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I Forge Iron

Miras Absar

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    Phoenix, Arizona

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  1. Will do, I may use kaowool instead of a homemade refractory. Thanks!
  2. After using a charcoal foundry for a bit I've decided to go propane. I've already done some research and have most of the stuff figured out, I just want to see if anyone has any other suggestions for me. As for refractory I will be using a mixture of sand and fireclay (2:1 by volume). The crucible I'll be using is an A2 (3.75" diameter). I'll have 1.5" on both sides and a wall thickness of 2" so the entire foundry will have a diameter of about 11". I'm going to be melting mostly bronze, brass, and occasionally aluminum in the foundry. Any suggestions, am I missing anything? Thanks =)
  3. If you have a small blast furnace (a cupola I suppose) you could melt down the iron with some magnesium. The magnesium will bond with the sulfur to form magnesium sulfide. The reaction will result in a lot of heat (it'll bring the iron past 3000°F) so you want to have your furnace lined with good refractory. The magnesium sulfide will be slag and you'll want to remove it. If you want to remove any silicon and phosphor you can add crushed limestone and iron oxide. If you're using a regular foundry I guess you can charge the crucible with the iron, magnesium, limestone, and iron oxide. Make sure you use a good crucible because the magnesium-sulfur reaction could melt right through a crucible not made for those kind of temperatures. I've never actually melted iron or tried any of this out. This is all based on reading.
  4. So I went ahead and made the charcoals today. I used a mixture of 60% charcoal powder and 40% flour by mass (grams). I mixed the two dry and then added water (I may have added too much as it resulted in a paste. I think the optimal consistency would be something along the lines of casting sand). I scooped the paste into an egg carton and left it in the sun to dry. I checked every few hours, and after ~5 hours the charcoals were dry (it's 100°F in Phoenix today). I went ahead and burned one to see how it performs and it burned nicely. I would attach pictures but I can't seem to find the attach button =(
  5. I have a few empty candle jars (they're like cylinders) that I'll probably use as molds, though egg boxes will definitely let me make more at a time. I'll try both and see how each turn out. I'll post pictures once done. Thanks again =)
  6. Oh, that makes sense, homemade briquettes. A lot simpler than injecting it into my foundry, thanks!
  7. I'm relatively new to melting metal, though I have built 3 foundries up till now so I have the basics and safety down pretty well. Just a few weeks ago I got my hands on some Hard Firebrick (rated for up to 2700°F / 1482°C) and built my third foundry (all of mine burn charcoal though I have been taking a look into propane). The foundry burns fairly hot and I can melt copper easily in it. I noticed though that after some burns (and after the foundry cools down) that there are some small charcoal fragments left at the bottom of the foundry, so I took those small fragments and crushed them into a fine powder. Now my question: is there any way to burn that charcoal powder? I've attached a few pictures of my foundry setup and the powdered charcoal so you have an idea of what I'm dealing with. What I've been considering is drilling a small hole in the copper pipe that delivers air into the foundry, and then dropping some powdered charcoal into it (via a funnel). The current of air would carry the powdered charcoal into the forge where it would then ignite, somewhat like a Pulverized Charcoal Burner. Would that pose any risks, or are there any better suggestions? EDIT: And yes, the foundry is sitting on cement, not concrete so it won't spall.
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