Introduction: Making Aluminum Bronze: Melting Copper and Aluminum

By GeekGuyMJ DIY Projects & More
About: I live in Michigan, USA. I've been a Maker hobbyist for many years. It's fun to be Geeky.

Aluminium bronze is a type of bronze in which aluminium is the main alloying metal added to copper, in contrast to standard bronze (copper and tin) or brass (copper and zinc). A variety of aluminium bronzes of differing compositions have found industrial use, with most ranging from 5% to 11% aluminium by weight, the remaining mass being copper. The alloy I made consists of 11% aluminum and 89% copper. I personally made these just for the joy of creating and learning how to make alloys. If you have the resources to safely melt metal, then give this a try.

These videos show the process I used. The first video shows the test to see if it worked. The second and third video show the process of casting an ingot in sand to make a larger batch of beautiful bronze ingots. More details are in the following steps. For more videos like these and other DIY Projects click here.

Step 1: Unique Properties and Uses

Unique Properties:

  • High Strength
  • Very Hard
  • Corrosion Resistance
  • Tarnish Resistant
  • Low Reactivity with Sulfurous Compounds
  • Biostatic (stops microorganisms from reproducing)
  • Golden Color

Uses:

  • Coins (20, 200 and 500 Italian Lire, 10 Philippine peso coin on the inner ring, the one and two dollar coins of Australian and New Zealand currency produced by the Royal Australian Mint, and some Mexican coins)
  • Bearings
  • Landing Gear for Aircraft
  • Boat Propellers
  • Jewelry
  • Tools
  • Art
  • Pipes and Parts Used with Salt Water

Step 2: Gather Materials

What is needed:

  • Metal Foundry or access to one (I made my home foundry)
  • Crucible (Large enough to handle what you need)
  • Heat Source (I use propane and a homemade torch)
  • Copper
  • Aluminum
  • Mold that Can Take The Heat (most are made from steel, graphite, plaster, or green sand)
  • Kitchen Scale
  • Tools to Handle Molten Metal +2000 deg F.

Safety:

  • This is incredibly dangerous. This material is literally hotter than lava. You will need proper clothing, heat resistant gloves, face shield, and a safe place to work. Since I made these videos, I made proper tools to handle the crucible.

Where to get Free Metal:

  • Aluminum: (Try to stick a magnet to it. If the magnet attracts, then it is a type of steel. If the magnet is not attracted and it's relatively light feeling, then it is probably Aluminum.)
    • Disposable Trays
    • Hard Drive Cases
    • Computer Heatsinks
    • Old Lawn Chairs
    • Pans and Kitchen Utensils
    • Wires
    • Old Tube TV's
  • Copper:
    • Ask friends if they have scrap copper from electrical work or plumbing.
    • Electrical Wire
    • Pipes
    • Old tube TV's
    • Microwaves
    • Electrical Transformers

Step 3: A Beautiful Aluminum Bronze Bar

Here are some examples of the Aluminum Bronze bars I have made. I gave half away as gifts with stamped custom messages on them. They could be remelted and casted into unique objects by the process of sand casting, lost-foam casting, or lost-wax casting.

Step 4: Contact Me

Thank you for viewing this project. When done safely this project is very fun and rewarding. Feel free to comment and/or send me a message and I will do my best to reply.

For more videos of ingot making or other DIY projects, check out and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

YouTube: GeekGuyMJ DIY Projects & More