Introduction
I would like to make armor out of bronze that I will melt down, pour into sheets, then hammer the sheets into the shape of the armor that I would like to make. Metal has for a long time been the choice for weapons and armor because of its properties. It is malleable, dense and strong. Because of its malleability it can be formed into different shapes. This allows it to take the form of the human body which is why it is used for armors. These armors made out of metal are resistant to blunt trauma and also to piercing blows.
Safety Considerations
Materials
Execution
I will initially melt my copper and tin in the furnace inside of the fume hood, I will then poor the copper/tin mixture into a mold that I make for a sheet of metal. The mold will be made out of fired and hardened clay and will have a thin cavity in the middle to allow for the metal to be poured. The metal will be melted inside a crucible that I can then pick up with tongs and pour. After I make the sheet metal I will then cut out the dimensions I need to make my armor, then will hammer it to the angles that I will need to to make the armor. The excess metal will be re-melted and re- used. I will make sure that the crucible is clean by heating and pouring out all the metal inside of it. I will document my experiment by taking pictures along the way.
Although I planned my experiment around making armor, I found that that would be much more time consuming than I thought. Instead I just opted to make a bronze ingot as that requires less time and man power to create. Bronze melts at a very high point(around 2000 degrees Fahrenheit) and because of this it is very time consuming.
Looking Backward
After I decided to cut my project down to just making the metal, my goals were much more attainable. To the new standard of making an ingot, my project turned out really well. Making an ingot out of the bronze was still difficult. The pieces of bronze and tin were put inside the oven for three hours at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. When you opened up the oven, being within inches of it made you feel extreme heat. The oven glowed orange and so did the metal inside of the oven
Looking Beyond
On a molecular level the way tin and copper melt is the same as any other substance. They have a high melting point. Copper melts at 1984 degrees Fahrenheit and tin at 449 degrees. When they melt they become a liquid and the particles separate. They have more space and move around and act as any other liquid would, taking the shape of their container and retaining the same volume.
Looking Inward
I think that I got desirable results from my experiment. I got mostly desirable results with the ingot being strong and of a good color. The only thing that wasn't desirable was a small stress fracture in the ingot. I believe that the reason this happened was because there was a large concentration of tin in a single area. Too much tin in a bronze alloy can make it too brittle and thus lead to stress fractures. I can fix this next time by more consistently mixing the tin and the bronze together and also by making sure the ratio between the tin and the copper is right. The correct ratio is ten parts copper to one part tin.
Looking Outward
Although I did not work with a partner for this experiment I think that I like working with a team better than working alone. The reason for this being that: when I have a partner who works diligently, they keep me on check and I can complete my work quicker and do better work.
Looking Forward
If I were to do this project again I would definitely want to mix my molten metal more to allow it to alloy more evenly. This would require me to let it melt in the oven for longer as every time I mix it, it would lose a lot of heat. Based on my experience in this lab and past work I would chose to work with Liam again because I saw that when I worked with him, we both did better work in a more timely manner. After doing this lab I think that I could continue in the direction I had initially planned to go. I could make different shapes and things out of the metal and gain more metal working experience.
Take Aways
Making a second ingot at a much higher temperature than my last ingot allowed me to gain much more experience in working with metals. I gained experience on how to use metal working tools like tongs, stirrers and heat gloves. I also learned that you need to make sure your tools are of good enough quality to be able to handle the heat that is generated by the metal and oven.
I would like to make armor out of bronze that I will melt down, pour into sheets, then hammer the sheets into the shape of the armor that I would like to make. Metal has for a long time been the choice for weapons and armor because of its properties. It is malleable, dense and strong. Because of its malleability it can be formed into different shapes. This allows it to take the form of the human body which is why it is used for armors. These armors made out of metal are resistant to blunt trauma and also to piercing blows.
Safety Considerations
- Molten metal: Molten metal is very dangerous as it can spill and easily burn people due to its extremely high temperature
- Hot oven/ crucible: Also very hot and can burn easy
- Hammers: can hurt people very badly if improperly used
- Sharp metal: can stab people accidentally if not looked after
Materials
- Copper
- Tin
- Furnace
- Crucible
- Mold
- Hammer
- Some sort of anvil
- Safety gear
Execution
I will initially melt my copper and tin in the furnace inside of the fume hood, I will then poor the copper/tin mixture into a mold that I make for a sheet of metal. The mold will be made out of fired and hardened clay and will have a thin cavity in the middle to allow for the metal to be poured. The metal will be melted inside a crucible that I can then pick up with tongs and pour. After I make the sheet metal I will then cut out the dimensions I need to make my armor, then will hammer it to the angles that I will need to to make the armor. The excess metal will be re-melted and re- used. I will make sure that the crucible is clean by heating and pouring out all the metal inside of it. I will document my experiment by taking pictures along the way.
Although I planned my experiment around making armor, I found that that would be much more time consuming than I thought. Instead I just opted to make a bronze ingot as that requires less time and man power to create. Bronze melts at a very high point(around 2000 degrees Fahrenheit) and because of this it is very time consuming.
Looking Backward
After I decided to cut my project down to just making the metal, my goals were much more attainable. To the new standard of making an ingot, my project turned out really well. Making an ingot out of the bronze was still difficult. The pieces of bronze and tin were put inside the oven for three hours at 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. When you opened up the oven, being within inches of it made you feel extreme heat. The oven glowed orange and so did the metal inside of the oven
Looking Beyond
On a molecular level the way tin and copper melt is the same as any other substance. They have a high melting point. Copper melts at 1984 degrees Fahrenheit and tin at 449 degrees. When they melt they become a liquid and the particles separate. They have more space and move around and act as any other liquid would, taking the shape of their container and retaining the same volume.
Looking Inward
I think that I got desirable results from my experiment. I got mostly desirable results with the ingot being strong and of a good color. The only thing that wasn't desirable was a small stress fracture in the ingot. I believe that the reason this happened was because there was a large concentration of tin in a single area. Too much tin in a bronze alloy can make it too brittle and thus lead to stress fractures. I can fix this next time by more consistently mixing the tin and the bronze together and also by making sure the ratio between the tin and the copper is right. The correct ratio is ten parts copper to one part tin.
Looking Outward
Although I did not work with a partner for this experiment I think that I like working with a team better than working alone. The reason for this being that: when I have a partner who works diligently, they keep me on check and I can complete my work quicker and do better work.
Looking Forward
If I were to do this project again I would definitely want to mix my molten metal more to allow it to alloy more evenly. This would require me to let it melt in the oven for longer as every time I mix it, it would lose a lot of heat. Based on my experience in this lab and past work I would chose to work with Liam again because I saw that when I worked with him, we both did better work in a more timely manner. After doing this lab I think that I could continue in the direction I had initially planned to go. I could make different shapes and things out of the metal and gain more metal working experience.
Take Aways
Making a second ingot at a much higher temperature than my last ingot allowed me to gain much more experience in working with metals. I gained experience on how to use metal working tools like tongs, stirrers and heat gloves. I also learned that you need to make sure your tools are of good enough quality to be able to handle the heat that is generated by the metal and oven.