Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Possible S/melting pot...


Recommended Posts

Ok, here's the deal. We have a bunch of these small, football-sized compressors. We've sawn one open, taken the stuff out and placed some refractory cement all around the interior. My dad plans on using some carbon rods in combination with a welder of sorts, and using that to melt pieces of scrap metal and what not. He used to work in a foundry, where they used a similar apparatus.

I know this doesn't sound safe AT ALL!!!! which is why I'm apprehensive about ever trying this. SO I guess the question is: could this work? And if not, where can I get an actual smelting pot for melting metal in?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like your Dad is building an arc furnace. It's doable and if he knows what he's doing no more dangerous than a cupola or gas fired furnace. A lot is going to depend on what kind of scrap he's going to melt, what the refractory is rated for and how far away you're standing when he starts it up.

Not having any idea how much expertise your Father has I'd like to recommend you stand a good ways away with a cell phone handy. Just in case.

Frosty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alrighty, as long as it's not completely reckless. My dad's had a lot of experience in that sort of stuff, so I trust his judgement for the most part.

(FYI, i 'll probably use the melted down junk and some molds to make some shurikens, mostly ninja stars. I used to make them from big, flat washers with smaller holes, but those are surprisingly expensive.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Arc furnaces are the most common type of commercial furnace used today and are actually safer than gas, however they do normally require a very high temp refractory.
If your Dad has worked in a commercial foundry then he probably knows what he is doing and it isn't likely you have anything to worry about.

welder19

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to cut shurikens out of old circular saw blades, decent steel and free or a quarter when used beyond sharpening possibility.

Saturday one of my students tried to make a shuriken from a large nut by pounding it flat, found it did not work that well.

Also "smelting" is refining metal from ore. Melting or foundry work is melting metal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...