Alternatives for Cerrosafe for chamber casting?

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theophys

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Hi folks,

I am in need to do a couple chamber castings and cannot get hold of Cerrosafe or similar alloy (or metallic cadmium so I could make cerrosafe myself).

What alternatives could I use?

Pure gallium would be a poor choice as it expands upon solidification, but are there any gallium-based alloys that are better behaved? Galinstan?
Wood's metal can be theoretically converted into cerrosafe by adding lead/tin/bismuth (all of which I have) in controlled amounts. Has anyone tried this?
Rose's metal could possibly do (and I can make it myself) but would you recommend any chamber prep (adding a layer of lube or something like graphite powder coating?)
What else?

Thanks!

UPDATE: Looks like making Cerrosafe from Wood's is the easiest route, you just need to add lead in the amount of 1236 grains per pound of Wood's:
https://castboolits.gunloads.com/archive/index.php/t-168554.html
 
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I've used everything from plastercine to drywall putty and automotive Bondo

Just have to make sure you use a good lube in the chamber

Cerrosafe is just easier to clean up afterwards.
 
bearhunter said:
I've used everything from plastercine to drywall putty and automotive Bondo

Just have to make sure you use a good lube in the chamber

Cerrosafe is just easier to clean up afterwards.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
What did you use as a lube? Some kind of grease, or graphite powder, or beeswax?
 
I have used molten sulfur a couple times...works "okay-in a pinch" Just stay outside (camp stove or BBQ) & upwind when melting the stuff, the fumes that come off are not pleasant. I pluged the bore with damp paper towel wad and used a length of store string to add strenght/a bit of rigidity to the casting when removing from the chamber.
 
fingers284 said:
I have used molten sulfur a couple times...works "okay-in a pinch" Just stay outside (camp stove or BBQ) & upwind when melting the stuff, the fumes that come off are not pleasant. I pluged the bore with damp paper towel wad and used a length of store string to add strenght/a bit of rigidity to the casting when removing from the chamber.
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Noted, thanks! Did it melt nicely without catching fire? (I did boil acetone on a BBQ so I do know how to work with combustibles)
Would still be too pungent to use at home though...
 
I had read that molten sulphur pretty common before cerrosafe - warnings and caution of using that are duly noted - I had never tried it, but nice to know it would work, if I can't find the damn cerrosafe here!!!
 
theophys said:
Thanks!
What did you use as a lube? Some kind of grease, or graphite powder, or beeswax?
Click to expand...

Pam Pan Spray or Kiwi Shoe Polish.

Pam was OK but you have to clean it out quickly, as it contains salt.

Kiwi Shoe Polish works well.

It's not available in Canada any longer but Johnson's Paste Wax for furniture also did a great job.
 
Potashminer said:
I had read that molten sulphur pretty common before cerrosafe - warnings and caution of using that are duly noted - I had never tried it, but nice to know it would work, if I can't find the damn cerrosafe here!!!
Click to expand...

It works and I've used it, because all of the melting tools and pouring tools, along with a good supply of sulphur were available to me at work. Without the tooling, I wouldn't suggest anyone using that method at home

Canning Wax, Parafin works as well but you have to find a way to cool things down to get it to stay solid enough to push out.

Before pouring anything into the chamber, plug the bore in front of the chamber with a tight cleaning patch, which gives you something to push against the casting material without damaging it.
 
Potashminer said:
I had read that molten sulphur pretty common before cerrosafe - warnings and caution of using that are duly noted - I had never tried it, but nice to know it would work, if I can't find the damn cerrosafe here!!!
Click to expand...

Amazon has it and it's cheap, especially if you have Amazon Prime.

I believe Western Metal has it as well and I'm pretty sure Wolverine has it
 
Cerrosafe is a brand name, 'fixturing alloy' is the common name in industry, search for that instead.

Sulfur works very well. If it approaches the 'too hot' point it will turn a brown color, just back off the heat a bit. Sulfur may be available at your local garden supply store.
 
Lodi said:
Cerrosafe is a brand name, 'fixturing alloy' is the common name in industry, search for that instead.

Sulfur works very well. If it approaches the 'too hot' point it will turn a brown color, just back off the heat a bit. Sulfur may be available at your local garden supply store.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that has turns out to be an alias for Cerrobend 158 aka Wood's, which would be good enough. 100 bucks per lb seems kinds pricey though. At this price you can snatch ready cerrosafe off ebay.

I'll give sulfur a try (I happen to have some lying around).
 
Rose's Metal is another search category if you want further reading.

If you reload your scale pan should work well to heat and pour the casting compound.
 
Lodi said:
Rose's Metal is another search category if you want further reading.

If you reload your scale pan should work well to heat and pour the casting compound.
Click to expand...

You would need a pinch of cadmium to convert Rose's to cerrosafe; If I had a way to buy it I'd proceed to make cerrosafe from scratch.
I guess cadmium's tough to buy because it's feared much more than it's actually toxic. One can of course try to salvage it from old Ni-Cd batteries but this means snowballing the project waaay out of my comfort zone.
 
For my molten sulfur melt. I welded a cap onto a short piece of steel pipe (any old small pot that you never plan on using for food again will suffice) and held it with tongs over the open flame until it melted. Cant remember the melting temp of sulfur but it isnt very high so a "double boiler" setup will probably work just as well.
 
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