DanBrassaw Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I've been reading my butt off on casting aluminum, and have the first few gingery books, and plan on building the lathe. I have about 30 100# propane tanks sitting in my woods burning a hole in my pocket, and plan on using one for my furnace. My question is: why are all the furnaces I've seen vertically oriented? A sideways one would not only be able to double as a forge, but it would eliminate having to switch tongs for pouring. I must be missing something, what is it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 For small charges and pouring with tongs rather than a pouring shank, that could certainly work. But the switch to a pouring shank isn't a bug, it's a safety feature: pouring shanks typically don't have jaws that open, which reduces the chance that you'll drop the crucible. And at a certain charge size you want to be doing a two-man lift, or even using a hoist, both of which would be harder or impossible with a horizontal orientation. I suspect that's why large crucible furnaces are typically vertical, and most of the small furnaces are just scaled-down versions of their larger cousins. Those are my theories, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigred1o1 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 having done a good chunk of bronze pores i think the other factor is you can have a larger crucible vs space in the furnace with one upright and as stated above for the 2 man lifts its very handy anyway have you thought about doing a forge/furnace that you could stand on end when you are using it as a furnace with a hinged id and then orient it sideways with a then hinged front door for use as a forge just my 2cp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Heat transfer and tradition. When using a gas furnace you can swirl the heat around the crucible from the bottom and have it go up. Also when using solid fuel crucible furnaces vertical is the orientation you get with the crucible nestled in a pile of fuel---easier to add fuel around it to. I use my coal forge for my casting needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 It's also worth mentioning that if you want to add to the charge while the crucible is in the furnace, it's probably easier to do that from the top. My oil forge -- which I no longer have -- was designed to be used horizontal as a forge or vertical as a casting furnace. It wasn't a very elegant design, though, and I ended up leaving it vertical more or less permanently. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanBrassaw Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 That all makes sense. Thomas, I was thinking about using my coal forge, but I have concrete floors and wooden walls, and figured it would be safer to build a sandbox in one corner dedicated to casting, and cover the walls with something flame retardent. Where I am going to position the furnace lends itself well to double as a forge for where my hypothetical second work station will someday go. I'll build this one fixed vertically, and I can always change it later if the need arises, or build one specifically for forging. Thanks for all the info guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcKee Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 we just throw a cast iron skillet on our coal forge to melt a little AL... If your doing small peices its great way to do it with little effort. If you want to pour larger stuff or brass etc... then you would be better off with a crucible furnace. The most important peice of equipment would be a home made "flamethrower" Basicly a small squirell cage fan and plumbing parts with a 3/16 inlet for your gas. This one peice of equipment can be used in hundreds of ways and don't cost that much to build.... I wouldn't worry too much about the floor or walls of your shop... run the furnace outdoors and for the most part molten non-ferrous stuff won't cause too many issues on cement... The temps are not high enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcKee Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Here is a few shots of my furnace.... I know its verticle but I still use it to forge larger bowls every once in a while I'll take some photos of my flamethower today and post them so you can see what I'm talking about... Be safe and Have Fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcKee Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Here is a close up of the "flamethower" set up I use.....Lots of fun for a small price... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsies11 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 heres my question on this, might sound a little stupid but, why cant you make a latch for your lid and when you want to forge just tip the furnace on its side? in theory (the village idiots in this situation) if build right it should work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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