Aluminum Sword Build, Need Help!

[seamaniac81]

Ok so I want to make a sword (Just to display in home as a decor piece) I was wondering a few things. There is a video online by the "king of random" and its him making what he calls a mini master sword by vaporizing a small foam/Styrofoam model of said sword with molten aluminum he melted in what he again calls a mini metal foundry ( would make mine a bit bigger than his). I was mainly wondering

1) Could i do this with a full length sword if I had the means to do it with. (would make it in pieces to put together and I am thinking of making the blade about 3 1/2 ft long)

2) If I could, would heat treating the sword do anything to the aluminum/make it so that I could slice up some stuff such as watermelons etc. (To have some fun with it)

That is all I was wondering, I will link the video's here and you can watch if you want.

Thank you for your time and help.

 Foundry Video:

Sword Video: 

 

 

[arftist]

From the first 1:33 (all I could force myself to watch)

1. Playsand is NOT a good aggregate.

Play sand is rounded. You want mason's sand wich has sharp edges.

2. Never mix chemicals by hand. Life long damage can occur. 

Aluminum Melts at 1200 degrees and can get much hotter. At that temperature it can ignite your asphalt driveway or cause  concrete to explode (spaul).

Proper safty equipment costs hundreds of dollars. 

I suggest much research before starting  starting this project.

 

[Charles R. Stevens]

swords are only cast in Hollywood. If building an aluminum wall hanger (and I would have to ask myself why) I would just buy a peice of bar stock, it can be forged, but relitivly pure aluminum can be worked cold, and can essay be grount to shape. 

[Nobody Special]

This guy is painful to watch and setting about a hundred dangerous examples with no safety warnings whatsoever. Given the level of his technique, he may be completely ignorant of the safety issues. 

I second stock removal as a way to go, use chalk dust on your files and keep it off the grinder. Aluminum clogs em up fiercely. And heat treat for aluminum is beyond most hobbiest levels, plus it still won't compare to steel, with the added bonus that aluminum tends to come apart on impact, and doesn't really show cracks right up until it breaks. Best left as a wall hanger.

Mr king of random though...

First, plaster = exothermic, which can equal nasty ouchies. Two, not very good refractory material. Three, briquettes? Slow to heat and work poorly.

Four, no drain holes for crucible failure? Five, no PPE. Six, location he's casting = not safe. Seven, nothing under the mold or anywhere to protect from spills.

Eight, no. They make lousy forges. Nine - Melting brass as a way to get a yellow sword, yay.....but no zinc fume warning, which brings us to

TEN - Some fire extinguishers are partially brazed together, so heating to brass melting temps is a good way to have the bottom fall out of your makeshift crucible, spilling....less see, 3 x 5 cylinder of brass.....about 5 lbs of molten brass.

Could go ten more easy. Basically this guy's videos are a recipe for disaster. Bad internet. Bad.

If you'd like something a little better, go check out the Dave Gingery books, and backyardmetalcasting.com. And better still, find someone experienced to teach ya.  Blacksmithing - the most common injuries are cuts, second degree burns, little stuff like that.  Casting starts with the second degree burns and gets worse in a hurry.

I'm not saying don't learn to cast. It's a blast. Just learn to do it from someone safe who knows what they're doing. This guy is dangerous.

[ThomasPowers]

Heat treat: YES, NO, MAYBE depending on the alloy---sort of like "Can I drink this water?" Without knowing what's in it you can't say.

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many Iforge members live within visiting distance.

NEVER do ANYTHING the way you see it done in a "King of Random" video!! I expect to see this clown's videos pulled anytime now and him sued into the poorhouse if not jailed for presenting such profoundly dangerous things anybody can injure or kill themselves trying.

If you want an aluminum wall hanger sword just buy a piece of aluminum strap stock, say 1/4" x 2" and use wood working tools to shape it. Seriously you can cut aluminum with a cheap saber saw, use a wood rasp for rough shaping and progress to finer files and sand it with a hand held vibratory sander and finish it with a buffing pad.

I'm not fooling you can work aluminum with wood tools. Casting aluminum is not something to use to teach yourself casting and a log thin casting is NOT a beginner project. Casting is hard to describe dangerous. If you've ever spilled coffee or another hot beverage on your hand picture the liquid being 1,200f. that's flash your flesh into flames on contact hot.

Frosty The Lucky.

[ThomasPowers]

I can show you a scar from molten zinc and that's positively chilly compared to molten Al!

[JHCC]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

NEVER do ANYTHING the way you see it done in a "King of Random" video!!

Well, this one seems pretty safe.

[Mark Ling]

he made the forge sound like more of an art project.

                                                                                                     Littleblacksmith