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Charcoal Foundry - Few questions before I start

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guerd87:
Hi everyone,

Only new around here but Im going to be starting to build my simple Foundry soon to cast a few alloy parts for my CNC build. I am building a JGRO and want to cast the Leadscrew Bearing Mounts and Adjustment blocks out of alloy. (Ive wanted to learn to cast for a while but this is a good excuse to tell the better half)

Ive seen a few designs around which are cheap and some a bit more time is required. Some I have seen have used Clay pots set inside a drum with Refractory concrete. Is the clay pot needed? Wouldnt the heat cause the clay to crack?

Im just thinking of using a 60L drum, lining the floor, walls and lid with Refractory and using this as the charcoal 'burning' chamber. Does this sound right?

One more quick question. How much air is required for a charcoal foundry to melt alloy fairly quickly? I have an old Blower Fan from a car that I could use. Maybe just try it and see how it goes :) I have sourced the refractory locally and will buy it this week.

Anyway, hopefully getting the thing started on my next weekend off and will get some pics up of it.

Cheers
John

Artie:

Hi John, you wont regret getting into the casting game... The pics below are of my beast which is over 20 year s old now. and probably due for renewal.... but it still works... and well....

Its a 60 litre drum as you mention but the only difference is I used and insulating wool between the refractory and the steel drum... its cool enough to touch while maintaining well over 900 deg C inside.

Mate I wouldnt use charcoal, up until late last year mine was charcoal but I converted it to gas using a burner design by a guy called Reil (google reil burner for plans). As to the air required I used an old Sadie shop canister vacuum cleaner using the blow hole rather than the suck hole... It worked really well.
 What you need is large volume not pressure.

But, gas is better... cleaner, quiter, more efficient and cheaper than charcoal, and quicker.....

Where in Aus are you? If you are nearby you are welcome to drop in and do a casting session so you can get a feel for the thing.








Here it is on chacoal showing the vac air supply.



Rob

Rob.Wilson:
Hi John  :headbang:

Good to here your going to get into casting  :thumbup:  ,,,,,,,,,,,,, I would follow Rob T's advice ,,,gas is better  :med:


Regards Rob W

guerd87:
I was thinking about gas but wasnt quite sure on the right burner to chose from. I will have to try and find the 'Reil" plans and have a look at them. I know there are lots of little differences, but on average how many melts would you get out of a 9kg gas bottle with your burner? How much pressure do you run it at aswell? I dont want to chew through it thats all.

I live in Pakenham, VIC. Around 1 hour East of Melbourne, you?

Looks like you use your foundry in the shed with just the doors open, is it that clean you can do that?

I have an old shopvac here I could use aswell, Will look over it later on.

John

Artie:
Hi John, the bottle will do 6 or 7 melts in aluminium (4 or 5 for brass) which equates to about 4 or 5 bucks per melt, much cheaper than charcoal (at least from my suppliers up here).

You will need a hi pressure regulator which can be had on fleabay (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400075441708&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT). I had no luck trying to source one from the normal stores.

The actual pressure you run depends upon what you are doing and how fast you want to do it, anywhere from 10 to 20 psi depending upon how well designed/made the burner is, which ultimately controls gas consumption, but as its pretty low in any case I wouldnt be too concerned.

Im in Griffith NSW 4.5 hours north of Melb and the offer is there but bear in mind that I work in Batemans Bay for 1.5 to 2 weeks of every month so Im not always available.

Ron Reils burner can be found here http://metalcast.boorman.us/reil_1.html

And as to why you should use gas..... Ron Reils own words " I have to include one reason to use gas that is probably the most compelling one, your health. One day after a full weekend of smithing work, using one of my open pan forges, I awoke with a very violent shaking of my muscles in my arms and throughout my body. I went to the doctor of course, and after a lot of testing and discussion they determined I was suffering from nerve poisoning due to breathing too much coal smoke. There are some bad things in coal smoke, especially various sulfur compounds, that can attack your central nervous system, as it had done to mine."

Uhm.. thats good enough for me...... :doh:

CHeers mate and good luck... lots more info on supplies in your area if you need them... CHeers

Rob T

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