What are some good sources for scrap aluminum?
Potentially any aluminum obect could be a source. The best alloys for casting machine parts are old aluminum machine parts. Some examples are, car cylinder heads, transmission cases, water pump housings and pistons. This is a strong alloy which usually doesn’t shrink much. More common sources are lawn chair frames, storm door and window frames, beverage cans, foil, disposible turkey and pie pans etc. The second group of aluminum sources are known as extruded aluminum (as opposed to cast aluminum) because of the way the products are manufactured. It’s more of a pure aluminum so they are shiner when cast making them good for decorative castings. But they are weaker and the castings usually shrink more while cooling. Machining charactoristics are often not as good either.
