Is it feasible to smelter aluminum at home?

[LonesomeTriZ]

I do not even know is smelter is the correct word to use here. But I am wondering if I could smelter aluminum at home into billets myself. I got the idea from my dad. When I was young he would melt down lead to use for bullets and other things. It looked like a simple process, when he would get the lead to a melting point the impurities would float to the surface. I know aluminum has a higher melting point and the fumes would be an issue, but for the most part is it a feasible idea? Considering my future plans to buy machining equipment and my ideas for using aluminum in some future custom builds I would like to know if I can melt down the scrap I have myself at a cost effective way. If this is not a feasible idea do not flame me for it. I am asking because I do not know.

[SWIGIN]

sure, if you got a smelter (furnace) we had a nice little one in metal shop back in high school about the size of a small trash can.

i beleive the term is smelt.....like....i would like to smelt some aluminum.

but what do i know.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Thanks, I was nto sure how to use the word.

[lndy650]

i used to make my own bullets with lead too...it would be interesting to try aluminum

[LonesomeTriZ]

i am on the fence on whether or not I should go for it.

[300rman]

you just need something to heat the aluminum up enough to melt it. shop around for such equipment, and pound C/L and the rest fo the web. someone might just be going under and be willing to sell for cheap.

[hublake]

Would a furnace that they use in cermics work? Don't know how hot aluminum needs to be to melt.

[lndy650]

^i think that would work. aluminum melts around 1250

[LonesomeTriZ]

That is a good idea.

[harryredtrike]

melting point for aluminum 1220.666 degrees fahrenheit

[LonesomeTriZ]

That is pretty hot, but in small quantities I think it can be done at home.

[wheelie king]

Louis, you friggin amaze me. You don't slow down for a minute, bro.

YES is the answer, but the difficult part will be maintaining a manageable temperature and environment to prevent the metal from rapidly cooling, leaving you with an unmanageable glob. Melting the stuff is easy, but handling it and containing it, while still maintaining malleablility is the tricky part.

Let us know what you do, Louis.

[LonesomeTriZ]

If I am able to pull off what I have planned (after I get hired and start getting an income) I can go through with the ideas I have for all the parts I need that no one makes.

[hondahaulic]

when i was in highschool we had a small furnace 'thing' that would melt maybe 2 quarts of aluminum at a time. We used it for making sand castings, for my project I had about a 5x10 inch plate about 3/4" thick with HONDA in raised letters on one side. There was never an issue with the aluminum cooling too quickly after heated. It probably took about 30 seconds of handling it off of the heat to get it poured, and there were never issues with it cooling too early.

[LonesomeTriZ]

What kind of parts was the aluminum from that you melted?

[SYKO]

yea but I dont think the aluminum would be good for anything other then trinkets after ward... they add stuff to aluminum to give it strength or elasticity... would suck if you made some sweet tripples and they broke apart the first time you rode out becouse the aluminum didnt have the correct things added to it. Didnt meen to piss in your corn flakes but ya know..... I DID.

[LonesomeTriZ]

That is one of the things I am concerned about. The stuff I want to make has to bear weight.

[SYKO]

screw that, more trouble then its worth.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Well, if no one makes the parts I want, I will have to make them myself.

[SYKO]

wtf kind of parts do you want?

[racerxxx]

One word,


CNC

That is going to be the safest way to make say a triple or something that is going to take repeated abuse. Yes a standard Knee mill can do it as well, but if you looking for multiples, CNC is the only cost effective way. I remember back in High School, melting alum and making sand casts, the school just had slugs of alum, not bits and pieces of 6061 scrap. I was very cool to do, but I wouldn't bank on it to save my life:lol: While the whole process is extremely awesome to do yourself, there is nothing better than seing a bitchin part come out of the CNC. If you cast a part, now if you need to bore holes etc. thru it you are going to need a fixture to hold it properly in a mill or drill press. I'm not sure what parts your looking to make but someone threw out a triple, look at the old Tigers----back in the 80's they were producing a small scale of trikes and I beleive their trip's were machined. Shame you don't live closer, I just dropped off 1350 LBS of 6061 to the scrap guy! Lots of usable stuff but the chit's gotta go when its taking up more space than it's worth. On another note, see if there is a foundry near by, a good friend of mine worked at one for free for a few months to learn about the whole process, he does R&D for supercharging Porsche's and VW's. He engineers the parts and intake manifolds, then sends the drawings to the foundry, they make the mold, and deliver him a new intake manifold that needs to be machined. Just my .02, what ever you do, do it safe.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I would love to have a CNC. I spoke ot a guy that biult is own with scrap and junk computer parts. Buy I cannot afford something like that. I do not really want to get into making several of one part to sell. I just want to make parts for my own custom applications. I want to make everything from triples and clutch covers to truck hubs intakes.

[Billy Golightly]

Casting is neat/good for a few specific purposes. But its not a very good all-around process from what I know about it. The only thing I can even think of it having advantages over machined parts would be extremely high volume and funny shaped stuff. Take a car or truck intake for example. From start to finish, I bet I could make one out of aluminum sheet metal and have it all welded up and finished in less time than it would take to make the molded pieces and cast an intake. And than the intake STILL has to be machined to clean up imperfections and flatten any bolt/mating surfaces. Casting is for bulk work. It has its place and you could do sidecases and and maybe some other stuff, but all of it still going to require machine work after its done. You can't cast perfect size bolt holes to thread with a tap and good bearing surfaces, it just doesn't happen.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I do not want to cast the parts I want to make. I wanted to melt down the aluminum into bittets, then machine them into the desired parts. The type of parts I want to make I think would turn out fine on a laith and or mill.

[SWIGIN]

I do not want to cast the parts I want to make. I wanted to melt down the aluminum into bittets, then machine them into the desired parts. The type of parts I want to make I think would turn out fine on a laith and or mill.

you can by all sizes of aluminum you know....right?

i bought a 2 3/4''x 16'' hunk of aluminum round stock off ebay for dirt cheap. it is new metal too, just cut off and off fall left over from shops.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I have heard of that. I was thinking this way might be cheaper in the long run if I do it enough. I do not know.

[Billy Golightly]

I do not want to cast the parts I want to make. I wanted to melt down the aluminum into bittets, then machine them into the desired parts. The type of parts I want to make I think would turn out fine on a laith and or mill.


Thats an even worse idea man :lol: The aluminum will have zero strength that way unless you get real scientific about adding silicon and all kinds of other goodies in precise measurements. Buying raw material isn't that expensive when you get hooked up with the right people. Definitely cheaper than spending the time build a furnace/clean material/make molds/melt/fill/handle unless you've got someone doing all that for your for $1 an hour or something...

[LonesomeTriZ]

Hmm, I do have to find something for Melissa to do so she does not bug me so much.