Madam Waffles

Masonite! Great idea. I was thinking plywood, haha.

Just to continue the questions... does rigidizer for the ceramic wool need to go on the cold face in between the blanket and the shell? Or should one just put the blanket in the forge, butter, and apply rigidizer to exposed faces for every layer? Additionally, when doing a layer of kast-o-lite: I have a hexagonal foundry, will the “cement” be able to handle 60 degree inclines or should I really do one face at a time...

I'll try to search for some of those, Frosty and Thomas. Thanks! (Won't deter me from my foundry build even if it's for other metals though...) ;) -Madam Waffles

He's also lowkey responsible for countless running injuries by promoting the heel-toe method with that design. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdz6jxscD0w&t=573s (Not that I completely support this guy's channel, but he does make some interesting points.)

Going to have to agree with ThomasPowers on this one. There's a reason cast iron is so sought after for cookware . However, I'm sure the first one I make will be aluminum just to test the process. Additionally, I'm not sure about the food safety of unfinished aluminum/I don't know how to make food-safe finishes haha. (Don't worry, not a conspiracy theorist that believes Al is toxic).

ThomasPowers, Yeah. I can definitely see why--cast iron seems intensive given the high melting point. I do plan to melt aluminum and other metals to test out the practice first before moving onto cast iron. Ultimately, it is the goal, so that's why I wanted my foundry to be ready for that from the get-go. However, I definitely will be taking it step-by-step and working up to it! As for cupola furnaces: There's something about molten metal flowing everywhere and using coal/coke/charcoal that turns me away... That seems like a second iteration-type deal (maybe next summer!). Are they particularly any safer or have other advantages I'm missing? Thanks for the suggestion about finding locals. From my quick searches though, it seems like everything through the summer has been cancelled due to the coronavirus. I'd like to get something built and cast before I head back up to New York for school. Definitely something I'll keep in mind for the future though. Also with the uncertainty of the fall, I may end up staying in NC and will definitely head to one of those events.

Hello all! First off, this is my first post to this site, and I'm super excited to join this community! Recently, I became enthralled with the idea of casting my own waffle iron (hence the name Madam Waffles), so I set off to design my own foundry to cast iron. Below I have briefly described my idea and design up to this point. I would greatly appreciate some feedback on the design! If there's something glaringly wrong, I'd like to know before I start the build. Additionally, my specific questions are as follow: What are the rough calculations you do to determine the size of your foundry? (I don't want to have to go in with the heat equation, material properties, etc. Is there a rule of thumb for the combo of insulation materials I'll be using?) Will this actually get hot enough to melt cast iron? Is 20-gauge steel over-engineering the outside? Lol Does the little table thing I have for the crucible make sense? Is it necessary? The Design I'm planning on making this propane-fueled with a forced air burner. The following screenshots show the bare-bones structure. It is to be made of 20-gauge steel sheets, 1-inch, and 2-inch square pipes. I want to weld those things together (I'm a xxxx welder though--just starting out, so that'll be fun). The weird piping coming off the side is the air blower (I got lazy with the CAD so did rough estimates for layout/dimensions. That's why it's square and then cylindrical.). I did not show the gas line piping, but it'll be a combination of brass fittings with a solenoid valve for safety (connected to the blower) and a needle valve. The hook things on the side are for a thermometer. I plan on finding smaller ones, but those were the only ones on McMaster that were close to what I wanted (I wanted the CAD). Dimensions Height ~22.5 inches Diameter ~18 inches Burner Diameter: 1-1/2 inches Insulation I want to have two 1-inch ceramic blankets with 1/2-inch of refractory on the sides (3/4'' on the lid and bottom). Additionally, I want to put a kiln brick(?) (the white bricks that are good insulators--not fire brick) under the crucible on the little table thing in the center. Pictures Final Notes Sorry in advance for lack of jargon, newbiness, etc. I appreciate and welcome all comments, questions, and concerns! Thank you!