jonister Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 I have been playing around with aluminum and other metal pouring (im not against lead, just trying to get different looks), and i have yet to get aluminum to pour into the mold without screwing up/not taking a pour. It seems to be too thick, has anyone tried this or does anyone have tips to get it to pour? Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Just curious but you are trying to pour molten Aluminum into an Aluminum jig mold? Not sure how that would work without a good chance of damaging your mold. I have used Lead and Tin to cast jigs.I have heard of guys using Bismuth as well. Not sure about an Aluminum jig or whether it would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toadfrog Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Mercy and You guys thought I tried to do the unusual . If you pull that off I'm going to have to come up with a toad Tony award. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Well I am actually concerned for your safety, and if I remember correctly you cannot or should not pour molten aluminum into an aluminum mold. First of all you may get aluminum to aluminum fusion. Secondly, the mold has to be a lot thicker than normal to absorb the heat. As you know aluminum expands the hotter it gets. Also pouring molten aluminum into an aluminum mold, will give all your crisp lines a softer edge. As far as I know steel molds are used for pouring molten aluminum. However I am not an expert. I will tell you this, that aluminum melts at about 1200 degrees, please stay safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 These arent aluminume molds! dont worry! . That would be crazy to pull off, these are old steel or iron molds. Should i maybe heat the mold? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 There are some great vids on YouTube for aluminium pouring. They show you how to make a gas vortex oven to get the temperatures and also show you the level of protection that you require. Heating the mold would be a good idea; preventing a freeze effect as the molten metal touches the cold mold and additional protection against any hidden moisture, your worst enemy. Pay particular attention to the protection and don't skimp. A pair of tatty jeans and trainers might be enough for plastic but won't save you from the ferocity of molten aluminium. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 When i melt aluminum in the fire, i definatley dont skimp! I wear welding gloves, goggles, carhart jeans, and a heavy jacket. (My lead gear) I will check out youtube, Thanks Dave! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Whenever I pour lead I always preheat my molds. If not they certainly won't pour correctly. As hot as this Aluminum is going to be I can assure you you will need to really heat up those molds to make this work.\ What molds are you going to pour? As in what jig design? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNC Molds N Stuff Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Most of the aluminum casting I see done by backyard foundry workers is in sand molds. Green sand or oil sand usually. They guy who burns out ant colonies for "art" is particularly interesting. One of the first things you will notice if you watch a lot of aluminum casting videos is that there are a lot of people who don't get much past, "Look at me! I can melt metal!" The reason is most of them aren't getting anywhere near the heat they need. If you happen so watch any of the successful casting videos you will see that when aluminum is hot enough it flows quite well. You will also see that most of them have taken the time to build a proper foundry furnace if only a small one. I will not say its impossible to pour aluminum into an aluminum mold, but somehow having molten aluminum significantly hotter than the melting point of aluminum pour into an aluminum mold just doesn't sound like it would work well to me. I can also see issues with pouring even if it didn't have risk of fusing. Aluminum transfers heat very efficiently. If your sprues freeze off then the mold just doesn't fill. Also an aluminum casting needs to flow and fill the mold very quickly. You are not likely using a hydraulic press to assist in filling your molds very quickly so its likely that you will need a huge vent or vents to all the liquid fill all the nooks and crannies before it starts to set. I have not done any aluminum casting myself, so I am sure there will be those who will say (or think) I should just shut up. The thing is a friend of mine does some aluminum casting, I have read a couple books on the subject, and I have as others have suggested watched a bunch of YouTube videos on the subject. There is a lot to learn, and you can probably get fair to good results, but you need to respect it, l;earn about it, and do it safely. Molten lead which is much colder will burn the living crap out of you. Molten aluminum will do more than ruin your day. You don't get any do overs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 (edited) Kasilofchrisn, I will probably be pouring bottom fishing bucktail jig heads and some weird jig mold i found in my mess but might also play around some with sinkers. Bob, i will not be using aluminum molds, but you are right on the molds needing vents, so i might have to play around with that. I saw someone pouring aluminum into styrofoam that was in sand, so maybe i will mess with that too. I might not get to pouring for a while since theres a burn ban on right now and i dont want to be caught burning whilst trying to melt it so it might be a while, but i am going to try till i get it to work because i really like the look of aluminum. Thanks guys! Edited June 22, 2015 by jonister Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 JUST BE CAREFUL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Kasilofchrisn, I will probably be pouring bottom fishing bucktail jig heads and some weird jig mold i found in my mess but might also play around some with sinkers. Bob, i will not be using aluminum molds, but you are right on the molds needing vents, so i might have to play around with that. I saw someone pouring aluminum into styrofoam that was in sand, so maybe i will mess with that too. I might not get to pouring for a while since theres a burn ban on right now and i dont want to be caught burning whilst trying to melt it so it might be a while, but i am going to try till i get it to work because i really like the look of aluminum. Thanks guys! Yeah I'm in the middle of a burn ban as well. We are not even allowed to use a charcoal BBQ grill right now. What is it about the aluminum that intrigues you? Is it possible plating or possibly using holographic foil over the lead jigs would give you the look you are looking for? I have been gluing on holographic foil on my saltwater slab jigs and topcoating with D2T and they are turning out great. very shiny and very lifelike. Especially after airbrushing the backs with opaque Createx before topcoating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I dont know, I just seem to like the looks of it . now that you mention it, I might try plating or foiling. It would be easier and faster since i have some lead jigs around. Thanks for the idea! You have a burn ban too? in Alaska? wow! I would think it would be rainy or at least damp this time of year. Here, we have been in a drought. Usually right now the rivers would be so swelled due to rain and snow melt i wouldnt be able to fish for much, right now, their so low that i can hardly launch a jon boat. Probably no burning for months! Again, thanks for the idea! i will be looking at doing it to some jigs soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Drought is serious. We had another brush fire next to the 5 fwy in SoCal a few weeks ago, from some knuckle head doing something dumb. I remember driving through Oregon in 1977, and they only allow logging when the humidity was above a certain level, so they only logged for two hours a day, early in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Have you thought of any of the chrome or aluminum colored powder Paints? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 No i hadnt, Thats another thing i will look into, thanks! Mark, thats starting to show up around here, weve already had some bad fires. I hope its just a cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 With global warming, I'm afraid it is the future, unless we develop a national interstate water transfer system, and sustainable farming practices. Here in CA, we have San Joaquin Valley farmers raising water intensive crops (alfalfa for Japanese cattle and nuts for global markets) for export with subsidized water, so they are exporting our water and making a profit, with our help! I'm sure there are lots of other examples of water waste and misappropriation, but these are the most local ones I'm aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodtimesfishing Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Here in the pacific northwest (western Washington) for the months of May and June this year is an all time record for both rain and heat. Least amount of rain and highest avg. temp ever recorded for May and June. I know, June is not over yet, however there is zero rain in the forecast and the heat is here for the rest of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasilofchrisn Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 (edited) Check out my thread on foiling jigs with holographic foil. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/topic/27948-how-to-foil-a-jig-like-this/?hl=foil Last week we had the nations largest fire the card street fire. It was ~20 miles from me or so.I think the last report after they corrected the maps was 7,500 acres. Several other fires around as well. We didn't have much snow this last winter so that didn't help things. This cycle of warming really sucks but as the earth has done for millennium's we will face another cooling cycle sometime in the future. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Kind of weird we had 2 mild winters in a row and the Midwest had 2 bad ones with lots of snow and cold. Edited June 23, 2015 by Kasilofchrisn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Thanks for the link! I read through it and might look into that kind of foil. What i am thinking is to take a jig, foil it with kitchen foil or duct foil, Then solarez coat it to level over the foil, Then paint, solarez, and plasti-dip a clear coat for a nice soft rock resistant finish. Im thinking this weather is going to bite us in the butt and do a 180. Like in 1977, i wasnt around but heard about it, and have seen pics. It was really hot for a couple years, then just dumped rain like theres no tomorrow. The Columbia river swelled so high it broke over the dikes. Rain.. thats what we need, some rain. hahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRammit Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 Y'all need water? Come get it!!!... Im in north Texas, after a 5 year drought we made national news thanks to epic flooding! Last year i could almost see the bottom of my favorite fishing holes, this year i cant find em!!!... Ive been fishing in woods and pastures! Theyre saying the amount of water that fell on us in ONE month could submerge the entire island of Manhattan almost 4 times higher than the Empire State Building! Did somebody say pipeline?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted June 24, 2015 Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 As the earth warms, the atmosphere and oceans act like a heat exchanger, moving heat from the equator to the poles by convection. Warm air rises, and move north or south as it enters the prevailing winds that are caused by the earth's rotation, and colder, denser air moved south beneath the warm air, to take it's place. The same thing happens in the oceans, as warmer, less dense water moves north or south, and colder, denser water move toward the equator beneath the warmer water above. As more heat needs to be transferred, the intensity of the storms produced by the movement of hot, wet air toward the poles colliding with colder, dryer air moving toward the equator increases . And the path of the jet stream, which is the prevailing west to east air circulation in the northern hemisphere, changes, so local weather patterns change as more or less moisture is passed over different areas. Just like a pot of water's roiling action increases as it approaches boiling. I'm no atmospheric scientist, but I did sleep in a Motel last night! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonister Posted June 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2015 JRammit i would love some water! Mark, Im worried, you slept in a motel? What you said really makes sence, Great peice of info. That explains the tuna already coming in along with those weird species such as Humbolt squid! Hey im not complaining though, i like weird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
