Cast Iron Pan

I have a cast iron pan. The size inside is top 3" side 1 1/4" and bottom 2 1/2". The inside is ruff. Could it be used to melt Silver and a Mold to? If it will work and should I try to smooth the inside?

Melt temp of iron is 2,800 F --- melt temp of silver is 1,763 F - so about 1,000 degree difference in temp

Therefore yes you could get away with melting silver in the pan

However - if it is your plan to melt it in the pan & then let it solidify (as a mold) in the pan that is not a good idea & here is why

when using cast iron for a mold - the mold "needs" to have a layer of carbon on the inner surface of the mold to prevent the silver from "sticking" to the mold when you pour the silver to the mold (there are a number of ways to carbonize the inside of the mold & you have to do it before each time you make a pour)

So - even if you carbonize the inside of the pan - if you try to melt the silver in the pan the carbon will burn off "long" before the melt is done - so more then likely when the silver solidifies it will end up stuck in the pan

So you could use the pan to melt the silver in then pour to a mold - or - melt in a crucible/melt dish & use the pan as a mold --- personally I would use the pan as a mold

If it is "really" rough yes I would smooth it some - it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth - just don't want it really rough

Kurt

Thanks for the info and that what I thought. I will melt in a crucible/melt dish and use a graphite mold.

I have used a cast iron mold to pour copper in quite often. I used a "corn ear" mold for a long time and it worked well. I made over 200 bars in it for one of my mini copper cells. You can see it here...

Smelting

As well I use a small cast iron pan about the size of yours that was meant to be an ash tray. I also use a larger one found at WalMart around Christmas. It comes in a cookie gift set and is about 4 1/2 inch diameter and around 1/2 deep. I often find them in yard sales or flea markets for one or two dollars. As Kurt mentioned, they do need "sooting" for PM's.

I can't find the pictures of the smaller skillet sized pans right now, but I use them a lot more now days.

Has anyone tried grooving or making a custom mold from an old cast iron skillet?

What do you mean by "grooving"?

goldshark said:

What do you mean by "grooving"?

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Cutting into the inside bottom of the skillet, like "grooving" out coin circles to cast in.

I wouldn't groove too deep into the skillet, as most are maybe 3/16" thick. Cutting grooves may also weaken, or stress the CI internally. This may cause it to crack upon pre heating, and probably most likely, when molten metals are poured in. Another thread about melting in a Graphite mold, search that. Machined steel would be much more stable then CI.

goldshark said:

I wouldn't groove too deep into the skillet, as most are maybe 3/16" thick. Cutting grooves may also weaken, or stress the CI internally. This may cause it to crack upon pre heating, and probably most likely, when molten metals are poured in. Another thread about melting in a Graphite mold, search that. Machined steel would be much more stable then CI.

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Yeah, i thought about that, its just that i have a few old cast iron skillets to spare and was wondering, thanks!

It wouldn't hurt to try it, just make sure there are no body parts underneath the experiment.

goldshark said:

It wouldn't hurt to try it, just make sure there are no body parts underneath the experiment.

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Hahaha! Well if i managed to poor silver in a dollar store silicone ice cube tray that i had sat in ice water without problem, im sure i can make a decent mold to make coins to strike afterwards, out of a cast iron skillet XD

-sXrge- said:

Yeah, i thought about that, its just that i have a few old cast iron skillets to spare and was wondering, thanks!

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Check out the markings on old cast. Some are very valuable to collectors. Convert to cash and buy what you want.

Graphite is pretty cheap and easy to machine. The photo shows a couple of DIY mols

Darkthirty said:

Check out the markings on old cast. Some are very valuable to collectors. Convert to cash and buy what you want.

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Dont worry, i save them from the thrift store scrap metal container, get alot of Silver in there too...... you wouldent believe....

Most skillets are pretty thin for cutting groves in. I had a mold cut in a cast brake rotor that worked really well. The rotors are thicker if you find one for for a pickup such as a 250-350 sized Ford or 2500-3500 Dodge. If you have one cut, leave about a 5 degree angle on the edges to keep the pour from sticking in the mold.