Just a Start Here

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rake60

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
4,756
Reaction score
124
It has been some time since I started to build a home foundry.
Since then the progress has been, nothing! ::)

It is a start...

HomeFoundryForms.jpg


Rick
 
Mine started out looking something like that Rick - although I used a somewhat heavier casing (so I could weld bits to it).

Just keep going until it looks more like this. ;)

75burner1.jpg
 
It started life as a charcoal burner, but I converted it to propane when my charcoal supply dried up.

burners.jpg
 
What did you use for refractory tel?
I've seen a lot of different recipes out there.

Rick

 
I used commercial stuff from a potter's supply place about 40 mins from here - well worth the drive!
 
And this is my mini furnace - made from a redundant propane bottle

gbfurn3.jpg


gbfurn4.jpg
 

Instead of building a furnace where you have to vertically lift out a crucible of molten metal why not lift the body of the furnace something like the pottery kilns shown here:

http://www.murrow.biz/hank/kiln-and-tools.htm

The top row of photos are if you are really serious. Down a little lower are a couple of outside shots that might be better for hobby work.

earl...
 
OK if you are doing single melts, but you would lose too much heat between melts opening it up like that. Lifting the crucible out is not a problem if you have the right gear.
 
Hello Founders, I'm new to the forum, made a few furnaces in me time, now I am looking to build an Induction Furnace. Anyone got any information? It is the electronic bit that is on my mind!!! Yours etc. Mike Holmes
 
mikeh935 said:
Hello Founders, I'm new to the forum, made a few furnaces in me time, now I am looking to build an Induction Furnace. Anyone got any information? It is the electronic bit that is on my mind!!! Yours etc. Mike Holmes

Small scale induction is RARE outside a laboratory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_heating

Looking at that link one can clearly see that induction heating would require about 20 times the electricity the standard home microwave oven uses. (750 watts)

The picture shows a copper rod of about 3/4 inch diameter being heated along a 4 to six inch length and is ONLY using 15,000 watts of electricity.

Just as long as you understand the amount of "juice" you are going to require.

 
Thanks Kermit, I was thinking of something in the 10 kw area, to melt about 30 pounds of bronze. I'll just have to stick to the old reliables. Yours etc. Mike
 
Wise decision Mike, I've known a few blokes go down the electric route, but they all came back to either propane or charcoal
 
I think so too, Tel, but I will still be looking at the menu. yours S/F \mike
 
Hi Rick, Hows the Furnace coming along any more photos? ;D
Rob
 
Absolutely NO progress here.

Too many irons in the fire and the fire is going out!
Rof}

Tomorrow is a new day!

Rick
 
Kermit said:
Small scale induction is RARE outside a laboratory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_heating

Looking at that link one can clearly see that induction heating would require about 20 times the electricity the standard home microwave oven uses. (750 watts)

The picture shows a copper rod of about 3/4 inch diameter being heated along a 4 to six inch length and is ONLY using 15,000 watts of electricity.

Just as long as you understand the amount of "juice" you are going to require.

Only 15kw. That's not that much, especially considering it was only on for a few seconds to heat that rod red hot. At the rate ( $.10/kwh last I checked) where I live that would be $1.50 per hour or $.025 per second. maybe 5-10 cents to heat it red hot in a few seconds. Couldn't do that with a propane or even acetylene torch. I think that you could use less KW spread out over a much longer time period to melt the metal in a small well insulated furnace.

I too am interested in induction furnaces for melting iron/steel. I like the idea of the crucible being built into the furnace and just tilting to pour. I know it has to be relined every so often and has its own set of problems, like being expensive to buy. however, I kind think that a guy might be able to adapt a vfd (occasionally you see a big vfd go cheap on ebay) or cheap Chinese tig welder or hf plasma cutter to supply the high frequency low voltage juice. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to do it. Wouldn't it be great if you could hook up your welder at a low amp (100% duty cycle) setting to your furnace and melt steel without the roar of a typical furnace and be able to do it indoors?

If someone out there is smart enough though I would like to hear about it. Here is a link that might get you started.
http://www.richieburnett.co.uk/indheat.html
Here is an interesting chart on induction heaters (not furnaces) to get some idea of power requirements?
http://ameritherm.com/Catalogue/index.html?source=em

The one thing that I see that would really scare me is having to run water through the copper tube conductor coils. A leak could be a serious problem if the water came in contact with the 3000 degree crucible (crack the crucible) or molten metal. Forget electrocution - Big Time steam explosion possibilities is what I would be running from. I would have to be really confident that was not going to happen.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top