For no reason at all...

[slngsht]

I have decided to try casting aluminum at home :willy_nilly:

 

Step 1 was tonight... mixing and pouring the refractory for the furnace.

 

Not sure how many obstacles I'll run into in this project, or whether I'll actually be able to produce any worthwhile castings, but it's one of those things I can cross off my list when done.

Edited July 13, 2009 by slngsht

[powderbrake]

It sounds like fun. If it all works out, hurrah!, If not, you will have learned something, and what is life, but a continuous learning experience.

 

There is no question that you are a brave soul when it comes to fabrication, having seen the pics of the extensive work you have done on your Rotus.

[sporqster]

I did this once - homemade foundry sure caught the neighbor's attention ;-)

 

I loosely followed the instructions here:

http://www.visi.com/~darus/foundry2/

[slngsht]

I did this once - homemade foundry sure caught the neighbor's attention ;-)

 

I loosely followed the instructions here:

http://www.visi.com/~darus/foundry2/

I'm doing something similar - slightly larger, and propane heat source.

 

here is a poor quality cell phone pic of the flame at near full blast. Need to adjust mixture. I haven't run it yet. concrete is still too wet. starting tonight, I'll run it in short duration with low heat to slowly dry out the concrete.

Edited July 13, 2009 by slngsht

[Kitcat]

When I took shop class all those decades ago in high school, "foundry" was one of the cycles we rotated thru. I never got it right. The sand always crumbled in some critical corner of the pattern and left a glob of metal where it shouldn't be. Very tedious, given that the shop teacher was a stickler for detail and wanted it perfect.