Going crazy

What Mark said. Spraying the mould surface with a graphite mixed with alchohol then lighting off the alcholol was common practice in iron foundries.

 

I started a stand-alone thread on the graphite idea to make it easier to later retrieve information on that subject and in hopes that someone scanning thread titles will recognize the subject.

Denis

 

WHOA! Look at the state of that poor crucible! Didn't you say you just started out? Check out your burner arrangement. The flame should not be directly hitting the crucible. Yours looks to be FRIED and is your plinth block now permanently attached to the bottom? Before you light your furnace, every time, place 2 thin pieces of cardboard between the crucible and the plinth. It turns to carbon and prevents this from happening. Live and learn. But LEARN!

 

Lol the crucible came in purity much like that
Otowool won't use them again for sure we split on in half
I bought 2 at the same time we now have a much better one
That one we did forget the card board
But in the new one we double layer it ....Still stuck
The first time it did with the card board
It actuly pulled out the plinth to think the cast was a little warm that day