Thermite casting

[kelvin2164]

After much trouble I've finally managed to melt cast iron with an oil burner. It takes a long time to melt and is very noisy (upsets the neighbours). I've been watching thermite welding of railway lines on Youtube an thought this could be adapted to casting. Any thoughts.

 

[Herbiev]

Thats pretty volatile stuff Kelvin. I would stick with the furnace.

 

[Cogsy]

Herbie's advice is good - very dangerous stuff to mess around with and potential for extremely violent reactions, no way to stop the reaction, massive amounts of radiated heat, etc. Although fun to watch in very small amounts I'd stay well clear of anything over a few (less than 20) grams of the stuff and even then I'd be taking extreme safety precautions. I have seen things go wrong with even a tiny amount.

Have to give points for creativeness though.

 

[Vixen]

Dont mess about with thermite.
Do the job properly and nuke it.

 

[kelvin2164]

I know it can be dagerous, etc. But my plan was to do the casting proccess out at some deserted location in the country. Plenty of room to stand back when it all happens and the whole setup is very portable. Plus I would end up with a cast steel. Not sure of the purity, re slag inclusions, etc.
Powdered aluminium and iron oxide are easily available on Ebay. I would need to make a clay crucible with a thin steel plug in the bottom, which would melt when all is molten.
I dont know. May never happen.

 

[kvom]

If you decide to do it, please make a video.

 

[Wizard69]

After much trouble I've finally managed to melt cast iron with an oil burner. It takes a long time to melt and is very noisy (upsets the neighbours). I've been watching thermite welding of railway lines on Youtube an thought this could be adapted to casting. Any thoughts.

I believe you can find videos of people using this stuff to cast parts. As noted already thermite is dangerous and you need to grasp the idea that once initiated there is no stop button. Also realize that thermal gradients are high, you basically accomplish in fractions of a second what takes possible hours otherwise.

In any event at one time I thought you could by thermite welding kits. Such kits may offer a real advantage in that you might get a recognizable alloy.