Hello,

I am new to casting and about ready to make my first cast. I have one of the electric furnace for melting metal.

I am starting out with copper. When I start to melt the copper should I set the furnace at the temp that copper melt at or 5 or 10 deg. highter

to make sure the copper will melt?

thank you

If you want to cast it; you will need to heat it a bunch hotter than that or it will freeze up as soon as it hits the mold and not fill it!  How much overheat depends a lot on alloy and what your mold is like.  How do you plan to degas it?  (Nassau Refining on the east coast used to drop a full size tree in their pot---did copper recycling for AT&T so they had BIG pots!)

How is your safety gear?  Casting is more dangerous than forging.  Forging you drop a piece and it heads for the ground.  Casting you spill a bit and it can chase you down the room!

Well,  safety gear, don't have any other than my black smiting apron.

I made me a small flask and I am using fine beach sand and oil I mix. The object I am making is very small about 2" long and a inch

wide. I been watching 100 or more youtube videos for over a year now.  The heat( this so nice to be able to talk to some one)

10% over the melting point or more? I have the temp of 1983 deg. for copper. 10% will be 2176, would that be good or make it even outer?

I am afraid I am going to have to drop out of this thread  as I don't want to be liable for possible injuries.  May I commend to your attention the archives at backyardmetalcasting.com.

You WANT safety gear, and WANT to always use it.  It is always less expensive than going to the hospital.

Start with safety glasses, and a full face shield.  ALWAYS have a Plan B when dealing with hot liquid metals.  

Yes, get a full face shield and a long sleeved welders jacket. Gloves and leather boots. I used to catch some flack for wearing a hardhat but if you have ever had hot metal on top of your head, it's not pleasant. Plus it holds the face shield very well.

Copper is the worst metal to start with. It oxidizes so bad that you can waste a large portion of your melt. Just a little Tin (5 to10%) in the melt and you have a nice Bronze with little loss. I started with Lead and Pewter and worked my way up to Aluminum, Bronze and even some Cast Iron.

If you must melt Copper, cover it with natural hard wood charcoal to keep the Oxygen off the melt.

  I see a lot of folks new to casting post on here and often wonder if they heed the warnings and advice given or just blunder forward.  I hope it's the former.  A lot of them never respond back.  I bet there's a lot of people that get hurt.  Never hear about it.

Nodebt, I agree.  I hope they heed the warnings and either proceed safely or get scared off and drop the idea.  It would be nice to find out what happened and that there were good outcomes.

I think that it is common for someone to be attracted to a craft by the idea of a grand and glorious project only to learn that it is a slog to get to that point in skills, knowledge, and equipment.  How many new smiths want to make a sword?  Some will do the slog and become skilled in a particular craft but I think most will lose interest and move on.

"By hammer and hand all arts do stand."

  Well said.  The slog quickly becomes a passion and no longer drudgery for the right people.  I love learning new things and if I leave a trail of scrap and cuss words behind to get where I want to be, so be it!    In a safe manner and heeding those who have gone before, should go without saying....  I just can't help wondering about those who ask and go away, never to be heard from again.