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  1. #1
    Ueee's Avatar
    Ueee is offline Blacksmith, Cabinetmaker, Machinist, Messmaker
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    Default Source of Aluminium ingots

    Hi guys,
    Does anyone have a source for aluminium ingots?

    I have someone local making me a furnace (he normally makes gas forges) and need to feed it.....

    Cheers,
    Ew
    1915 17"x50" LeBlond heavy duty Lathe, 24" Queen city shaper, 1970's G Vernier FV.3.TO Universal Mill, 1958 Blohm HFS 6 surface grinder, 1942 Rivett 715 Lathe, 14"x40" Antrac Lathe, Startrite H225 Bandsaw, 1949 Hercus Camelback Drill press, 1947 Holbrook C10 Lathe.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ueee View Post
    Hi guys,
    Does anyone have a source for aluminium ingots?

    I have someone local making me a furnace (he normally makes gas forges) and need to feed it.....

    Cheers,
    Ew
    Furnace is on my list. I got a bunch of Kaowool a while back in anticipation..

    Also interested to hear of a source for ingots.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ueee View Post
    Hi guys,
    Does anyone have a source for aluminium ingots?

    I have someone local making me a furnace (he normally makes gas forges) and need to feed it.....

    Cheers,
    Ew
    Hi Ueee,

    Have you considered buying aluminum engine parts from a wreckers ? You should be able to obtain aluminum cylinder heads and engine blocks at scrap metal prices. Unless you need a specific alloy, in which case you'd probably be back to having to buy the much more expensive ingots, if you can find a supplier who will sell you less that a whole semi-trailer load of ingots. When I needed to buy aluminum ingots for a project a few years ago, I found it impossible to buy small quantities retail.

    Back in 2008, I had some replacement Aluminum castings made as part of restoring an old marine engine. The bloke who did the casting for me used an old Magna Cylinder Head that I'd got from the wreckers. I think I paid about $20.00 for the cracked and warped cylinder head. When I bought it, the wreckers had already stripped the head of all non-alloy parts and cleaned it, ready for recycling, so apart from cutting up into bite sized bits, it was ready to be fed to the furnace.

    Just a suggestion,

    Regards,

    Roy
    Last edited by RoyG; 27th Aug 2014 at 09:43 AM. Reason: Dislysic fingers ....
    Manufacturer of the Finest Quality Swarf.

  4. #4
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    Ew as Roy said. I have a deal with a few local mechanics and they keep anything alloy for me, and at Christmas I give them a carton. The only thing to be carefull of is that a lot of auto part sourced alloy can have steel dowels and seats embedded in the alloy. When I do my pour I run it through a kitchen sieve to catch the impurities.
    rgds,
    Crocy.

  5. #5
    Ueee's Avatar
    Ueee is offline Blacksmith, Cabinetmaker, Machinist, Messmaker
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    Default

    Thanks guys,
    I'll talk to some of the wreckers and see what i can come up with.

    Ew
    1915 17"x50" LeBlond heavy duty Lathe, 24" Queen city shaper, 1970's G Vernier FV.3.TO Universal Mill, 1958 Blohm HFS 6 surface grinder, 1942 Rivett 715 Lathe, 14"x40" Antrac Lathe, Startrite H225 Bandsaw, 1949 Hercus Camelback Drill press, 1947 Holbrook C10 Lathe.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ueee View Post
    Hi guys,
    Does anyone have a source for aluminium ingots?
    I am wanting to also make a furnace...and I now wish I was still doing work for Castalloy (Harley Davidson)...they had lots of scrap ..and including lots of ingots

  7. #7
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    Another option is to visit your freindly local scrap metal dealer ...... they will mostly sell as cheerfully as they buy.
    cheers
    Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
    Most powertools have sharp teeth.
    People are made of meat.
    Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.

  8. #8
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    mag wheels , if they are very old just check with drop of vinigar to make sure they are not magnesium but very few are . cylinder heads , intake manifolds , bell housings any thing that has been cast before and is aluminium is what i use , i stay away from extruded stuff .

    johno
    'If the enemy is in range, so are you.'

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by texx View Post
    i stay away from extruded stuff .
    What's the reason for that? I take it there's some sort of difference in the end result.

    Graeme

  10. #10
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    there are many different grades of aluminium .... not sure of the detail .... but extruded producst seem to be softer and do not drill and machine as freely as cast products.

    I've done a lot of drilling and routing of extrusion and its like toffee compared to a nice free machining cast.

    cheers
    Any thing with sharp teeth eats meat.
    Most powertools have sharp teeth.
    People are made of meat.
    Abrasives can be just as dangerous as a blade.....and 10 times more painfull.

  11. #11
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    Industry uses a lot of 356 alloy for casting, trying to find it in small quantities could be tricky.

    Myself I use alloy cylinder heads, blocks, gearbox casings, alloy wheels etc. I stay away from extrusions those alloys are made with an eye to their extruding qualities rather than their casting qualities.

    Breaking up big lumps of alloy into small crucible size pieces can be hard work, I'm not in suburbia so i can get away with this.
    http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showth...-for-aluminium

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