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[Culise]

Oh, whoops, I somehow missed that you're actually doing a small smelter as a personal project; I was mostly responding to Sheb's comment that, on the "plus" side, lead weapons would be toxic.  Yeah, you'll definitely need to take very careful measures against any sort of lead or aluminum poisoning on your end. 

[Arx]

Gloves and an outdoor environment should be safe enough. I've done moderately extensive research into aluminium casting myself, and I never came across anything mentioning toxic vapours.

Note: do not take this as truth. Safety is the most important thing, if you define it broadly enough!

[~Neri]

Get a gas mask and a full body cover.

Leaded fumes are nasty.

[Bohandas]

Again, you'd be better off with a lead core inside a better metal.

What if they just poured the m0lten lead into the aluminum cans (and attached some sort of handle) then?

[Strife26]

Most charcoal type gas masks aren't going to do much against heavy metal fumes, unless I've forgotten my classes. Ventilation is going to be your ticket, but finding a semi professional to crib notes off of would be a very good idea.


For true greatness, get your hands on some depleted uranium and use that instead. Dense, awesome, and at sufficient velocities self sharpening and Pyrophoric!

[smeeprocket]

Maybe you should work with something less toxic and get good with it before trying the highly poisonous metals.

[tonnot98]

Lead was a very big maybe if I couldn't get a fire hot enough to melt aluminum, and I had no idea that aluminum itself was toxic!

But I'm planning on using aluminum as a sort of practice before I ever decide to move on to iron and steel. The weapons I make of each weren't meant to be long term.

Out of curiosity, how much could a sharp aluminum sword sell for?

[smeeprocket]

I used to know a guy that was training under a blacksmith using iron and that really is a preferable starter metal.

[tonnot98]

I used to know a guy that was training under a blacksmith using iron and that really is a preferable starter metal.

I do not have someone to train under, just the internet. I also do not have a heat source hot enough to make iron swords and I do not have a reliable/cheap source of iron either. I just have aluminum, charcoal, and the internet. I don't even have an anvil or mold to make the weapons with.

[smeeprocket]

I used to know a guy that was training under a blacksmith using iron and that really is a preferable starter metal.

I do not have someone to train under, just the internet. I also do not have a heat source hot enough to make iron swords and I do not have a reliable/cheap source of iron either. I just have aluminum, charcoal, and the internet. I don't even have an anvil or mold to make the weapons with.

my friend actually made one out of some railroad tracks. However, aluminum seems to be a far more deadly jumping in spot in the pool than more innocuous metals.

[GiglameshDespair]

I honestly doubt you could sell a aluminium sword for much as an actual sword. It's not a pratical metal for swordin'. if you can get it looking fancy, you could sell it for decoration. But in that case, it wouldn't need to be sharp. Really you don't want to work with aluminium. Buy some cheap steel like mild steel instead.

To be honest: don't start with swords. It turns out it's a lot more grinding and polishing than actual hammering.

You don't even need to melt the iron, anyhow. If you build a brake drum forge, fill it with coke or charcoal, you can easily get up to temperatures where you can shape steel. This is the type of thing I made.

There's a blacksmithing thread on these forums, though it's been dead for a while, you have a valid reason to necro.

[tonnot98]

Still doesn't solve the problem of where I can actually get some iron reliably and cheaply.

[smeeprocket]

Personally I wouldn't start with steel at all. I'd start with iron, I just have no answer as to where to get any.

[GiglameshDespair]

Where I am nowhere really sells iron. Almost all of it is turned into steel, because it's simply more useful.

Internet? Google '[place] buy mild steel flat bars', or iron, or whatever one you want.

Here, 3mm mild steel flat bars are 8 quid for 1.5x0.5 metre panel. Not a bank breaker.

Hell, check your local scrapyard or something, see what they got.

[tonnot98]

Still going to start with aluminum, though. Maybe just for the re-useability of when/if it breaks and for it's very very cheap cost.

Anyone know of where I can find a good mold for a weapon? Would I be able to 3-D print one? My goal for the end of winter break is to have an okay looking Rhodok war cleaver.