Hi all. Been thinking of making a furnace for years and trying to die jest enough info to do it. I am going the route of a old gas bottle , (Dont say it ) . I just need to go through a lot of threads to get info to carry on. Can any one point me in the direction of a good starting point ? Thanks Chubbs.
If you want to get your feet wet and try some aluminum casting, you can build a temporary furnace from hard fire bricks (available at tractor supply and some hardware stores). I made a temporary furnace, and as I talk to others, some of them did the same, using bricks stacked in a circle. I made another hard brick furnace to use for small aluminum melts, and it works well, and I still use it to this day. I use a kiln shelf for a lid. I have used an old gas bottle as a fuel container, and I completely filled it with water before I drilled into it. The hard fire brick route is quick and easy. Some use bricks inside of a metal shell. I would recommend trying a melt with a brick furnace first, get a feel for crucible and pour sizes, and then figure out a furnace size. No sense in building a furnace only to find out that the crucible size you want/need to use will not fit into the furnace. Crucibles generally will hold the same amount of aluminum as their size, ie: a #10 crucible will hold approximately 10 lbs of aluminum. .
Welcome to the forum chubbs. I would start first by deciding exactly how much metal you need to melt then get your crucible dimensions so you can figure out how large of a furnace you will need....
Welcome Chubbus. There's a thread here on different types of furnaces. http://forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php?threads/the-furnace-thread.276/ If you've already decided on the details as far as size and style and want to make a traditional lift out crucible furnace, you might try searching "Myfordboy Furnace" on YouTube. He has 4 or 5 videos of 10-15 minutes each that take you through the steps of a typical build. It's also a good channel to pick up some home casting tips. Best, Kelly
Welcome! The suggestion to build around the size of crucible you will need is a sound one. Better to find out before it's too late if your BBQ tank is a little too small or something. Once that's done, l would suggest choosing a heat source - charcoal, coal, propane, waste oil, electric, etc. - before deciding on what kind of lining to install in your furnace. Plenty of knowledgeable folks here ready to offer all the advice and suggestions you'll need. Jeff.