Casting a Silver Ring!

[oldbadger]

I've seen any number of reactionary (is that the right term?) furnaces-- made of various tin cans or other. I've seen some as small as a gallon can, with rock wool (basically spun rock fibers, won't burn, won't melt) as insulation. I saw a large one made of a galvanized trash can, too. Re-purposed hot water tanks, the works. There is also mixable cement material, you can get, that when cured, is fireproof, won't melt, won't burn, that you can use to mold your furnace.

Plain old propane will get hot enough to melt copper, if you use an air blower, and a home built torch (such that the flame is perfectly balanced between air and gas) and has a high enough BTU to keep the heat in, and use a heat retention furnace, often with the aforementioned rock wool or castable cement. Note: Ordinary concrete, or mortar, will burn if you get it hot enough-- it's basically limestone after all, and will react with oxygen in the air, if you get it hot enough. So don't use that.

I love the subject of home brew forges, I wish I had the health and money to do some myself.

Wow!
I don't know if I will build a little oven/furnace or spend much money on gear. All I used (yesterday) to melt the 2oz of silver needed was a Butane ring which the crucible sat upon, bathed in flame, and a butane-propane torch which I pointed directly in to the crucible. When it was time to take the crucible to the mold I kept the flame pointing in to the silver all the way until I had made the pour.

The butane ring and cylinder is a camping one and I paid £3 each for the cylinders at a local general store and sprayed them silver because they were emergency cooking gear kept in the kitchen and my Missus preferred them that way.

The torch head was about £15 (I bought it years ago) and the butane-propane bottles cost £5.50 at the local DIY store.

I have ordered a proper propane torch on ebay £9, and the local DIY store charges £10 for propane bottles.

The Cuttlefish bones cost £1.41 each at the pet shop, and can only be used for one casting, but it was easy to prepare that one for the job.

So I don't think that I will spend much money at all on gear if I stick to just melting and pouring silver in very small amounts. Folks on google say that it gets expensive when larger quantities of metal have to be heated and poured.

Oh! The little brass pot in the photo contains borax powder, which is sprinkled over the silver to help it melt. I probably would have got nowhere without that. Google training vids sure are wonderful.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Wow!
I don't know if I will build a little oven/furnace or spend much money on gear. All I used (yesterday) to melt the 2oz of silver needed was a Butane ring which the crucible sat upon, bathed in flame, and a butane-propane torch which I pointed directly in to the crucible. When it was time to take the crucible to the mold I kept the flame pointing in to the silver all the way until I had made the pour.

The butane ring and cylinder is a camping one and I paid £3 each for the cylinders at a local general store and sprayed them silver because they were emergency cooking gear kept in the kitchen and my Missus preferred them that way.

The torch head was about £15 (I bought it years ago) and the butane-propane bottles cost £5.50 at the local DIY store.

I have ordered a proper propane torch on ebay £9, and the local DIY store charges £10 for propane bottles.

The Cuttlefish bones cost £1.41 each at the pet shop, and can only be used for one casting, but it was easy to prepare that one for the job.

So I don't think that I will spend much money at all on gear if I stick to just melting and pouring silver in very small amounts. Folks on google say that it gets expensive when larger quantities of metal have to be heated and poured.

Oh! The little brass pot in the photo contains borax powder, which is sprinkled over the silver to help it melt. I probably would have got nowhere without that. Google training vids sure are wonderful. View attachment 36223

I gotcha, very small batches, then.

Look up something called MAPP gas-- it's a gas mix, and burns hotter than propane or butane, it's typically in the plumbing section. In the US, the disposable bottles of MAPP are yellow in color, but attach to standard blue-bottle propane torches. I've used MAPP, and it's significantly hotter.

But if you're getting a usable melt? Why mess with what works?

Keep posting your work, though-- it's quite fascinating.

Edit: Invest in a high quality ABC fire extinguisher, though. Seriously. I'd recommend a carbon dioxide one, but those can run into some money. A dry powder should work quite well with molten metal caused fires. Do not use water! A steam explosion can be just as dangerous as a run away fire....

 

[oldbadger]

That's really neat! I've casted a lot of different resins in different casting materials but havent worked with metal yet. I'm really interested in casting aluminum with green sand. Project for later.

Would love to see the ring after detailing is done.

The results of green sand and ally mixtures would produce a beautiful enamel .....am I right?

An old friend (long gone) was a fingerprint specialist and he used aluminium dust in his work. He was very careful with it because it can explode if heated and oxidized in the wrong mix. Very very explosive. Although fairly easy to do, I have avoided melting aluminium ever since.

I will post a pic of the finished ring but I'm so amazed at the result of the attempt that I don't want to cut the pouring head off it yet! I know that sounds silly.... I just keep looking at it.

I'm going to practice working on a piece of silver for an hour or two before I go anywhere near that ring........

 

[oldbadger]

I do castings for porn movies. Or I will, if any babes out there are interested.

Me and @Revoltingest , we would make fine Porn Stars.

If you are shooting in America ..... Revoltingest.
Or in the UK ......... Oldbadger.

It's the experience, you know, over half a century of experience (each). The wrinkles don't matter, mate.

 

[oldbadger]

I gotcha, very small batches, then.

Look up something called MAPP gas-- it's a gas mix, and burns hotter than propane or butane, it's typically in the plumbing section. In the US, the disposable bottles of MAPP are yellow in color, but attach to standard blue-bottle propane torches. I've used MAPP, and it's significantly hotter.

Thankyou! I have just checked on our DIY store's website, and propnane gas bottles are £10, and mapp ones are £20. When my new propnane torch arrives I will buy mapp gas bottles for it

But if you're getting a usable melt? Why mess with what works?

Keep posting your work, though-- it's quite fascinating.

Edit: Invest in a high quality ABC fire extinguisher, though. Seriously. I'd recommend a carbon dioxide one, but those can run into some money. A dry powder should work quite well with molten metal caused fires. Do not use water! A steam explosion can be just as dangerous as a run away fire....

Excellent! I changed all our fire extinguishers over to CO2 ones last year, and a TG CO2 fire extinguisher was within reach during the whole job. I also bought five cans of 'extinguisher spray' for use in kitchens etc but I have not tested one yet. I must do that..... there's another job for today.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

The results of green sand and ally mixtures would produce a beautiful enamel .....am I right?.

My understanding that green sand is ordinary sand that has a wee bit of moisture, and some chemicals that, when pounded together, it will form complex and detail shapes from a mold-- you form the sand around an object, with carefully crafted split planes, split the mold, remove the object, then reassemble the mold, and pour. I've actually poured aluminum into green sand molds, way-way back in 1972? When Shop Class was a real thing... public school it was, too... Junior High. I loved it then, and should have pursued it more, but the teacher thought I was unsuited to such things, and actively discouraged me from even trying. *sigh*

An old friend (long gone) was a fingerprint specialist and he used aluminium dust in his work. He was very careful with it because it can explode if heated and oxidized in the wrong mix. Very very explosive. Although fairly easy to do, I have avoided melting aluminium ever since..

Yes, aluminium powder is one of the components of Thermite. I'll say little more, other than Thermite is used to weld railroad rails, out in the field... it's that powerful. The TV show The Myth Busters used Thermite in quite a number of demonstrations-- one, they "cut" (melted, really) a car in half...

But sheet aluminium, as in empty soda/beer cans, melts quite nicely, and as safe as melted metal can be. Tons of youtube on how to build an aluminum forge.

I will post a pic of the finished ring but I'm so amazed at the result of the attempt that I don't want to cut the pouring head off it yet! I know that sounds silly.... I just keep looking at it.

I'm going to practice working on a piece of silver for an hour or two before I go anywhere near that ring........

It's definitely a good luck piece, now for sure.

 

[oldbadger]

My understanding that green sand is ordinary sand that has a wee bit of moisture, and some chemicals that, when pounded together, it will form complex and detail shapes from a mold-- you form the sand around an object, with carefully crafted split planes, split the mold, remove the object, then reassemble the mold, and pour. I've actually poured aluminum into green sand molds, way-way back in 1972? When Shop Class was a real thing... public school it was, too... Junior High. I loved it then, and should have pursued it more, but the teacher thought I was unsuited to such things, and actively discouraged me from even trying. *sigh*



Yes, aluminium powder is one of the components of Thermite. I'll say little more, other than Thermite is used to weld railroad rails, out in the field... it's that powerful. The TV show The Myth Busters used Thermite in quite a number of demonstrations-- one, they "cut" (melted, really) a car in half...

But sheet aluminium, as in empty soda/beer cans, melts quite nicely, and as safe as melted metal can be. Tons of youtube on how to build an aluminum forge.



It's definitely a good luck piece, now for sure.

I can't wait to receive this propane torch. A similar torch from the DIY store is £35 so I'm just going to wait for the ebay one.

I always keep a piece of ebony to make rings and jewelry with, but from now on I will use it to make blanks for copying in silver. My wife cannot wear silver for long because it affects her skin, so once I have more experience I will ask her to sort through her jewelry to provide some gold. I do have an old 18ct 9gram gold ring but I can't use it because it was my wedding ring when married to my late wife. My wife wouldn't want me to melt it down for anything else.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

Hey, I like those opals!

 

[Revoltingest]

Me and @Revoltingest , we would make fine Porn Stars.

If you are shooting in America ..... Revoltingest.
Or in the UK ......... Oldbadger.

It's the experience, you know, over half a century of experience (each). The wrinkles don't matter, mate.

I don't think so.
No one wants to watch a mangy, barely ambulatory,
aged shar pei flop about in a seizure.

 

[Howard Is]

Me and @Revoltingest , we would make fine Porn Stars.

If you are shooting in America ..... Revoltingest.
Or in the UK ......... Oldbadger.

It's the experience, you know, over half a century of experience (each). The wrinkles don't matter, mate.

I don't think so.
No one wants to watch a mangy, barely ambulatory,
aged shar pei flop about in a seizure.

It’s a brave new world. GILFs are very popular now, so stand up and be a proud FOG ( f***able old guy).

 

[oldbadger]

I don't think so.
No one wants to watch a mangy, barely ambulatory,
aged shar pei flop about in a seizure.

Speak fer yerself, mate.
I'm a fine figure of a VOAP (very old age pensioner).

 

[oldbadger]

Hey, I like those opals!

The Laboratories best, to be true.
The prices are significantly lower.

 

[Revoltingest]

Speak fer yerself, mate.
I'm a fine figure of a VOAP (very old age pensioner).

I did speak of myself.
Didn't you notice "barely" preceding "ambulatory"?

 

[oldbadger]

I will have to wait for my delft sand frame to arrive if I am to cast a clam shell. I went on the foreshore this morning, raked up various sizes of clams and got a breakfast out of them but sadly when I closed the empty shells and squeezed them hard between finger and thumb the smaller ones collapsed and shattered, which means that they could not crush cuttlefish bone as the two halves are closed around the shell.

So for now I will craft an ebony ring to take a 9mm x 7mm opal stone in a cabochet setting and then use that to form a mold in a cuttlefish bone. I'll post pics when I've made the ebony ring.

 

[oldbadger]

I did speak of myself.
Didn't you notice "barely" preceding "ambulatory"?

I would be bare as well, in such films.
I'm wondering how much money I could make.
Imagine me in a Bentley.

 

[Thief]

just asking.....I thought pure silver has a contact problem with human skin
turns your skin black

silver oxidizes
the tarnish is held back by other elements
nickel for one
hence 'sterling silver'

 

[Revoltingest]

I would be bare as well, in such films.
I'm wondering how much money I could make.
Imagine me in a Bentley.

I tried.
This was the best I could imagine....

 

[oldbadger]

just asking.....I thought pure silver has a contact problem with human skin
turns your skin black

silver oxidizes
the tarnish is held back by other elements
nickel for one
hence 'sterling silver'

I used 925 sterling silver, which usually has a 7.5% nickel content. All the pices of silver which I melted down were marked 925.

Yes. My wife cannot wear silver at all.
But I can wear silver rings all day long.

A lady neighbour has a silver wedding ring and hardly ever takes it off, so I suppose it's all to do with acid levels on skin surfaces, maybe?

 

[Thief]

I used 925 sterling silver, which usually has a 7.5% nickel content. All the pices of silver which I melted down were marked 925.

Yes. My wife cannot wear silver at all.
But I can wear silver rings all day long.

A lady neighbour has a silver wedding ring and hardly ever takes it off, so I suppose it's all to do with acid levels on skin surfaces, maybe?

and exposure to household cleaners
water
handling fatty food stuff?

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

I can't wait to receive this propane torch. A similar torch from the DIY store is £35 so I'm just going to wait for the ebay one.

I always keep a piece of ebony to make rings and jewelry with, but from now on I will use it to make blanks for copying in silver. My wife cannot wear silver for long because it affects her skin, so once I have more experience I will ask her to sort through her jewelry to provide some gold. I do have an old 18ct 9gram gold ring but I can't use it because it was my wedding ring when married to my late wife. My wife wouldn't want me to melt it down for anything else.

One thing some folk have done, re: jewelry, is coat them with wax or even polyurethane varnish.

One should, obviously, experiment with some pieces that are not cherished. Either the wax or the poly should, until it wears off, protect the skin from the metal.

I am like your wife, and don't wear any jewelry of any sort, having learned the hard way with a class ring, back in the 1970's. I used to wear watches a lot (cell phones have replaced my watches-- automatic, never needs winding or setting, gives the weather too...).

But I have tried the coating method, and it works for me-- although you have to strip the coating off and re-apply every so often. I used acetone, which works quite well on most. Orange based paint strippers also work beautifully -- it literally smells of oranges... (still toxic, though--use plenty of water).