RIP Charcoal Blocks. Long Live the GRAPHITE KING!!!
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- Опубликовано: 16 сен 2024
- Trying out a suggestion from a commenter on an old video. Using a graphite block to solder on. Good stuff.
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I bought a set of graphite molds. It came in a variety of sizes including like 5ozt bar size! I will never cast anything that big, so i cut it up and made things like a flat board for that special solder job, and stops that fit perfectly in my cast iron molds. Brilliant 😊
Been using graphite for a few things around my forge i can get stir sticks for string molten copper/brass aluminum and anything else my foundry will melt i got ingot molds made from graphite it works amazingly nothing sticks to it for atleast 20-30 pours or more iv allso litrally put my graphite ingot mold in my forge full of copper and melted it directly in it the graphite will get so glowing red hot that it lights up the surrounding area at night and its thermal shock resistance is amazing i havent yet once had any pure graphite molds or stir sticks crack or break from therm shock latly iv been useng them on both the ground clamp and stinger of an arc welder to make arcs iv taken the glowing red hot graphite rod and stuck it directly in snow and ice to cool it off and still no thermal shock damage graphites allso used with clay to make crucibles for melting metal sadly thu the clay quickly burns away and shrinks and the crucible only lasts a few melts my one single pure graphite gold/silver ingot mold has lasted over a year and iv cast probably atleast 100 ingots of brass copper bronze aluminum bronze zinc and any other metal i can liquify it has outlasted countless crucibles unfortunately the clay is the weak point
Thanks for your Videos! Also for the reminder that great minds think alike 😎😎
As retired industrial chemist learning basic jewelry fabrication, I can share my experience with machined Graphite.
At first the material offers what we want - oxidation resistance at hi temps in extremely oxidizing environment - and it behaves like this.
However, it also performs as heat-sink on steriods! That alluring flat surface is very desirable for operations, but one must expend too many BTU's heating the graphite (even with graphite block insulated with Kaowool) before any soldering/fusing efforts can be done. Afterwards the graphite surface will show slight ashing.
I am working on a promising application for graphite slabs I bought- "Plique-a-Jour" type enamel projects using alloy silver wire.
what I like about charcoal is that is supports the heat as it burns it retains and generates some warmth.
not sure how graphite would do that but maybe the increase in durability minus heat is negligable
Some old jewelry manuals I have talk about using graphite sticks to stir metals when smelting or to move or hold pieces while soldering like we would use a pick or tweezers. If you can stir melted metal with it i guess it can take a lot of heat!
Just read recently where there is a issue using charcoal with platinum. Curious if there is any issue using graphite with platinum also.
I've used graphite blocks for soldering but I find they act as heat sinks, making soldering more difficult. I completely understand the need for true, flat surfaces for soldering though.
Yes BUT: Graphite in not refractory as charcoal is (because of its porous nature) Graphite is a good conductor of heat and may act as a heat sink on your jobs. But this may be only a minor inconvenience comparec to its advantages.
So I believe charcoal reduces the oxygen around the piece you’re working on. I’m not sure if graphite does.
Does graphite steal heat from the silver when soldering? Does graphite soak up oxygen like charcoal does? I quite often make hollows in charcoal to melt silver into shapes, but the graphite would be too hard for that and very messy to carve! But, it looks like it may have its purposes!
Does flux stick to it?
I don’t know what I’m doing wrung but my soldering blocks are covered in it and everything sticks to them and bits of charcoal cone off on my pieces.
Have you tried soldering anything on it?
i have. Keep to a neutral/reducing flame. I have three large blocks (200mm x 100mm x 20 mm) and yes they are a slight heat sink. But as a positive don't wear as quickly as charcoal. in reality they are just super compressed charcoal. Their normal are used in smelting and metal refining.
@@stewartc4558 Thanks for the advice.
@@Gazz_R however Im nowhere near as experienced, talented or skilled as Chris. So I will wait until he does a full review. My set up is more complex than what Chris gets away with, in that I have a metal "lazy Susan" which is a rotating metal pie disk filled with pumice. Then I have the blocks on that, and I can spin the dish. I have a few third hands attached to the side walls.
So I believe that charcoal reduces the oxygen around your work. I don’t know if graphite does.
@@stewartc4558 I made a rotating solder station from a lazy susan bearing recently that I put my soldering blocks on.