new here but really need help need a medical alert dog tag and since im going to be stuck with it for the rest of my life i want a story or experience to go with it,
so i wanna make it out of tungsten(wolfram) i plan on casting it, while trying to researching i got more questions then answers
tungsten has a crazy high melting point 6000+F so conventional melting ways arent going to cut it, so what would be the best way to go about this?
which would be generally better buying tungsten rods and melting those or just buying tungsten powder?
i read that carbon is added to tungsten to make tungsten carbide which is even stronger generally for machinery would that be necessary for my use?
Get a tattoo of your condition on yo chest? Gonna be cheaper than this fools errand you want to attempt.
>>918677
not really into tattoos plus on blood thinners so 99% sure not even allow -doctor
>>918671
your best option is to cast it out of a superalloy, haynes or inconel. as for tungsten is mildly toxic.
but if you really want """"muhh hardest metal"""" you can machine it from a billet of tungsten alloy.
or the last option is to have a specialized company stamp it from tungsten carbide.
this is a bit foolish though as these options cost roughly 500-2500 euros.
why not just use zinc or aluminium?
I mean common wolfram looks like pretty much the same as aluminium and not that far off from zinc (a few shades darker).
It's a hard metal yes but you wont have a truck pulling on your dog tag and even if you do I think you'd prefer it to brake off than take your head off.
On the down side it more expensive and almost impossible to home cast. Especially if you never cast anything before hand.
Try your hand out with aluminium of zinc you can get there fairly easy. Lantern batteries or old beer cans.
Military dog tags are aluminium sheets cut and stamped
>>918696
i've got a buddy whose bought and make combustion furnaces at home but those dont come close to producing the heat needed
may sound dumb and cliche, hell is probably is, its more about pride and accomplishment really anyone with a little bit of passion and a few google searches can melt zinc or aluminum
also really stubborn and fixated on tungsten, just the idea that this is a near impossible task for the average joe, i'd carry such pride with it
>>918705
this isn't going to happen. go watch some videos on youtube of guys with more knowledge and resources trying to melt tungsten
>>918705
coat it in an inert metal like anodized aluminum or cast iron so you don't d!e
>>918696
Well guy since you got a buddy that's an expert go ask him how to melt tungsten. A metal so hard to melt the use it in a fraction of a mm burning white hot(2500 C measured on a 100W bulb) in light bulbs without melting.
Also if you do get it hot enough to melt it will turn in to an oxide before you get it out of the crucible. Go look up how the tungsten filament in light bulbs is made. It's just not a diy garage project. Unless your garage is the Manhattan project
>>918730
Yeah OP you don't want to catch childhood leukemia now do you?
Faggot grow some cojones.
>>918671
Why not use a more accessible metal that will give you some handy skill, i.e. silver.
>>918671
You would be better off engraving said info on a titanium alloy sheet, than trying to "cast" tungsten.
Forget casting. If you want the thing to serve it's proper function (which includes being READABLE) consider machining something like stainless steel. Thin scraps can be had from machine shops or you can buy small sections online. Do appropriate artwork, then find someone to convert the art to G-code and machine it. You may be able to interest a hobby machinist in the project and you can find them in online machining forums or perhaps here.
You can also etch stainless at home if you want to do it yourself, or farm that bit out to people who make custom etched Harley points and derby engine covers. Etched and engraved motorcycle engine covers are common.
If you want to do it all yourself, engrave it by hand.
>>918671
>tungsten
>cast
Good luck anon.
The fuck, I thought you had to get medic alert badges from the medic alert badge place for them to be official?
>>918671
A hard metal will crack when dropped especially when its as thin as a dog tag, no way you are punching letters into it without it breaking.
Another problem is that wolfram is really heavy (19300 kg/m3) compared to steel (7900 kg/m3)
Why not do something realistic and go for titanium. Its strong, light(4540kg/m3) and it does not rust(not even in pool or sea water), its not toxic and has a cool colour.
Its still pretty tough to do it yourself but its possible with the right equipment (it melts at 1660°C).
In the worst case you can always ask a jeweler, titanium is becoming quite popular for wedding rings. I am pretty sure someone can make the tag for you.
>>919074
I don't know how it is in america but I think it does not really matter, no doctor will ignore the badge because it is not official (unless its a "do not transfuse" badge, doctors tend to ignore those when in doubt)
I think this is just for legal reasons they want you to get it from the official place. If they miss it they are not liable when you made it yourself.
>>919124
can't cast titanium
oxidises in contact with air when trying to melt it. All you get is weird white diamond hard sediment.
Easier to machine it.
>>919125
Oh ok i did not know that, the titanium implants i have seen seemed to be cast/forged and not machined but that must happen when exposed to an inert gas.
>>919134
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHZ-SMTyWKQ
I stumbled on to this, you might like it
Get the powder form and look into a process called sintering.
Don't let the naysayers get you down
>>919125
>can't cast titanium...
Alternatively, Ti can be forged. Expect a hard yellow scale that will wire brush off.
>>919125
you can actually cast titanium, but you must melt it under a noble gas atmosphere, keep it under inert gas while pouring, you must use a graphite or graphite lined mold (or similarly specialized lining) , and you must purge the mold with inert gas.
>>918671
Maybe it s a bit off topic but i hope you know that your pic doesn t represent the symbol of medicine but of the merchants.
The one you are looking for is the rod of asclepius, which has one single snake
>pic related
>>919938
This is a fuck up attributed to the US Medical Corps back in like 1905. A single officer requested the addition of the symbol, but had drawn the Hermes staff on the request.
You can almost always tell whether the group using the symbol is a commercial entity or not based on which staff the use. Non-profits and medical associations almost uniformly use the single 'snake' staff, while companies and products that need to be marketed based on appearances tend to have the Staff of Hermes.
You can remember the difference because the Rod of Asclpius resembles the traditional treatment method for Dracunculiasis infections where the parasitic worm is wound around a small twig and gently massaged and coaxed out of the body. There are images similar to the Rod of Asclepius (most notably lacking the snake face and tongue) that predate the cult.
stamp, etch, or engrave the pattern into a small billet of O1 tool steel, then quench harden and temper. it will probably be stronger than tungsten and a hell of a lot cheaper
you are not going to cast tungsten. forget it. you might be able to machine it very slowly with conventional tooling but casting tungsten is nearly impossible, hence why commercially available tungsten is sintered, not cast
yes, tungsten is a cool material. but it's also unobtainium for the /diy/er
>>919787
>noble gas
Expensive much? Most foundries just use Nitrogen gas since you can produce it cheaply from the air.
>>920074
argon is real cheap too
Medic-alert bracelets are worn on your wrist for a reason, OP, because that is where us paramedics are trained to look first.
We don't start undressing patients to look for some other sign or jewellery to state you have some sort of medical issue, get with the plan.
>>920075
Not as cheap as going down to the fire station with a box of donuts...
