What would you make with this?

[GilpinGuy]

Pretty cool. What would you make?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSoWxG30rb0

[00tec]

Aluminum ammo for my upcoming golf ball cannon.

[Irving]

I've watched a lot of this guy's channel, and seen other similar forges. I wanted to make the soup can forge, but realistically I don't know what I'd do with one. I'd build this in a heartbeat if I thought I could use it for anything. What are food cans made out of now a days, still tin?

[GilpinGuy]

I'm in the same boat Stu. I think it's cool as hell and I want to build one but have no idea what to make with it. Just looks interesting and fun. I'm hoping someone posts something inspiring.

[Irving]

Here, this will give you some direction then. This guy's channel is very similar.

jBVa2bw3r_k

[buffalobo]

Looks like his forge would handle most small black smithing projects. Knife making, heat treating...

[Irving]

I made this a while ago. Maybe that forge could make arrow points for home made arrows?

rmxn-nPNhY8

This bow takes about as long to make as it takes to watch the video by the way.

[Circuits]

What are food cans made out of now a days, still tin?
Generally steel. Cheap, thin, low-grade sheet steel with an internal polymer coating to prevent it from reacting with the contents.

[Irving]

Anything worth melting it down for?

[Irving]

I've got it! Build yourself a forge and have all the belt buckles you'll ever need!

npHMfYxjcsI

[Ranger353]

AR lowers would be my guess. You could use one of the many 80% kits and templates to mill out a nice homemade lower.

[mcantar18c]

^That was my suggestion too.
If I recycle all those aluminum cans into a lower, would it still piss off a hippy?

[HoneyBadger]

^That was my suggestion too.
If I recycle all those aluminum cans into a lower, would it still piss off a hippy?
It IS recycling... [Dunno]


[Coffee]

[Great-Kazoo]

It IS recycling... [Dunno]


[Coffee]

RECYCLE, REUSE, RELOAD

[Circuits]

Nothing wrong with having steel ingots laying around, anymore than any other ingot. Can always go all ancient japanese swordsmith with 'em, if you got something to start from. Or use them as puddle ingot forge stock for alloying or general machining. Steel's a bit funny in that it's just iron, with the right mix of impurities.

The riddle of steel is in the alloy and the temper... food can puddle ingots are a pretty low starting point, but they're still a starting point.

[Irving]

I forgot that steel is an alloy.

[sroz]

Ammunition for your SHTF slingshot.

[68Charger]

I don't think I'd do a lower- since without forging dies a cast lower could be porous, and aluminium cans are of indeterminate alloys.
0% forgings are available for $25-30, and 80% for less than $50.

But some other pieces you want to copy or create- lost foam casting of Al is not too hard, so if you can make it out of foam, you can cast it in Al (within reason)
This forge would also get hot enough to melt copper, bronze or brass. Hot enough to forge/form steel, but probably not to melt it- depending on the alloy.

you could always cast an anthill.. that really pisses off the hippies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukwSTTbKrk

[ChunkyMonkey]

Just need ar lower cast

Edit: posted before reading the rest of the responses :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ranger353]

I don't think I'd do a lower- since without forging dies a cast lower could be porous, and aluminium cans are of indeterminate alloys.
0% forgings are available for $25-30, and 80% for less than $50.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That is true, your would have to ensure that the molten aluminum is very clean before pouring, and then do a real thorough exam of the finished cast to look for blemishes, cracks, bubbles, etc... The finished cast would be close to or as strong as a resin or plastic lower.

[Wulf202]

I say you make a lower out of copper

[Sawin]

I say you make a lower out of copper

Definitely, but i'd say a matching upper and lower out of copper...
I think it could be gorgeous with just the right amount of patina.

[Wulf202]

Ill donate the copper pipe ive been saving

[hollohas]

Dad and I made a forge similar to these but quite a bit bigger out of an old 6 gal metal bucket. We made a bunch of ingots at first. Then made various small parts by sand casting them. Sand casted parts can turn out very clean if you do it right.

BTW - we used a muffin tin as an ingot mold just like this guy. Worked well.

[GilpinGuy]

I finally have a cool idea for a casting. Not really useful or anything, but cool I think. And it'll be a fun experiment. I'll reveal it when I have a chance to get this thing put together and I find someone with a wood shop I can use to made the mold. Hopefully I can pull this off.

Also, I found graphite crucibles on Amazon and Ebay for only $20-$30. I'd get one of these before trying to cut up an old fire extinguisher. And I plan on building a propane forge instead of the charcoal one - we'll see.

[Great-Kazoo]

I finally have a cool idea for a casting. Not really useful or anything, but cool I think. And it'll be a fun experiment. I'll reveal it when I have a chance to get this thing put together and I find someone with a wood shop I can use to made the mold. Hopefully I can pull this off.

Also, I found graphite crucibles on Amazon and Ebay for only $20-$30. I'd get one of these before trying to cut up an old fire extinguisher. And I plan on building a propane forge instead of the charcoal one - we'll see.

I have 2 out of date medical O2 tanks sitting here.

[GilpinGuy]

I have 2 out of date medical O2 tanks sitting here.

If you're offering to sell or give them to me to cut up and use as a crucible, I do appreciate it, but it would cost me $10 to drive there and back and I don't get up that way very often. I'd rather just buy one for $20 that I don't have to cut, etc., have it delivered to my door and use it right out of the box. Maybe some other flat-lander can use them though.

[gnihcraes]

I'm attempting to build one of these. Had to start again after the first pour didn't turn out very well.

I just need to locate a center pot. I'm thinking of getting some thin wall steel pipe and weld an end on it vs the fire ext. example.


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9QPKh29V5E4/VLruz1B_B8I/AAAAAAABkHA/JMcUnRW-MaQ/w509-h905-no/20150117_162241.jpg

[gnihcraes]

thought I'd try it with a compressed air feed instead of a hair dryer. Just so I can better regulate the amount of air.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UauL62OeVds/VLw0kmQdvyI/AAAAAAABkI8/9MDB3hIc3dg/w509-h905-no/20150118_153122.jpg

[GilpinGuy]

Cool! Keep us posted.

[Irving]

Might be cool to make your own silverware.

[HoneyBadger]

Great! Now you can hook up a tank of O2 and really get it going!

or how about acetylene? Is that too hot for this?

[68Charger]

Great! Now you can hook up a tank of O2 and really get it going!

or how about acetylene? Is that too hot for this?

Too expensive- you could tone down the heat with the gas flow- but acetylene is expensive compared to coal, charcoal, or even propane.

Lookin good, I was going to pick up some Perlite on my next trip to the man store... saw some versions that called for fire clay, too.

[GilpinGuy]

I had planned on going to HD today but ran out of time. Tomorrow I guess.

[gnihcraes]

Tested today. Works. Took forever to get a good fire going. It would burn out of charcoal before getting hot enough. Had to keep adding more and getting hot again.

Finally got it all going. Melted about 20 cans into a ingot poured into the coffee can. Shown sitting on top of the can in photo.

Had to make crucible out of steel square tube and welded a bottom on it.

Running the compressor a lot to keep airflow going was costly I'm sure. :) but was nice to vary the airflow to change heat level.

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/01/19/6bef670598d72e7c0c93f4a66a824dc5.jpg