica carbine lining. The microwaves should only be able to heat things that have a dipole moment (capable of dielectric heating; I.e are magnetic), but silica carbine has a Curie point at around 900C… So any microwaves above 900C should be affect the silica carbine anymore, and thus not be able to provide more heat anymore, which should mean the maximum temperature of your kiln is 900C. Or I’m missing something in its working principle. That’s why I’m so curious what temperature you reach!
Hi!
I don't know the temperature since there is no way for me to measure it. All I can say is that it works. I don't know all the theory behind why or whether or not it should work, but it does.
I can also melt small quantities of stainless steel, but only very small amounts.
Cheers!
Denny
@@ShakeTheFuture hello!
could you elaborate on what you mean by small quantities for example : 100 g ? or more
I am really curious in using this for a similar purpose it would be a huge help if you could elaborate
thanks !
@@ShakeTheFuture
hello!
could you elaborate on what you meant by small amounts of stainless steel , as in how much was it , I am trying to do something similar with stainless steel and it would be a huge huge help if you could
thanks !
It is now September 18th. Where's the revamped video on making a kiln. ?
Sticker on wrong side of the hammer!
"One" hammer to rule them all?
Yes, indeed. Just like when I said ..There is "One" more thing we need to add.....ONE more sticker 😊
@@ShakeTheFuture Nice😎
You have a Baltic accent
Borax… not boric acid
Cast iron shatters. Don’t use it for hammer head.
Yes, but for a small hammer it works fine., I actually use it all the time.
What is your original language i here your family speaking Spanish but your accent while speaking English is not from Spanish it sounds German or maybe one of the Nordic countries o and subbed who would have thought you could melt metal in the microwave 👍
So you basically leave the plastic handle of the hammer in place and spill the molten metal into it... the plastic will melt all right but is that a good thing where does that melted plastic goes? Into the coating you break off from it?
No the plastic is burned out and turns to ash and cleaned out before the meatal is cast. See 3:39