I thought I had posted this over on
MetalWorkingFun but couldn't find it, so I thought I would post it here.
I wanted something for heating parts to bend or to anneal them (gee you have to watch spell check - it wanted to change anneal to anal
).
It is all pretty simple, an old split rim from a Toyota Landcruiser, a length of steel pipe and an old rim as a base. Air is introduced via a vacuum motor and comes out through the wheel stud holes. I had to vary the design a few times, as the first one simply shot hot coals into the air and had me ducking for cover! You will need to play around with this. although I found that by restricting the stud holes and piercing several holes in the centre with my plasma cutter produced a decent result. I have been using hard wood flooring off cuts, as I get these for free. I cut the slots in the side to allow a long length of steel to be heated. I added some mesh to stop hot coals dropping out and melting the vacuum hose (don't ask how I discovered that).
Pics tell the story - some on the basic build, some tongs I made (to grab a steel 'crucible' I made), annealing a hardened steel drill coupler and some aluminium I melted:
