Just built a gas fired forge/foundry HELP in Queensland Australia

[ye olde bugger]

So after a lot of youtubeing I got hold of a 20in stainless section of pipe and gave it a bottom and mounted a kilm gas burner and tested it today with a brand new 8in 1/4in thick wall pipe as my collection cup..

here is a video report on the mess.

I am amazed as the burnt out section is fully around the inside and was very close to just dropping in half when I carried it to pour.

Thanks in advance for any replies. Tony.."ye olde Bugger"

[Frosty]

Welcome aboard Tony glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.

This is a pretty good example of something designed from watching Youtube, it's pretty much unworkable in most ways. You'll do much better by reading one of the casting fora.

You're using a "weed" burner, they're designed to light weeds and garbage on fire so they induce much more air than necessary to burn the propane. The produce a lot of BTUs per hour but not a very high absolute temperature. What burned your crucible is the excess oxygen induced by the weed burner.

Your crucible is a bad choice of material you will need a proper crucible for aluminum melts. Sure it CAN be done in a piece of steel pipe, I've cast al with a tin can and camp fire using silty sand for the mold. That's just something to do with old beer cans around a camp fire, NOT a foundry.

Your melter is incorrectly made as well: First, there are too many gaps in the brickwork, it's wasting fuel and heat. Secondly it's much too large in diameter, there should only be an inch or so space between the crucible and furnace wall. It's also much too tall. Is there a lid?

You will need pick up tong to life the crucible out of the melter, then a ring tong to pour.

Do you know how hot to pour aluminum?

Are you going to cast items or just making ingots?

If you're just making ingots this is FAR too complicated and dangerous. Simply prop a piece of steel pipe across a camp fire, sloped to a few inches from the ground on one end. Weld a partial cap on the low end with a small, say 3/4" dia hole in the welded cap so melted Al can flow out. Under the tap hole put your ingot molds and have handling tongs handy. Build a fire under the pipe and toss some aluminum cans in. You'll now when it's reached working temperature when molten aluminum starts running out the tap hole. Now just feed the melter and change ingot molds when they get full.

Unless you are going to study and preferably take casting classes the pipe melter is the safest method I know of for inexperienced folk to melt aluminum. ANY molten metal is deadly dangerous, a couple drops of water in one of your ingot molds will illustrate HOW DANGEROUS by spraying molten aluminum a few yards in every direction.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

Edited July 5, 2015 by Frosty

[ye olde bugger]

Thanks Frosty for the Reply.

I want to cast stuff I am an Artist and need to smelt aluminum yes it's a You Tube job and was a test, hence the dry brick layout I have all that is needed to construct it.

There is a lid and it was used today to have another go ( wont put up today,s video now on how to blow a hole in a thick stainless steel fry pot..) the depth will be at the steel can top just did not want to cut bricks at this point.

The torch is from a down draft kilm 2m3.

Today I put the pot on 2 sections of steel spring to mount it above the torch entry and there was just 1 inch clearance around both pots, I had been thinking I was to close to the walls..Oh and today I ran at 5 psi.

I made the steel pipe yesterday with the required holes for lifting and a section of the base had an extension to use the 3rd rod to pour and had formed a spout as well.

I have no idea as to how to tell the pour point temp of aluminum for casting I thought about putting an add in the local paper for anyone who knew about casting as the only place around that did Non Ferris closed a few years back.

I will change (edit) header re address, thankyou

Edited July 6, 2015 by ye olde bugger

[ye olde bugger]

I'm back can't find an edit on the first post ,,,so

I am at the top end of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland 2hrs north of Brisbane Australia.

https://youtu.be/mZDUtL-KvlA

just cause..shows how to destroy Stainless Steel.