jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 10:41:30 GMT -5
I'm all over the place on the creative spectrum (that might be a generous description), and most of it is semi-related to potential projects swirling around in my head. I have the need to cast a mount/stand for a stone sculpture I have in the works, so I started playing with different metals, all reclaimed from stuff around the house and office (aka junk). I thought it would be neat to have a golden egg, but real gold would of course be cost prohibitive, so I played around with an alloy recipe and got kind of close? You be the judge... The video was just a silly "after work and I'm kind of bored" thing. Thought about making a dozen of these with different metals, but not sure I'll be able to spend that kind of time on it. The one completed is oddly satisfying to hold in your hand, and the weight is substantial so it makes folks think it might be gold (until I come clean). IMG_4054 by Kevin, on Flickr
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jan 26, 2022 10:47:00 GMT -5
That is frickin cool!
So what is it really? 😉
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 10:51:46 GMT -5
That is frickin cool! So what is it really? 😉 Thanks! It's aluminum bronze, or at least my version of it - 95% copper / 5% aluminum by weight.
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,506
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Post by Brian on Jan 26, 2022 11:07:07 GMT -5
Very cool! Great job on the video, too!
I would say you got pretty close to the look of gold with that bronze alloy, too.
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 11:23:30 GMT -5
Very cool! Great job on the video, too! I would say you got pretty close to the look of gold with that bronze alloy, too. Thank you!
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Post by rockjunquie on Jan 26, 2022 11:24:45 GMT -5
Very cool. The egg even looks like it has some heft, like gold. I think you came pretty darn close to the right color.
The video was cute.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Jan 26, 2022 11:47:41 GMT -5
That is frickin cool! So what is it really? 😉 Thanks! It's aluminum bronze, or at least my version of it - 95% copper / 5% aluminum by weight. Thanks for the description. I just watched the video. 🤣
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Post by jasoninsd on Jan 26, 2022 12:39:02 GMT -5
Holy crap! You did an amazing job on alloy selection...an amazing job on shaping the egg...and the video was awesome! LOL
You're going to have SO much fun pulling people's leg with the "Goose that Laid the Golden Egg" story! LOL
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Post by holajonathan on Jan 26, 2022 15:14:28 GMT -5
It looks a lot like many 14k gold alloys. Not quite like 24k (.999) gold, but nothing looks quite like pure gold, except, well... pure gold.
What is burning when pour into the mold? Impurities in the metal? Looks dangerous.
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mud
having dreams about rocks
Member since May 2018
Posts: 69
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Post by mud on Jan 26, 2022 15:30:41 GMT -5
The talent on this forum is just amazing. Well done.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Jan 26, 2022 15:55:11 GMT -5
Freakin' Amazing. The clickbait title was worth it, and it worked :-) Amazing talent!
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 17:10:44 GMT -5
Very cool. The egg even looks like it has some heft, like gold. I think you came pretty darn close to the right color.
The video was cute. Thank you. It does have some heft, would definitely do some damage if I chucked it at something! Holy crap! You did an amazing job on alloy selection...an amazing job on shaping the egg...and the video was awesome! LOL You're going to have SO much fun pulling people's leg with the "Goose that Laid the Golden Egg" story! LOL Thank you! I've been trying to sell the goose, but so far no takers It looks a lot like many 14k gold alloys. Not quite like 24k (.999) gold, but nothing looks quite like pure gold, except, well... pure gold. What is burning when pour into the mold? Impurities in the metal? Looks dangerous. I agree, not only does it look dangerous, I think it probably IS dangerous. I'm not gonna lie, sphincter and denim merge a little every time I pull that glowing crucible out of the furnace It's the oil in the delft clay that's burning. The talent on this forum is just amazing. Well done. You're too kind, but thank you! Freakin' Amazing. The clickbait title was worth it, and it worked :-) Amazing talent! Thank you!
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Post by Rockoonz on Jan 26, 2022 18:14:14 GMT -5
Is 5% aluminum enough to make it resist tarnishing?
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 26, 2022 18:46:00 GMT -5
That's awesome! I'm envious of your melting furnace. It looks like you have too many cool toys!
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Post by vegasjames on Jan 26, 2022 19:03:37 GMT -5
Great job. Curious though as to how stable the metal is. Looked in to some copper-aluminum alloys in the past and have read that many are not that stable. If I recall right they tend to corrode easily.
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 19:18:49 GMT -5
Is 5% aluminum enough to make it resist tarnishing? Yes! I didn't know that at the time, but after weeks of not changing in appearance, I did some reading on it. This project was purely 'by the seat of my pants', very little research up front, so I was surprised that it didn't tarnish. I figured with 95% copper that I'd see oxidization right away. It's been months now and it looks exactly the same.
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 19:23:37 GMT -5
Great job. Curious though as to how stable the metal is. Looked in to some copper-aluminum alloys in the past and have read that many are not that stable. If I recall right they tend to corrode easily. Thank you! I have no idea about corrosion, or hardness, I wasn't terribly scientific going into it. I suppose ease of corrosion would be dependent on cause, as in some kind of exposure whether environmental or otherwise, wouldn't it? For my actual project I'm going to cast it in all aluminum, so this alloy experiment doesn't matter in the long run, I just wanted to see if I could make something that resembled gold. If I notice a change over time I'll report it here, but it's been 4 months and it's still as shiny and smooth as the day I layed it...I mean cast it
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 19:25:34 GMT -5
That's awesome! I'm envious of your melting furnace. It looks like you have too many cool toys! Thank you! Also, I do have a bit of a toy problem...a side effect of spectacular rationalization skills
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Post by vegasjames on Jan 26, 2022 21:40:34 GMT -5
Great job. Curious though as to how stable the metal is. Looked in to some copper-aluminum alloys in the past and have read that many are not that stable. If I recall right they tend to corrode easily. Thank you! I have no idea about corrosion, or hardness, I wasn't terribly scientific going into it. I suppose ease of corrosion would be dependent on cause, as in some kind of exposure whether environmental or otherwise, wouldn't it? For my actual project I'm going to cast it in all aluminum, so this alloy experiment doesn't matter in the long run, I just wanted to see if I could make something that resembled gold. If I notice a change over time I'll report it here, but it's been 4 months and it's still as shiny and smooth as the day I layed it...I mean cast it I looked back in to it and found I had it backward. It is alloys with primarily aluminum that corrode easily when alloyed with small amounts of copper. In fact, they say that copper in the alloy is the worst for reducing corrosion resistance.
On the other hand the aluminum bronzes, which are mainly copper with small amounts of aluminum and sometimes other elements have good corrosion resistance:
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 456
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Post by jasperfanatic on Jan 26, 2022 21:45:28 GMT -5
Thank you! I have no idea about corrosion, or hardness, I wasn't terribly scientific going into it. I suppose ease of corrosion would be dependent on cause, as in some kind of exposure whether environmental or otherwise, wouldn't it? For my actual project I'm going to cast it in all aluminum, so this alloy experiment doesn't matter in the long run, I just wanted to see if I could make something that resembled gold. If I notice a change over time I'll report it here, but it's been 4 months and it's still as shiny and smooth as the day I layed it...I mean cast it I looked back in to it and found I had it backward. It is alloys with primarily aluminum that corrode easily when alloyed with small amounts of copper. In fact, they say that copper in the alloy is the worst for reducing corrosion resistance.
On the other hand the aluminum bronzes, which are mainly copper with small amounts of aluminum and sometimes other elements have good corrosion resistance:
Very cool, thanks for sharing! Definitely in line with what I'm experiencing with that egg.
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