Woods metal for weight (low melt temp metals)
I have been having a sorta running discussion with Dr. Dodge about Woods metal for weight. I like it personally, so I did a little demo video showing how I do it so maybe if you are interested you can take a look...
Discussion
Very cool and something to try out ... eventually. My wife was doing stained glass windows and she had some sort of fancy fan that would sit right next to her solder station sucking off the lead fumes and running them thru a filter. Have to go find that along with a wood burning kit I tossed into a drawer somewhere a decade ago.
- Yeah, I do stained glass as well and have a small fan I used to ensure the fumes went away. There are less fumes involved in this as the volume of material is so much lower... with the stained glass I would use lbs of solder instead of just a few grams. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
Just to button up my discussion... I bought a silicone mould and made sticks from the bars and actually cast a small engine using modeling clay as a mould. I didn't talk about it... I forgot... but it worked out pretty well and the clay didn't melt! lol
- What type of silicone mold are you using and what kind of clay. Thanks for sharing this info — AbbyNormal
- I got the silicone mould from Amazon... a couple of bucks. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
- I used Clayette sulfer free oil based modeling clay. Non hardening and good up to 300 degrees. You need sulfer free clay when making certain types of silicone moulds. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
Great idea making the sticks. I have been thinking about making thin sheets out of the metal. Something that I could cut with scissors for places like under the interiors.
- I don't know if you can cut it with scissors like I do with the lead sheet... kinda doubt it. But you could cast a few thin squares and see how that works. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
- I have to create a mold for making a sheet before I can test it. One issue I see is having the sheet be flat on the top after pouring. I think I can use something like a credit card to make an impression and pour into that. — johnson9195
- Let me know how that works out for you! — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
Check out Johnny Smoke YouTube channel.He has videos on lead pours and making silicone molds. Lots of tips on adding weight and other stuff to help set up diecast cars.Very entertaining I watch a lot of his videos. SST Diecast Racing is his channel.
- Sure... I watch Bill too... but the point here is lead melts at temperatures above ~330 degree where these low temp metals are at or below 200 degrees. — Stoopid_Fish_Racing
the density difference in the 2 temps as was said above seems minimal
I like the 158 because it's easier on the plastic.
I use metal tape to block up the body
I have 2 cars sent out, with the axles held in place with it
Assembled car, put the car solidly on a redline jig
and poured it full thru holes in the top when it cooled,
the axles precisely slide if one wheel has less gap
the GTR car
youtu.be/qjLHn-ATb3k
the wedge car is the one I poured
youtu.be/s0DeN-9fEOE
and auto red silicon will make a mold, too
next test is the "bake it clay"
and questions feel free to pm me
nice writeup!
dr
Thank you for showing this. I have been experimenting with this as well. I bought a used soldering iron type tool with a small cauldron at the end that heats it up. I need to get a rheostat to be able to turn down the temp since it was hot enough to warp the plastic base I poured it into. I used high temp tape to create a barrier around the area that I poured the liquid metal into. It worked good on 1 car, but on the second car the metal leaked all over and ruined it. Lessons learned. I do have a wood burner similar to the one you have, so I am going to try and use it too.
Besides the cost, what is the difference between the 158 and 203 degree material? Is it the content of the different metals that make up the alloy? I bought some of the 158 metal about a month ago, it was on sale at Roto Metals. I just looked and it is still on sale.