20lb ingot mold

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I have a scrap storage problem. I decided I would cast my scrap into 20lb ingots that could be palletized. A trash can of turnings can be reduce to 6 to 8 ingots. This is the quick mold I whipped out. It works well. I might make a few more.I included a picture of my quick layout I used to write my g-code (yes, the coordinates are y,x... not sure what I was thinking, but it worked). I can hardly believe that the ingot mold came out the correct volume for a 20lb ingot on the first try. I must subconsciously be a genius  Attached Images
Reply:ok... now you're just bragging....lol..lol..if you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much room..
Reply:And you can make nice 5# ingots which will fit in the pot with a hunk of 3" channel.
Reply:What do you use to melt the material down to the ingots?
Reply:Fire Millermatic DVIMillermatic 251Older buzz box Cheap 120 welder
Reply:Originally Posted by tzhaulingWhat do you use to melt the material down to the ingots?
Reply:Here is a pic of the 5#er Attached Images
Reply:Hey that's an AWESOME idea !  Do you have measurments for the 5lber?  I could use that one for sure....You using a small home-made furnace, or just melting in a home-made cruicible with OXY/ACE or OXY/LPG ?Cheers,/J...Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:hmmm, the cost of preparing, heating and pouring  these ingots at 2500 degrees+  (still would like to know the actual technique you are using) is high in energy/fuel/time and is  more than scrap iron/steel is worth by a good margin right now.  Steel prices would have to near triple for it to make good economic sense.  The quality of the ingot  would be low unless you have a good small scale technique for exclusion of oxygen as you go.  In addition the potential for a serious injory pouring 20# of hot steel  (casting by yourself are U?) is high.  You can however sell off that scrap, get a cleaner shop? U can do that easily almost anywhere.   Not to rain on your parade, I have cast a lot (aluminum, brass some steel)  with a group  of guys,  Steel is the hardest one to do safely in small scale even if you can weld up a nice little 20# pot.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I agree with your take on the cost and amount of work / safety aspects of the project there Papa, but damn, THAT is super cool forhire. I need to look away from this thread. I already have to many "ideas" in my head. Even if I lost out 3-1 on something like this, I would be worth it. You sir, are near the top on the coolometer!Just another clown trying to be cool
Reply:Ok casting is fun, sure... but why do you want pallets full of ingots?  Some ingots are made from scrap and used to recast in a foundry, ok, but unless this is a foundry?  These would have a lot of slag and not be too good for that probably?  So  what are you going to "do" with 'em?   I get 3-4 guys a week by my place asking to buy steel scrap ? as is  So I'm just wondering?Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:Papa,Why do you keep mentioning steel when the ingots are clearly aluminum?  Keeping ingots on hand is a great idea if you do your own casting.My name's not Jim....
Reply:I thought it might have been white gold.  Guess I was wrong.
Reply:I have several similar ones that I use for lead. Most ofthe scarp I'm given is hard to store and often full of copper and trash (range waste). When I'm casting weights for diving I usually use a large pot to help melt down the scrap and clean out all the trash that will float to the top. After I'm done with my pour, I'll usually just try to clean as much scrap as I can since I've gotthe pot running and hot and pour clean ingots that I can use with the small pot if I just need to recast one or two weights.One of these days I'd love to do an alum furnace and get back into sand casting alum. That was a real trip..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by jmanHey that's an AWESOME idea !  Do you have measurments for the 5lber?  I could use that one for sure....You using a small home-made furnace, or just melting in a home-made cruicible with OXY/ACE or OXY/LPG ?Cheers,/J...
Reply:hmmm aluminum, ok I  didn't see that at all, somehow I got the notion these were steel ingots? ... well that is easier and safer of course.  I will pencil the costs a bit there, could be a good idea if you are storing them to sell.   Casting lead etc is great if you don't breath the fumes.  Unless you've got a huge foundry a 20# ingot of aluminum will take a lot of heat and space to remelt.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:A few more details. The aluminum alloy is 6061 it melts around 1200 degrees. It's a bit chunky as a casting alloy so it will likely be scrapped. Unless I can re-alloy it by adding some silicon which would improve the fluidity and cast something. Scrap prices are low. I'm waiting for them to come back up. In the mean time... I need to reduce this stuff down so I'm not taking up so much space! My loss to dross has been low as the turnings are dry, clean and granular. Lower loss than expected. I'll likely sell my stringy stuff as is unless I can shred them or briquette them. The ingots cut down fine on the band saw if I need to remelt. Currently I'm using a crucible furnace with B20 sized crucible. I'm thinking of going up to a B40 as it will fit in my furnace and I could get two ingots per pour. This has been a good experiment.
Reply:Howdy Forhire,I too sort of thought the ingots were for your own use.Have you been able to sell any DIY ingots at good prices?Without an analysis it would seem that the content would be in question.Have you checked scrap prices lately? Now may be the time to sell.But the big question - Would you be "for hire" to pour a few custom castings? Dimensions about 2"x20"x20" Could you use an old part as a sample/pattern/mold?Good LuckLast edited by denrep; 03-20-2010 at 12:06 PM.
Reply:If you're going to all the trouble of melting and pouring a relatively valuless scrap material, why not cast small cannonballs?Go a bit to the clever side and cast them with US in the side, and hunt yourself up a kid to sell them as Civil War relics at some Fleamarket.  You'll have a much higher profit.
Reply:Originally Posted by denrepHowdy Forhire,I too sort of thought the ingots were for your own use.Have you been able to sell any DIY ingots at good prices?Without an analysis it would seem that the content would be in question.Have you checked scrap prices lately? Now may be the time to sell.But the big question - Would you be "for hire" to pour a few custom castings? Dimensions about 2"x20"x20" Could you use an old part as a sample/pattern/mold?Good Luck
Reply:Originally Posted by Old FartIf you're going to all the trouble of melting and pouring a relatively valuless scrap material, why not cast small cannonballs?Go a bit to the clever side and cast them with US in the side, and hunt yourself up a kid to sell them as Civil War relics at some Fleamarket.  You'll have a much higher profit.
Reply:Actually iron/zink alloys were very popular, a lot of the reenactor croud are going mostly zink.  Given the intelligence of people today you could probably sell them magnesium cannon balls from the Civil War.You could also cast 3 feet of rusty dog chain to the ball and sell it as a chain gang relic.  The antique dealers will probably buy them up fast.
Reply:forhire:  didn't mean to rain on the parade re: casting steel etc... got lost in the thread.  I figure your 20# mold would have a volume of about 1/3 cubic feet.  If the volume is about 38 cups that figures out to near 9.5 quarts.   We can do it legit in grams/cc too:6061 aluminum density = 2.7 grams/cc   2.7 g/cc x 454 grams /pound x 20 pound ingot = 24516 grams Al. and 9088 cc of volume9088 cc Al x .061 cubic inches /cc = 554 cu inches of Al554 cubic inches of Al x .069 cups /cubic inch = 38 cups Al38 cups Al x .25 quarts /cup = 9,5 quarts of AlSo the volume of the mold should be about  9.5 quarts. What to make, what to cast???   6061 is good for structural stuff... like Architectural decor trim, and boat  trim.  You  might have to redo the mix a bit, silicon or I dunno?  it'll cast well eventually.  I'd stay clear of stuff that could cause you liability like race car parts etc... but door knockers and gate trim might be easy and the mold size is not too critical.  BIG items might sell well because bigger castings are tougher to find, and you have the capacity to do it and you GOT the Al just sitting there anyways.   Might be able to repro some older designs from old original items you find on ebay etc... Anodized black (food dye) and shot in polyurethane it'll last a long time. enjoy,Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:I think you should start turning out Gingery DIY kits.  Just sell the cast parts.  I think you would do pretty well.
Reply:Originally Posted by SimpleSimonI think you should start turning out Gingery DIY kits.  Just sell the cast parts.  I think you would do pretty well.Hold on to your Aluminum....One day in the 'not-so-distant' future, your ingots will be worth considerably more.There is A LOT of Aluminum in the ground but like every other metal, it is a 'Finite souce'  Aluminum however is one of those metals that likes to 'BIND' with others, such as 'BAUXITE' and it has to be of course, mined and THEN processed.  This is GETTING REALLY expensive due to FUEL prices, Labour, etc but the prices have remained relatively LOW...  This is about to change very quickly due to 'Supply and Demand'.A good example, is our local Scrap Dealers.  If you don't show up at the 'Metal Yard' at the 'RIGHT' time, you won't see ANY decent aluminum scrap!  That stuff is getting chewed up and RE-SOLD as fast as it comes in !Also, your ingots will command the BEST possible price for AL scrap considering it does not need to be broken down for processing.Cheers,/J...Miller Diversion 165120 amp Buzz BoxVictor Oxy/Ace Oxy/LPGSmith "Little" Oxy/LPGHypertherm Powermax 30Lot's of Misc. tools n' crap....
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireAnybody have any good ideas of an item I could cast?
Reply:Finally found a use for the ingots I cast Unloaded this plate and needed some taller cribbing so I could put it on a pallet... a quick glance around the shop I spotted the stack of ingots. Worked perfectly  Attached Images
Reply:Here's the answer to the long awaited question...I just hauled in 10,311 lbs of scrap turnings today. I got 18 cents per lbs more for the 217 lbs of cast ingots than the remaining 5 tons of loose granular turnings. I think I left $1800 bucks on the table. Of course I cannot imagine the time it would have taken to reduce 5 tons of chips in my small furnace.
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireOld Fart, you nailed it, valueless scrap. If I'm earning good dollar on my scrap it means I'm paying premium at the mill. I should have known scrap was up because raw is climbing again.Genius idea with the canon balls at the flea market. Of course they would have been steel  during the Civil War, not aluminum Anybody have any good ideas of an item I could cast?
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireHere's the answer to the long awaited question...I just hauled in 10,311 lbs of scrap turnings today. I got 18 cents per lbs more for the 217 lbs of cast ingots than the remaining 5 tons of loose granular turnings. I think I left $1800 bucks on the table. Of course I cannot imagine the time it would have taken to reduce 5 tons of chips in my small furnace.
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireOld Fart, you nailed it, valueless scrap. If I'm earning good dollar on my scrap it means I'm paying premium at the mill. I should have known scrap was up because raw is climbing again.Genius idea with the canon balls at the flea market. Of course they would have been steel  during the Civil War, not aluminum Anybody have any good ideas of an item I could cast?
Reply:Originally Posted by smokin_dodgeWhat is your cost on making an ingot and time? if you know those numbers just a quick and simple bit of math and you whether you could turn a profit - not much, but at least something. Where i work thats currently my job, to increase the profit margin by calculating how much time it takes for us to do certain mechanical procedures - id be more than happy to draw up a spreadsheet for you with the numbers (i just scrapped 37,000lbs of steel)maybe its time to hire a highschool graduate and teach him the art of smelting....