# Pouring Tungsten?



## fishingredhawk (Apr 14, 2004)

Guys,

I've done some online research and am having trouble finding information about pouring tungsten. I did find a source which states that tungsten melts at an extraordinary 6,100 degrees Fahrenheit&#8211;the highest melting point of all metals. 

Anyone here have any experience with pouring this stuff? Sounds like you would need some pretty advanced/expensive equipment. It also sounds like a very dangerous activity.

Thanks


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## cadman (Jan 25, 2009)

Tungsten is not something you can pour at home. you need specialized equipment to do this. Even if you could do this at home, you couldn't afford the equipment. I pour lots of lead and that takes a lot of concentration and planning, so you don't get burned. What are you trying to make that needs tungsten?


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## sisezz73 (Mar 9, 2007)

Yeah ,Mike I have looked into that. And that is crazy what it takes to melt that stuff. A little birdie told me the chinamen are starting to pour tungsten so hopefully the prices will start to drop before you spend all that money on high dollar melting equipment.Let alone the armor you will need to wear.


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## CARP 104 (Apr 19, 2004)

Mike, 

I have looked into this also...it's not really practical for do-it-yourself lure makers. If you did get it melted, there are not many materials that have a melting point above tungsten which would be suitable for a mold.

I am pretty sure tungsten weights are machined on a lathe or other CNC machine from tungsten rod.


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## Sharp Charge (Jun 24, 2009)

Just for a little more comparison, tungsten is used as the electrode in TIG welding. So if it can sustain the heat needed to turn steel into a molten puddle, you aren't going to have what you need to safely liquefy, pour and mold tungsten.


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## viper1 (Apr 13, 2004)

WHat would you want to make from it?


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

viper1 said:


> WHat would you want to make from it?



jigs, weights, and any lead components used in bass fishing.


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## PolymerStew (Feb 17, 2009)

For cast molding with tungsten the cheapest/easiest way I think would be to have the tungsten as a fine powder and disperse it into a thermoplastic polymer or lower melting metal.

Because tungsten has a very high density, ~19 g/cc, it can be mixed with a lower density material such as plastics having a density ~1-1.5 g/cc to achieve a density comparable to that of lead. For reference the density of lead is ~11 g/cc, steel or brass are ~8-9 g/cc, and tin is ~ 7g/cc.

I picked up a couple different kinds of "non-toxic" fishing weights at Gander Mountain to see what they were made of. I got the kind that have a flat, charcoal black color to them. I tried dropping one into a beaker of solvent (I think it was chloroform or THF) in my lab and it did dissolve, resulting in a viscous polymer solution and a fine black powder. I had been hoping to determine what kind of polymer was being used, since I had some ideas of my own about making non-lead fishing weights using metal/polymer blends. I suspect the metal powder in the weights I had dissolved was tungsten, although I didn't do any characterization of it.


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## Tokugawa (Apr 29, 2008)

PolymerStew said:


> For cast molding with tungsten the cheapest/easiest way I think would be to have the tungsten as a fine powder and disperse it into a thermoplastic polymer or lower melting metal.
> 
> Because tungsten has a very high density, ~19 g/cc, it can be mixed with a lower density material such as plastics having a density ~1-1.5 g/cc to achieve a density comparable to that of lead. For reference the density of lead is ~11 g/cc, steel or brass are ~8-9 g/cc, and tin is ~ 7g/cc.
> 
> I picked up a couple different kinds of "non-toxic" fishing weights at Gander Mountain to see what they were made of. I got the kind that have a flat, charcoal black color to them. I tried dropping one into a beaker of solvent (I think it was chloroform or THF) in my lab and it did dissolve, resulting in a viscous polymer solution and a fine black powder. I had been hoping to determine what kind of polymer was being used, since I had some ideas of my own about making non-lead fishing weights using metal/polymer blends. I suspect the metal powder in the weights I had dissolved was tungsten, although I didn't do any characterization of it.


I think most tungsten is melted using induction heaters in a ceramic crucible.

I think a high impact ABS would be a nice matrix for the tungsten powder.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> I had been hoping to determine what kind of polymer was being used, since I had some ideas of my own about making non-lead fishing weights using metal/polymer blends.


I don't think I need to tell you this but a quick IR will most likly give you the info you need to determine what kind of polymer it is. Surely you would have access to one in Knight Hall.


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