Wednesday, September 30, 2015

metal minded

Since I am still rather incapacitated with my long recovery (due for my next surgeon appointment Oct 15th), I am spending a lot of time thinking about metal possibilities while waiting to be able to get back to all the Field Lab projects that need to happen.  A couple of years ago, a Canadian company acquired the rights to the silver mine in nearby Shafter.  Falling silver prices forced then to shut down the operation not long after they got up to speed.  Since panning for gold really isn't an option in the Chihuahua desert and the mercury mines in Terlingua have been out of operation for many years, I thought about what other metal might be in abundance in the area.  Not surprisingly - it is beer can aluminum.  It's not really a viable commercial enterprise for minting (a troy ounce of aluminum is worth about 5 cents), but there are plenty available in the area.  Melting and casting them looks like fun and it is a fairly simple and inexpensive project to experiment with.  86,91,62,0,C    

8 comments:

Janet said...

Hopefully you can play with aluminum while keeping it out of your brain.

JohnnyM said...

Let alone out of your lungs, ark you kidding me? You have welded, soldered, smelted etc... I have friends that had their thrip oats with cancer from enameling and using pottery washes.

Think again and find. Enter avenues of doing things just because I care

Margery Billd said...

Wait a minute. What? Are you back to smoking, Mr. John! Nix that one.

Smackmama said...

I'd like to fill my fire ant mounds with that stuff.

Guy Hodges said...

Next thing I know you'll be putting in a foundry and running me out of business.
Just kidding! Aluminum is easy to melt and with your knack for woodworking making patterns should be very feasible.
Hit me up if you need sources for sand, binders or whatever.
Good Luck!

Krusnik 04. said...

I love that video. Maybe you could make a cast mold of Benny and sell aluminium replicas!

Hope all goes well on the 15th!

Bil said...

I know someone who melts aluminum, and casts parts for home-made machinery. He says you're better off returning the cans to a depot and using the money to buy scrap aluminum.

May not be an option in your locale. I question the video's claim that ~40 cans gives a pound of aluminum.

The paint and inner coating are nasty smoke. The guy in the video is breathing vaporized teflon off his non-stick muffin pan too, which sounds like a very bad idea.

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