Metal Casting Zone

Hello,

I will be making a titanium alloy soon, and want to use it for a lost wax casting project.

Question, since I have no experience in titanium casting, what would be a proper material for a mold? I had in mind, the same mixture that I use for my steel making, that is 2 parts fireclay and 1 part magnesium oxide. Would that be OK?
Thanks, Jerry

i havent a clue!!! please keep us informed . your experiments are ground breaking !

I thought titanium had to be cast in an oxygen free enviroment?

I wonder if I could get my furnace hot enough for titanium. Wikipedia says it melts at 3034 degrees, the only problem would be finding free scrap.

I was going to use the thermite furnace, and use titanium dioxide rather than iron oxide. It should remove all the oxygen in the reaction, just like the iron making system. I have successfully melted magnesium in air though.

Just wondering if the liquid Ti would flux my refractory. I'll do a small test to find out, before putting a big charge in.

i like the idea of a small test! you give a whole new meaning to :" light the wick and p...off quick" lol lol i told my wife about your experiment!! she has a titanium rod in her back and she said i could have it when she is finished with it for casting! ???????? lol lol

A lesson I've learned, If you want to do Thermite at home. DON'T show your wife the videos on You-toob.

Well, I'm slowly working up to the Ti thermite casting. I blended it in with a sword making blog. You have to wade through the sword making to get to the lost wax part.
Havent done it yet, but check every week or so, and I'll post the reaction, and if it worked.....or not.

Sorry about the double post.
I am currently waiting for the local fire dept to declare a "burn day", for my lost wax titanium run. That way I stay off the radar.
In the meantime, here is a cool site that has many exotic thermite recipes.

I have to say, they don't quite have the right techniques for obtaining the specific metals. They need to pack and cover, among other tips, but it is very informative, none the less.
amazingrust.com/index.html

With titanium being so reactive above 450f will it not still need to be cast free of nitrogen and oxygen and maintained in purge until it cools? Thats kind of how it work for welding otherwise you end up with brittle bubbly sugar instead of welds that look like liquid mercury.