Just some carbon, ma'am
Categories: Experiences and daily life; Commerce and business
Word count/read time: 240 words; 1 minute
They say diamonds, an allotrope of carbon, are forever. Well, that's untrue
but the marketing success that pushed
diamonds into every girl's heart has always said otherwise.
Graphite is another form of carbon and what a great thing it is.
About as opposite in color and transparency as a quality diamond,
it can be a heat shield, ingot mold (yay!), and so much more.
It is indispensable to the CNC world, too.
About 20 years ago I had ingot molds CNCed from a sheet of graphite.
To keep it compact and cost-effective there were roughly 30 molds in two different sizes.
I tend to use less molds per sheet now despite the larger footprint.
Graphite is thermally stable. It is not indestructible as evidenced by the
sheet shattering several times due to unfortunate encounters with a cement floor.
Further, each heating cycle - whether roasting in the oven or receiving
a 2000deg molten silver charge - causes a loss of material.
After countless uses, the last mold has finally been retired.
I can't say how many thousands of ounces of silver have been cast thus far
though its condition says it all. Equipment like this is
considered a consumable. It earned its golden bridge, still could cast another
ingot or few in it, but it's done.
I've used graphite-based crucibles for melting dore bars but decided
long ago they are
only for pure silver or known alloy melts.
Unrefined silver gets melted exclusively in a large steel crucible (which has
its own mortality issues).
Like everything else, prices for graphite have gone up.
I've been nursing this block for nearly a decade now;
it's not likely to last another. Not looking forward to replacing it.
Posted by M: November 24, 2024
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