Phil K.

I was in Chattanooga TN a few years ago and stopped at a large foundry. They did all types of castings and heat treating. In the corner I saw a large pattern for an anvil, about 250 pounds. They told me they would cast me one but wouldn't tell me a price. If I knew how much the price of anvils was going to increase, at least in our area, I would have had them cast me six or eight of them. Also, in Southern Mississippi there is Soule' Steam Works. It's now a museum. I'm not sure but I think they cast some anvils back in the day. Just not a name brand like Hay Budden but still kind of cool.

Yes, get a full face shield and a long sleeved welders jacket. Gloves and leather boots. I used to catch some flack for wearing a hardhat but if you have ever had hot metal on top of your head, it's not pleasant. Plus it holds the face shield very well. Copper is the worst metal to start with. It oxidizes so bad that you can waste a large portion of your melt. Just a little Tin (5 to10%) in the melt and you have a nice Bronze with little loss. I started with Lead and Pewter and worked my way up to Aluminum, Bronze and even some Cast Iron. If you must melt Copper, cover it with natural hard wood charcoal to keep the Oxygen off the melt.

Just use a Carbon Arc gouging rod. They come in several sizes up to 5/8 on an inch, maybe bigger. Work great for electric arc furnace if you have the power to back it up.

Here's an article I found. https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6769

A-36 is a lower Carbon Steel .18 to .21 % and would not harden very well. 4140 is very hard and may be difficult to work.

We needed a spot for Frosty to put his "Half a case of Dynamite" story.

Alloy Ave. site is down, has been for several months. Doesn't look like it will be back.

I just picked these up at an auction. I'll probably clean them up and set them on the shelf with some other iron. Might make some waffles with one but I have a belgian waffle iron that's much easier to use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRIFVubO60 This guy does it and gives step by step instructions. I think he's a little nuts.

Alloy Avenue is broken.

I got some Magnesium Oxide bricks from the same guy, they looked like big chunks of chalk. They worked fine and I'm using them around the shop.

The problem I've had with K23 bricks is that I bought some older bricks that had sat around for a while. They had been in a damp area so I dried them and built a small furnace. When I got up to heat for a bronze pour, they just crumbled. Now I've gone to some good castable refractory with ceramic wool for insulation. I picked the wool up at an old foundry that had closed. I would much rather work with Kaowool.

Lots of other old wrecks that are much more accessible. I was able to get some wrought bolts from an old steam engine after a rebuild. I haven't tried it yet. Going to make a tomahawk with an old file for the edge. I'm a certified diver but haven't done it for years. Also, trained in underwater welding/cutting and salvage. Again that was too many years ago.

Sorry Gadget, I did miss that. I have some pictures of my son trying to help me. I usually had to get on him about his shoes.

All this about Silicosis and unnecessary flash arrestors and nothing about his PPE? He has some good PPE but it still casting with a T-shirt, short pants and canvas shoes. He should have at least blue jeans and leather shoes, along with some type of arm covering.

Wow, missed this thread. I'm reading as fast as I can. Were there any STL's posted? I would like to try some tinkering as well.

I've never seen rebar with the composition stamped on it. Usually grade, size and the manufacturer code. Some rebar is made at better standards than others, but without knowing all the codes it's hard to know what you have.

Most Fire Brick, both hard and soft are rated for 2000F to 3000F, depending there Alumina content. They can withstand higher temps than that but won't last long. I would think the brick in the picture is cracked and will probably break apart when heated. I bought some old brick like that once, they just fell apart when I got them up to about 2000F. Frustrating after the time and effort I put into build the forge.

Mine's interchangeable, I lay my propane furnace down to forge metal. Or, I stand my forge up to put in a crucible and melt metal. It was mainly built as a small furnace, about 8 pounds of Bronze. Yes, you need a good sized vent. I make mine a little larger than I think I need, then I can block it off with a fire brick if needed. Two burners may not give you double heat, especially if you only use one 20 pound propane tank. It will tend to freeze up, warm water bath helps. What do you plan to melt? Is that 1018 steel for a plinth? That would be a huge heat sink. Just use firebrick or make one from your refractory cement. You did use high temp refractory, right?

Those look great. I need a power hammer. I can barely dent hot rail with my big hammer. Rail is usually .72 C, .80 Mn and little else.

If you like it, that's what's important. A great learning experience.