DIY Cone Mold (w/pics and questions)

[Yukon99669]

So I was looking for a smallish cast iron cone mold to smelt several small batches of cons from different locations using GPK Premium Gold Flux.
I kind of needed it tomorrow, not in 2 weeks, so I cobbled together what I could with some scraps I had around here.
The only chunk of metal that had enough meat on it was an old hitch ball. I heard about people using angle iron for makeshift cone molds so I figured this should work at least as good….hopefully.
For The bulk of the cavity I used a step bit through the middle, I wallowed out the top w/ a 1/2” bit and bottomed it out with a 1/2” countersink bit.

I intend to heat it up to 500 or so and spray some graphite on it for release.

….so my questions:
-Is it going to work?
-should I smooth out the walls more?
-should I heat it cherry red before using it initially?
-would it be possible to use as a crucible and mold w/out having to pour?
-am I overlooking anything?

Here’s a cpl. Pics, and thanks for any advice!

 

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[southfork]

So I was looking for a smallish cast iron cone mold to smelt several small batches of cons from different locations using GPK Premium Gold Flux.
I kind of needed it tomorrow, not in 2 weeks, so I cobbled together what I could with some scraps I had around here.
The only chunk of metal that had enough meat on it was an old hitch ball. I heard about people using angle iron for makeshift cone molds so I figured this should work at least as good….hopefully.
For The bulk of the cavity I used a step bit through the middle, I wallowed out the top w/ a 1/2” bit and bottomed it out with a 1/2” countersink bit.

I intend to heat it up to 500 or so and spray some graphite on it for release.

….so my questions:
-Is it going to work?
-should I smooth out the walls more?
-should I heat it cherry red before using it initially?
-would it be possible to use as a crucible and mold w/out having to pour?
-am I overlooking anything?

Here’s a cpl. Pics, and thanks for any advice!
View attachment 2024744 View attachment 2024745 View attachment 2024746

Melt some flux let it cool whack with a hammer let us know how it released. I like it.

 

[russau]

Yep I would smooth the center of it out a lot more if you plan to do a bigger pour , Bur if you plan to do a small batch it should do fine. Just remember to get the middle as hot as the outside of it or it won't purge out the unwanted stuff. Good luck and we're eagerly waiting for the pic's

 

[bc5391]

if you cannot get it out send me the ball, I'll be happy to pay the postage

 

[smokeythecat]

Remember to use the borax flux and don't leave it on the towel when heating.

 

[Yukon99669]

Thanks for all the input everyone!

Bc5391…if it doesn’t work out for what I’m hoping, it’s all yours!

I did tidy it up a bit today. I opened up the cavity to 3/4” and went a bit deeper. Smoothed out the inside wall some. Beveled the top rim, and chopped the mounting bolt off the bottom, leaving a real nice flat and level base.

An aspect of this I’m still quite confused about…hopefully someone can explain or point me to a good explanation.

The only thing I really want to do is get the super fine gold out of my mostly panned down cons. (Mostly -100 and maybe some -70 stuff). My understanding is that I can accomplish this with Borax/Silica. This material is down to about 50/50 gold/non-magnetic black sand. A lot of the BS is dark red Garnett…..if that matters.

Somehow I keep ending up in the world of smelting and I really don’t need to get out the silver and copper.

If I go this route do I have to get to the point that everything is fully melted or is there a point where the gold had melted and separated to the bottom of the cone but the rest is still in a solid state?
I’m sure it’s a relatively easy explanation but like I said I seem to be landing in the wrong ring on this.

 

[bc5391]

Jason at Mt Baker mining is fantastic on explaining the process, and there is no reason your mold will not work, metals expand and contract at different temps, so your melt should drop out.

https://www.youtube.com/c/mbmmllc

 

[russau]

If it don't work out could you do another and send me one?

 

[Bonaro]

Thats a lot of metal mass that you have to heat up.
How about a black iron pipe cap?