Very High-Temp Casting

[VTDW]

I intend to cast a metal at 1700 degrees. Will aluminum moulds (Lee) work at this temperature folks?

Tnx,

Dave

[mooman76]

I can't see it working. Aluminum melts at something like 850.

[SharpsShooter]

I intend to cast a metal at 1700 degrees. Will aluminum moulds (Lee) work at this temperature folks?

Tnx,

Dave

I predict you will cast a puddle of metal........not on your shoes, I hope......my book says 1218*F as the melting point for aluminum.



SS

[VTDW]

I predict you will cast a puddle of metal........not on your shoes, I hope......my book says 1218*F as the melting point for aluminum.



SS

Thanks SS,

Yikes!!! How about another metal mould?

[SharpsShooter]

Well....cast iron turns to goo at 2300*f, so it might work out, but the question is why 1700* in the first place.


SS

[IcerUSA]

Check this out :)

http://www.cowtown.net/mikefirth/techspec.htm

Bronze and Copper melt about that temp ;)

[Dale53]

There is nothing to be gained by trying to cast at such an elevated temperature and much to lose. Lead will vaporize and breathing vaporized lead is hardly on my list of "things to do".

In fact, I see little reason to EVER go hotter than 850 degrees and most of my casting, even with difficult moulds and alloys, is at about 750 degrees.

Be careful!
Dale53

[NVcurmudgeon]

Amen to what Dale said. Also, have you considered how long you will have to wait for sprue freezing at 1700?

[VTDW]

Icer and SS,

Thanks for the info and site. I am going to experiment with metal other than lead.

Can anyone tell me who makes moulds of cast iron?

Thanks again,

Dave

[Baldy]

Sounds like trouble brewing.

[leftiye]

There are crucibles out there that can be bought to melt the brass or bronze in. As was said steel, or iron will be 500 degrees above a bright orance incandescent temp at 1800 degrees, and may not have any strength at all!

You'll need a furnace, probably LP fired. Reasarch Dave Gingery, he sells designs, books, etc..

Lost wax technique in casting sand sounds like a real possible approach for the mold. The sand sets up hard, and can be made into molds, two part molds too.

[leftiye]

You might find a cast oron mold costs mega-bucks. Unless you're going to make a lot of something, I'd guess it would be prohibitive. And no, I don't know of anyone who could make one except maybe a foundry.

I would find a place that makes bronze statues and etc. There are several in my area. See what their technique would be. I know one guy who made his molds from sand, and took them to a foundry to be poured. we have several of them around here, and that is most likely your most cost effective choice.

[kodiak1]

Different Material other than lead? Maybe buy it in rolled rod and machine with a lathe. Probably be safer for your health.
Ken

[Ricochet]

Regular iron moulds such as Lyman's are made from nodular malleable iron. Might well hold up to pouring something in at that temperature, as the mould blocks have a good bit of mass and won't reach the temperature of the metal in the cavity. I think the sprue plate may be the weak link, both for standing up to the heat and for cutting a harder metal than lead alloy.

[Treeman]

Obviously VTDW has a Vampire or Werewolf problem and intends to cast some Silver bullets. BTW-It isn't worth the trouble. Wood bullets through the heart will prove much more economical. Just be sure that they are long for the bore diameter and use a staked crimp.

[hpdrifter]

silver is what I'd guess also.

[Ricochet]

Bet silver solder'd work fine, and it melts at a lower temp.

[grumpy one]

I bet my silver solder would work even if yours wouldn't. Being a traditionalist I'm still using the original 45% silver kind, with high cadmium content. If the silver doesn't do it, that much cadmium applied internally would kill anything.

[montana_charlie]

Just use regular lead bullets...but quench 'em in Holy Water and lube 'em with beeswax and garlic.

If that doesn't take care of vampires, call The Lone Ranger. He already carries the right bullets.
CM

[imashooter2]

Years ago I read an article in one of the gun rags about a couple of guys that tried to cast silver bullets... They burned up a cast iron mold and never did get it to work.

[trk]

I intend to cast a metal at 1700 degrees. Will aluminum moulds (Lee) work at this temperature folks?
Tnx,
Dave

With lead, for the bullet not to be wrinkled, the mould needs to be at least somewhere between 400 and 440dF. (Pouring alloy in at 700 to 750dF.


So, if you're casting something like silver, I would think you'd want to preheat the mould as well.

[Ricochet]

You could check on a jewelry site and see how they cast silver items. My guess is that they make a master mould for wax replicas, then do lost wax casting. My daughter's a metals artist. I'd ask her, but she's probably still asleep.

Might put some wolfbane in with the garlic lube, just to cover the bases. Holy water quenching's a good idea.

[TCLouis]

dental castings (crowns and inlays) which must bevery precise are done in a lost wax process, Same reason the jewelery business uses it.

a positive of whatever one wants is made in a special wax. Sprue attached and then cast into a block of mold material. This is placed in an oven to bake out he wax.

Casting is then done in a simple centrifuge with the centrifuge forcing the molten material into the mold block. This is the step that helps provide complete filling and detail



Volume of casting material needed is deterimed by water displacement method.

[Ricochet]

Hey, maybe garlic powder as filler in the load?

[BAGTIC]

If you want copper bullets swage them. You will get better quality than by casting.

Bronze bullets are illegal in handguns.

Don't see what advantage bronze would have over copper unless it is armor penetration.

[Blackwater]

As a young man and college student, I worked in a cast iron foundry for a time. IIRC, the pouring ladles were steel, but they had an inner liner of some sort of insulator so the molten iron wouldn't burn through. Can't remember what the liner was. Some sort of sand, maybe???? Then the inner liner was made of some sort of ceramic, I think. Again, ..... maybe???? Dang that CRS disease!

The furnaces were HOT! You could feel the heat become uncomfortable at about 75 ft. away! Guys used to find dried out rats (they poisoned them - didn't want one falling into the furnaces and causing a "BOOM!!!"), and they'd sling them at the furnace. They'd ignite about 30 ft. from the furnace, and arced toward the molten iron like a shooting star. By the time it came anywhere near the furnace, it was nothing more than a very fine carbon dust!

Casting at that temp ain't recommended for anyone not VERY familiar with all the ins and outs of this pursuit, and a man can, and all too likely WILL, get hurt sooner or later. If you have the knowledge to do this, proceed at will. However, if you had to ask this question, I'd seriously recommend you get a LOT more info before pursuing the idea. You only get to make ONE mistake with metals that hot. FWIW???