# Questionon casting AL



## markknx (Apr 13, 2013)

What kind of al can be cast? is it only AL. taht was cast AL. or can 6061 be cast? can you mixdifferent types? I was going to try this just to see ifI can do it and use the casts for proto type or non cridical parts.


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## davidh (Apr 13, 2013)

best stuff is engine blocks, pistons, transmission cases, most anything that's already been cast.  it wastes fuel to melt cans, in my opinion, but some folks do it.   how are you going to  fire your furnace ?  waste oil, propane, charcoal ?  have you been to the casting forum here ?  http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/forum.php 

lots of great information and good folks there.  I keep my types separate, for whatever reason I don't know.  I made ingots from pistons, and kept them separate from engine blocks, and that from miscl scrap.  

it is great fun, safety first, the melted metal will not hesitate to burn the shoe off your foot if you have a bad spill.  probably take part of your foot too.  

melting metal is a disease   a great addition to a hobby machinist.

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best stuff is engine blocks, pistons, transmission cases, most anything that's already been cast.  it wastes fuel to melt cans, in my opinion, but some folks do it.   how are you going to  fire your furnace ?  waste oil, propane, charcoal ?  have you been to the casting forum here ?  http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/forum.php 

lots of great information and good folks there.  I keep my types separate, for whatever reason I don't know.  I made ingots from pistons, and kept them separate from engine blocks, and that from miscl scrap.  

it is great fun, safety first, the melted metal will not hesitate to burn the shoe off your foot if you have a bad spill.  probably take part of your foot too.  

melting metal is a disease   a great addition to a hobby machinist.


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## Alphawolf45 (Apr 21, 2013)

markknx said:


> What kind of al can be cast? is it only AL. taht was cast AL. or can 6061 be cast? can you mixdifferent types? I was going to try this just to see ifI can do it and use the casts for proto type or non cridical parts.




6061 cast into blocks to be machined works pretty well..But to cast it into sand molds to make something with thin sections is frustrating..It either doesnt flow into all the nooks and crannies or its sucked back out when it cools..6061 shrinks a lot when it cools..Good for some jobs, best avoided for general casting work.


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## markknx (Apr 22, 2013)

thanks for the info, glad you said that, I like to work with 6061 so I have that for scrap.  But it's good be cause I wanted to start with recycling by just turning it into blocks


Alphawolf45 said:


> 6061 cast into blocks to be machined works pretty well..But to cast it into sand molds to make something with thin sections is frustrating..It either doesnt flow into all the nooks and crannies or its sucked back out when it cools..6061 shrinks a lot when it cools..Good for some jobs, best avoided for general casting work.


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## Alphawolf45 (Apr 22, 2013)

davidh said:


> it is great fun, safety first, the melted metal will not hesitate to burn the shoe off your foot if you have a bad spill.  probably take part of your foot too.
> 
> melting metal is a disease   a great addition to a hobby machinist.
> 
> .



 I always cast with a 5 gallon bucket of water right near the flasks.. That so I can plunge hand or foot or head into it in case of some catastrophe.---and I have used it when once the metal exploded right up inside the long sleeve of my  shirt..That was with aluminum..Bronze being hotter kinda creeps me out but I do my share of it......I'd like to also setup for and cast iron but thats more heat than I want to deal with.....But I sure agree with davidh , the capability to cast is a great addition to the hobbiests bag of tricks...Cant afford to mill out parts from BIG blocks of aluminum but can afford to cast salvaged metal into large forms.


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## oldgoaly (Apr 22, 2013)

Alpha,
do yourself a favor and move the water away from the hot metal! use clean dry sand!  why you are having things explode is moisture! it only takes a drop of water in the right place to blow a whole crucible of molten metal, seen it happen, a rather strong argument started about how much moisture, and the man with 60 years of foundry experience agreed with me it was just a drop. RIP Gene! I'll do my best to keep them from blowing themselves up!   Gene was the nicest guy, started in a foundry sweeping the floor to owning the foundry going thru the mechanization of the process.  But when he told you something and you blew it off ahhh did he give you a cussing (no not me)

You can use most any aluminum for non structural parts, the thing that most people don't understand is aluminum oxide it's on the surface, more surface area more al-ox aka slag or scum less molten aluminum. cans are so thin but so much surface area inside and out you get so little good metal.

If you follow the link to my fb page there should be a bunch of pics of my shop(s) and some of the projects.


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## Alphawolf45 (Apr 22, 2013)

oldgoaly said:


> Alpha,
> do yourself a favor and move the water away from the hot metal! .



 I am sorry I thought everybody would understand that you dont pour the hot metal into the bucket of water:lmao:

   Worst burn I ever seen happen had nothing to do with moisture . We dumped a half can of diet cola on his 2nd and 3rd degree burns and than he ran 100 foot tothe garden hose. Thats when I started keeping a bucket of water close by..You all suit yourself..I figure there are only 2 kinds of fellows casting metal..Them thats been burned and them that will get burned..I've got several hundreds of castings under my belt and no bad scars yet and thats all I will risk fate to say about it. I'll back on out now and leave it to you "experts"..


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## oldgoaly (Apr 27, 2013)

Alpha, 
I don't think anyone said you did, still sand is best for stopping hot metal, now if you set your clothes a fire???  haven't done that...yet, gloves have felt like they are. When it was cheap to go to the local junior college I went there, they kept threatening to close it down so I collected my set up.  When I have help I pour all day, 100-150lbs, 12 pound at a time.  I have crushed limestone in a bucket standing by,  just in case, my floor is crushed limestone and it hasn't gone very far. Anyone that has poured on concrete know how it pops when you get hot metal on a concrete floor!  Who hasn't set molding boards a fire? 
 Post some pics of your parts you are making, want to see mine follow the link to facebook see what I made and the ones that didn't pour.


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## Alphawolf45 (Apr 28, 2013)

Keeping on topic. Here is my best example of a casting that could not have been done using a formerly extruded aluminum alloy..Even melting down old cast engine parts for  this couple blower halves , it had trouble flowing and knitting..Took several tries to get good'nuff castings and if I remember correctly I still had to MIG or TIG in a bit of metal into a low portion..These were as thin as .150 near the center..


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## benmychree (Aug 12, 2017)

davidh said:


> best stuff is engine blocks, pistons, transmission cases, most anything that's already been cast.  it wastes fuel to melt cans, in my opinion, but some folks do it.   how are you going to  fire your furnace ?  waste oil, propane, charcoal ?  have you been to the casting forum here ?  http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/forum.php
> 
> lots of great information and good folks there.  I keep my types separate, for whatever reason I don't know.  I made ingots from pistons, and kept them separate from engine blocks, and that from miscl scrap.
> 
> ...


Pistons are a poor source of metal for home castings, they contain some iron, which is meant to keep the metal from sticking to steel permanent molds; the downside is that it also narrows the solidification range of the metal, which can lead to freeze ups before a mold is filled, if the temp of the metal is raised to make up for that, you get excessive shrinkage.  "Been there, done that".  The best scrap for melting is castings that have been sand cast.


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