Bold Projects → Metal Casting Projects → Recycled Aluminum Sculpture

Similar Projects: Recycled Aluminum Hand, Recycled Aluminum Mask

We started melting scrap aluminum and recasting it as a fun way to use the scrap aluminum lying around at Tom’s parents’ house. We started out making things that turned out super creepy, like Tom’s hand and his brother Ben’s face, and then moved to making bubble sculptures. Much to our surprise, the sculptures turn out really cool. They’re easy to make and they look super artistic – kind of like metal coral.

Cautionary Note: Unless you have some kind of special facility (you live in a foundry??) we recommend doing this outside – and thus this project is best done when it’s wet due to the fire hazard (I’m not sure I would recommend doing this in Southern California ever…Tom’s parents live in Florida which would be really hard to set on fire).

What you’ll need:

• 35 bricks (4″ x 8″ x 1.75″) + one extra brick or brick piece
• 5 patio pavers (10″ x 10″ x 2″)
• 2 bags of charcoal
• lighter fluid
• small crucible (4″ – 5″ in diameter)
• optional: lid for crucible to aid in addition of charcoal (it’s kind of annoying keeping the charcoal out of the crucible when you’re pouring it in); we made one the last time we did this project and thought it was a great addition.
• shop vac with extension pipe
• scrap aluminum
• some way to stir the metal, lift and transfer the crucible
• safety equipment: thick gloves, face shields (ignore the fact that we’re wearing shorts in the photos…long pants would really be a better choice)
• tall, solid rubbish bin
• 1 pound bag of water beads

Step 1: Hydrate the Water Beads

Fill the bin most of the way with water, then pour the bag of water beads into the rubbish bin. It will take a few hours for the beads to hydrate, although I’m sure you can do this with the beads only partially hydrated if you’re short on time. If you decide you’d like a lid for your crucible, or you need to create any of the additional tools you’ll need for the project, this is a good time to do that.

Step 2: Build your Furnace

Place four of the patio pavers on the ground to create a base, reserving the last paver for use as a lid. Use the regular bricks to build the walls of your furnace, leaving a gap at the front for the pipe connecting to the shop vac. Place your brick or brick piece inside the furnace and place the crucible on top of the brick. Pack charcoal around crucible, filling the space inside the furnace.

Step 3: Pre-heat the Furnace

Douse the charcoal liberally with lighter fluid, place the shop vac hose in the designated space, and light the charcoal on fire. Once you’re satisfied that it’s caught sufficiently, place the lid on the furnace. Secure the extension pipe to the shop vac tube (because you don’t really want to melt your actual tube, do you?) and set the shop vac to blow air out, then turn it on. This is a critical component to getting your fire to burn hot enough to melt the aluminum. Check the status of the furnace periodically, adding charcoal as necessary.

Step 4: Melt Aluminum

When the crucible has started to glow, add your scrap pieces of aluminum and replace the furnace lid. Check on the status periodically, adding charcoal and stirring the contents of the crucible, and adding additional pieces of aluminum until you have the volume of liquid you want.

Step 5: Prep the Beads for Pouring

When the aluminum is nearly molten, pour off most of the excess water from the beads and move the bin a couple of yards away from the furnace (nobody wants to have to carry a crucible full of molten aluminum across the yard).

Step 6: Pouring your Sculpture

Once your aluminum is fully melted, scrape as much of the dross as you can off the top, then lift the crucible from the furnace and transfer it to the area where the rubbish bin with water beads is located. Carefully tip the crucible, pouring the molten metal smoothly in a small area (the smaller the area, the taller the sculpture). Add water to the rubbish bin to aid in the cooling process.

Step 7: Removing and Cleaning Your Sculpture

Leave the poured metal in the rubbish bin for several minutes, after which wear gloves or use a tool to remove it from the beads. It will still be hot!! Move the sculpture to a safe place to continue cooling. There will be a lot of water beads stuck in the sculpture – they will dehydrate over time and fall out, so don’t worry about removing them by hand.

Step 8: Enjoy your Sculpture

That’s it! You’re done! And you have a cool, coral-looking sculpture that you cast yourself! If you’re a glass dork (like we are), then you can go to your glass blowing studio and make a cool stand for it so you can display it like a pro.

Bold Projects → Metal Casting Projects → Recycled Aluminum Sculpture