aw, i got temporarily discouraged when my 30 dollar crucible drossed shut and i couldnt chisel it out, lol…
after dinner, i just about buried it in “coking coal” and re-stoked back up and cooked it off soft, heh heh
managed to get another small “ingot” out of it, and got all the softened dross out in a clump. “achievement unlocked”.
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i’m getting there… the name of this game? is just to concentrate on MAKING LITTLE INGOTS. They look bad? but…. scratch one and its bright shiny metal underneath… when i have a little stock of them? thats good clean metal to melt down and flux and cast it.
when i finally GET to melting ingots? i can do an easy FLUX and pour.
theres almost no difference between my ingots i am making? and if i were to get “high quality” aluminum, say,like engine heads to melt down. The reason being?
you could GIVE ME 6061-T6 “rod stock”, and after its melted down and re-cast into a different rod size? its no longer “6061-T6” any longer…
the 6061 refers to the “melt mix”, and the T6 is the heat treating designation… melting it down and recasting in anoher stock rod?? gets referred to as “356” generically in the industry…
i can melt down marine engine heads? pistons? top of the LINE aluminum stock?
after melting and casting? its just “356”… which is ironically what melted beer cans are referred to as after meoting and casting, LMAO…
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buying ingots, or, buying better solid metal to melt easier? will beless WORK, but… wont actually yield me a “better product”
a GOOD flux? yields me a half decent result, and once machined? it looks pretty…
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i’m getting onto the home stretch now, i think… at least for what i need it for… all i need to do right NOW is concentrate on making a few more ingots, than i can make a bigger piece of stock.
theres no practical way to do heat treating and “working” cold or hot at home… the results? will never satisfy any engineers blueprint specs fo stock… yet? it will be overkill for making flashlights and other parts i need.
now that i finally gota crucible that wont burn up with taking a match to it?? i’m in the home stretch, i just gotta keep making a few more ingots before i get greedy and try to cast stock again.
i already bought the right grade of sand and clay to make a decent casting sand, that will come after “ingot fun”…
its working, its just a “war of attrition”. I will WIN, but… it will be a “pyrrhic victory” if you know the term.
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PICS when i get a little more done…