Melting Nickel

[brino]

From the outside all hobbies are pretty silly. So, I do know that working to acquire macro-sized and human experience-able chunks of elements is silly. It is a small way I connect to the real, tangible, physical world.

I wouldn't say it's silly at all. I'd call it comparative research.
How can you work any material by hand or machine if you don't know anything about it?
Explore it, get to know it.

In fact, the ones that cause you the most trouble to machine yourself are the ones you'd learn the most about!

Here's a book I picked up years ago and still enjoy flipping thru:
https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Vis...=the+elements&qid=1567082870&s=gateway&sr=8-1

....but it IS just a book. Your way is much more tactile and immersive.

Kudos to you!
-brino

 

[RJSakowski]

It looks like you should be looking for an ultra high temperature furnace to support your hobby. Some of those metals will be extremely hard to find in pure form, let alone in a 1" x 2" x 6" form factor.
BTW, Canadian nickels from 1955 -1981 are better than 99% nickel, if you need more stock. At 100 to the lb., they're cheaper than the current price of nickel on the commodities market.

 

[rwm]

I have casted aluminum, brass and bronze. My propane furnace gets to about 2000 deg F. Oil burners get hotter and can easily do iron. Nickel is really pushing the limits of combustion powered burners. Arc furnaces would typically be used. It may however be possible to do this volume of nickel with oil and a smaller furnace. Try posting here:

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Some of these guys have a lot of experience and regularly do iron.

Robert

Oh yeah...I have cast a nickel alloy that was 85% Ni and 14% Cu and a few other minor elements. This melts lower than pure nickel that you are looking for
R

 

[john.k]

Simplest way is to heat the stuff white hot and forge weld into a bar.....you could do this yourself with a bit of gear........otherwise ,I would try to melt with an arc torch into a mould of graphite......but I suspect C may well be soluble in Ni at melt point.

 

[pdentrem]

I have not been able to find a source for bars of nickel. But, I have a source for 99% nickel small balls (like 1/4"). I would like to find someone that I can ship like 6 pounds of nickel balls too and who can melt them into a 1"x2"x6" (minus nothing, plus is fine) bar. What sort of job shop does something like this? Where do I find them? (After the nickel I have some other metals too I need reformed similarly). Thanks for any pointers. -Bill (previously posted this to a different forum, but got no responses, so have reposted here)

You need an induction furnace. We have one for our processing of metals but very expensive for a hobbyist. Check the used market for a small unit like these from Supermelt. https://www.superbmelt.com/mini-gold-melting-furnace/
You may need to use a cover gas to keep the oxygen away from the metal. We use carbon monoxide that is burning on a Low pressure pre heating head.
Pierre

 

[Bill Kahn]

Yes, this seems like the sort of thing I need. On ebay I see inexpensive versions of such machines for as little as $600. But still, this is not primary to my hobby. Just a step on the path. I would like to contract out with someone who is running one of these machines already to do a melt for me. Thanks for this pointer to the right sort of equipment. I'll try those alloy and foundry boards and will report back. -Bill

 

[Joe in Oz]

If you just want to be able touch it in that form factor, then the option of steel piece that you put in an electroless nickel plating pot might nb=be OK. That deposits a thin layer of almost pure Nickel. It would look the same as a solid bar and be about the same weight too....

 

[Bill Kahn]

Well, materials have all sorts of interesting properties. Yes, surface finish, hardness, and even surface corrosion are all interesting. But bulk properties are as well. Yes, density. But the magnetic properties are interesting. Most of my metal bars are not magnetic. Pure nickel I have heard is 1/4 as ferromagnetic as iron. I would like to experience that. It also has 1/4 the conductivity, so Faraday induction should be perfectly clear. Not sure how the two effects will combine. The bars "ring" differently when bumped--something to do with hardness and stiffness, not sure just what, but very noticeable. And their thermal conductivity difference are most noticeable. Of course, the spirit is not really there--I could gold plate a tungsten bar and somehow, it would just not have the je ne sais quoi of a real gold bar. But thank you for a thoroughly practical approach for part of the puzzle. I had not thought about it.

 

[matthewsx]

I could gold plate a tungsten bar and somehow, it would just not have the je ne sais quoi of a real gold bar.

Wait, you have a 1"x2"x 6" gold bar? I'd gladly trade my nickel bar for it

Maybe it's time to start a round bar or ball bearing collection too....

Cheers,

John

 

[BROCKWOOD]

Bill wrote, "I see inexpensive versions of such machines for as little as $600."

From what little I've delved into this, those kilns (machines) on ebay (& used kilns in general) only heat up to 2400F at best. Great items to have - but not capable of what you want to do. I actually do want to get into iron casting. Homemade versions are all over UTube, but not for iron & never revealing just how hot they can get them.