Im close to finishing my foundry build and about to attempt my first casting. The videos I have seen, after pouring your ingots...there always seems to be some left over metal stuck to the wall of the crucible. Does this metal flake off or pull out of the crucible after it completely cools down or do you always have a little metal from whatever you poured last in your next melt?
Depends on the metal you're casting. Aluminum and lower melt point alloys can often be pulled out, but copper alloys and iron will not. This is why you typically need a crucible dedicated to the metal you are pouring. For aluminum, I've also found the skin and (small) heal pulls cleanly if I do not replace the crucible in the hot furnace. If I do, it oxidizes and adheres. Aluminum duty is easy on crucibles and ambient cooling poses little issue to them. Best, Kelly
I clean mine out while they are still hot and it comes right out. I have only melted brass and aluminum in my crucible though...cast iron is probably worse about sticking.
Bronze tends to leave a little bit of stuff behind. I scrape out what I can while hot. Pulling on stuck pieces tends to take part of the crucible with it. Not a good idea.
