The Shop > Metal Stuff
Foundry Furnace for the Tiny Shop
bertie_bassett:
looking good :thumbup:
will be watching as this progresses and stealing all the good ideas when I get round to making one myself.
have started saving up ally heatsinks, but that's as far as iv got.
vtsteam:
Thanks Oz, John, Bertie! :beer:
I emptied the ash out of the furnace this morning, and the lining is in fine shape. No deterioration. In fact the impressions of the cardboard tube seams are preserved as is the "shiny" areas where I'd used plastic tape on the form. The lining rings when I tap it, so it seems reasonably dry. The lid however still seems slightly soft when scratched -- most of the lid surface is blocked from the heat by the shell, so that will take some more time to fully dry out. There's also probably still bound water in all of the lining -- this bake isn't really a test yet -- that will come with full melting heat. But I should be able to leave the furnace in the shop now -- freezing temps shouldn't hurt it. I did bring the lid back indoors to dry further.
mattinker:
I hope it survives the first firing! The sand should allow the plaster to bind at it's maximum a minimum of plaster between the grains of sand, but it is still that plaster that holds the sand together! The results will be interesting!Something cropped up on the Hobycast forum today, ITC 100 in 1/4pint bottles for $25! I know it's not in the budget, just thought I'd let you know!
Regards, Matthew
vtsteam:
John B, thanks for the milk tip. It's interesting, I think the sand acted in the opposite way, as a catalyst for the Plaster of Paris. The reason I think that is, my wife decided she wanted to cast about a cup of Plaster of Paris (without sand) today for a project she had. We mixed it up and I expected the near instant cure I was getting with the refractory mix. But it ended up taking a LOT longer -- at least 20 minutes. So I think the sand must really accelerate that stuff.
Thanks for the tip about milk. If I ever have to do this again, I'll probably try it to slow things down a little.
Eugene:
Meanwhile even further off the main topic ...... I'm a bit leery of using a steel crucible for melting ally. Is there a coating or liner that could be applied to the steel interior to prevent the iron dissolving into the charge? I ask this from the safety point of view as much as anything else.
I had thought of just using a loose-ish liner of potters clay; if some means could be found of retaining it during the pour, that would seem on the face of it to be workable. Is it? Or what?
Eug
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