How to Melt Aluminum in Your Mini Foundry

Nice –  you've built your own mini foundry! Now it's time to put it to use. Check out this tutorial to learn how to melt aluminum soda cans into pucks for casting.

How to Melt Aluminum in Your Mini Foundry

Knowing how to melt aluminum is an incredibly useful survival skill – and this DIY requires only a few household items. Using your mini foundry, a few coals and a ton of heat, you can turn soda cans into aluminum pucks that can become practically any object. This technique is a great way to recycle old soda cans, and you can make awesome new objects in just a few steps. Check out the supply list below to get started, and let us know your own aluminum melting techniques in the comments.

Supply list:

• Mini foundry & crucible
• Coals
• Blowtorch
• Hair dryer
• 8-10 aluminum soda cans
• Muffin tin

How to melt aluminum:

Step 1: Lay a single layer of coals at the bottom of your foundry.

Step 2: Center your crucible, then fill in the sides with coals.

Step 3: Light the coals! Aluminum melts at 1,221 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 4: Once they've burned for a few minutes, use a hair dryer to blow air down the blower tube.

Put on the foundry lid to help keep in the heat.

Step 5: Insert an aluminum can into the foundry.

Step 6: Pour the melted aluminum into a muffin pan to create aluminum pucks.

Step 7: About 8-10 cans should give you a sizable puck.

Step 8: Store your pucks in a cool place, or pour it over styrofoam to forge aluminum objects.

Check out the video below to see this tutorial in action:

For awesome survival gear you can't make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

Want more survival tips? Check out the posts below!

Homemade Aluminum Can Burners

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