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#1
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Mapp torch for melting silver
This weekend, I tried for the first time to cast some silver. I made
my mold (sand), and put my silver casting grain in a very small cast iron pot. I lit my mapp torch and started to heat the silver. It all fused itself together, but never really turned liquid. Part of the problem I had was that it was hard to get the flame inside the pot without tipping the cylinder way over (instructions said this was bad). Is it possible to melt silver with this type of torch? It's not the mapp with the oxygen cylinder attached, and I was trying to melt 1 oz. If it's not possible to do with this one, can someone suggest a cheap alternative? I'm not going to be doing a lot of silver, so I don't really want to spend much. thanks, dan |
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#2
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To successfully cast Silver you -must- get both the Silver and the vessel
you melt the Silver in up to pouring temperature. IOW you must heat the cast Iron pot until the Silver melts. You -can- do it with MAPP gas but you would be better off if you went to either a Jewelry tool supplier or a place that sells casting supplies for re-loaders and got a "ladle" designed to do the melt in. If you go to a re-loaders supply you can find one with an enclosed pour spout that fits well into the sprue hole and puts the whole weight of metal behind filling the mold. For instance: http://www.lymanproducts.com/store/page39.html Lyman calls it a Lead dipper. It is across the bottom of the picture on the top right of the page. There are other designs but a "shooters supply" should have them in stock if they keep other casting equipment. -- Don Thompson "The only stupid questions are those that should have been asked, but weren't, or those that have been asked and answered over and over, but the answers not listened to." Peter Rowe "dan" wrote in message ... This weekend, I tried for the first time to cast some silver. I made my mold (sand), and put my silver casting grain in a very small cast iron pot. I lit my mapp torch and started to heat the silver. It all fused itself together, but never really turned liquid. Part of the problem I had was that it was hard to get the flame inside the pot without tipping the cylinder way over (instructions said this was bad). Is it possible to melt silver with this type of torch? It's not the mapp with the oxygen cylinder attached, and I was trying to melt 1 oz. If it's not possible to do with this one, can someone suggest a cheap alternative? I'm not going to be doing a lot of silver, so I don't really want to spend much. thanks, dan |
#3
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I melt silver with a propane torch using a Burno crucible which has a lid to
retain the heat. It's made of some kind of ceramic material. Perhaps your iron pot is sucking away the heat. Please understand that I am not a casting expert. I only do it because I don't want to pay someone to process my small amount of scrap. "dan" wrote in message ... This weekend, I tried for the first time to cast some silver. I made my mold (sand), and put my silver casting grain in a very small cast iron pot. I lit my mapp torch and started to heat the silver. It all fused itself together, but never really turned liquid. Part of the problem I had was that it was hard to get the flame inside the pot without tipping the cylinder way over (instructions said this was bad). Is it possible to melt silver with this type of torch? It's not the mapp with the oxygen cylinder attached, and I was trying to melt 1 oz. If it's not possible to do with this one, can someone suggest a cheap alternative? I'm not going to be doing a lot of silver, so I don't really want to spend much. thanks, dan |
#4
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I haven't had a lot of luck using Mapp, I use propane instead. An ounce of
silver is more that I have melted at one time, you might need more torch for that much metal. If your mold had several items sprued in there, break it down to melts of about 1/3 to 1/2 ounce of silver. There are several problems with using an uncoated cast iron pot. It is likely to sink a lot of heat away from your melt and contaminate your silver. If you can, use some firebricks to make a temporary forge to contain the heat to the melt. As an alternative, you may want to try using a charcoal fire to melt the silver - I haven't tried it myself, but it ought to work. "dan" wrote in message ... This weekend, I tried for the first time to cast some silver. I made my mold (sand), and put my silver casting grain in a very small cast iron pot. I lit my mapp torch and started to heat the silver. It all fused itself together, but never really turned liquid. Part of the problem I had was that it was hard to get the flame inside the pot without tipping the cylinder way over (instructions said this was bad). Is it possible to melt silver with this type of torch? It's not the mapp with the oxygen cylinder attached, and I was trying to melt 1 oz. If it's not possible to do with this one, can someone suggest a cheap alternative? I'm not going to be doing a lot of silver, so I don't really want to spend much. thanks, dan |
#5
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Thanks to everyone for your help!!! I purchased a small crucible, and
had no problem whatsoever melting the silver. From what everyone said, and what I observered, it looks like the cast iron pot was acting as a giant heat sink. I have quite a lot more work to do on the ring, but the casting came out fine. dan "Bruce C." wrote in message . .. I haven't had a lot of luck using Mapp, I use propane instead. An ounce of silver is more that I have melted at one time, you might need more torch for that much metal. If your mold had several items sprued in there, break it down to melts of about 1/3 to 1/2 ounce of silver. There are several problems with using an uncoated cast iron pot. It is likely to sink a lot of heat away from your melt and contaminate your silver. If you can, use some firebricks to make a temporary forge to contain the heat to the melt. As an alternative, you may want to try using a charcoal fire to melt the silver - I haven't tried it myself, but it ought to work. "dan" wrote in message ... This weekend, I tried for the first time to cast some silver. I made my mold (sand), and put my silver casting grain in a very small cast iron pot. I lit my mapp torch and started to heat the silver. It all fused itself together, but never really turned liquid. Part of the problem I had was that it was hard to get the flame inside the pot without tipping the cylinder way over (instructions said this was bad). Is it possible to melt silver with this type of torch? It's not the mapp with the oxygen cylinder attached, and I was trying to melt 1 oz. If it's not possible to do with this one, can someone suggest a cheap alternative? I'm not going to be doing a lot of silver, so I don't really want to spend much. thanks, dan |
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