If you’re just getting started in blacksmithing and familiarizing yourself with the terms, you might be wondering, “What are ingots, and what do you do with them?” Luckily, we’re here to answer this very question by looking at the basic definition of metalworking ingots and their uses. Keep reading to find out more.
What Is an Ingot?
An ingot is a block of material, typically made of metals like steel, silver, and gold. Picture the gold bars you often see in old cartoons or video games—these bars are known as ingots. While an ingot refers to any shape or mass of material, the most common casting shapes for ingots are bars, plates, and sheets. These shapes allow you to easily stack multiple ingots for counting or storage.
Uses in Blacksmithing
Blacksmiths often produce ingots. The process of forming a metal ingot involves melting down the pure metals and casting them into the desired ingot forms. This is a blacksmith’s job, but blacksmiths also end up using ingots in a variety of other ways. For example, many branches of blacksmithing use ingots in their work, such as weaponsmithing, steel smithing, jewelry making, and more. Their purpose in these specifications is for the blacksmith to melt them down again and reshape the material into the desired form, whether this form is a weapon or a delicate piece of jewelry.
Uses in Jewelry Casting
Ingots are key to jewelry casting, especially metal ingots. Jewelry makers work with a lot of precious metals, which means it’s important to have a supply of ingots or other materials ready for crafting. These crafters will melt down the ingots and re-shape and cast them into new jewelry molds to become a new product.
Other Uses
In other cases, ingots may be used for other purposes, such as steelmaking and other industrial-level tasks. Some metalworkers specialize in forming ingots into billets and structural materials for construction and manufacturing. Round ingots are often formed into tubes.
After looking at the basic definition and applications of ingots, we hope this answers the question, “What are ingots, and what do you do with them?” If you’re interested in becoming a blacksmith or jewelry maker yourself, check out our supply of metal melting furnace kits that are perfect for melting down ingots. At Cast Master Elite, we can help you choose the model that’s best for you and help answer all your questions.
