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Thread: Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools

  1. #1
    Supporting Member mr95gst's Avatar
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    Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools

    I have just completed my aluminum melting foundry and thought I would share my build. I have been doing a lot of research and watching videos for the last year. I finally found sometime to start working on this just before Thanksgiving. It went together pretty well and I have been having a lot of fun with it so far.


    *****PHOTOBUCKET HIJACKED MY PICTURES SO I HAVE EDITED THE POST TO ADD THE PICTURES BACK. THEY ARE NO LONGER IN ORDER TO MATCH COMMENTARY MADE WHEN THE THREAD WAS STARTED. MORE PICTURES AT THE END OF THE THREAD.


    I started with a disposable helium tank I found in a field. It has a 12" diameter.

    Tank with lid removed.

    I added some additional material to the lid to help hold the refractory cement.

    Drain welded at the bottom.

    Studs welded in the lid to hold the cement.

    Refractory cement added with a cup in the middle to form the vent.

    Base layer poured into the furnace.

    Tube added for the propane burner to enter the furnace.

    Reinforcement studs added to help hold the cement.

    Furnace walls poured with an 8" tube forming the middle.

    Cement dry and 8" form removed.

    This is a cart I made to move the furnace around. Particularly after a melt when it is too hot to handle.

    After cleaning it up and some paint.

    Here is my crucible. It is made from square pipe and 1/4" plate.

    These are the tools used to remove the hot crucible from the furnace.

    I am using a Reil style burner. It has a 2.5" to 3/4" bell reducer on one end of a 3/4" pipe and a 3/4 coupling on the other. The tube feeding the propane is a 1/8" brass with a small jet hole directed down the burner tube. The coupler and reducer were both milled to remove the threads on the incoming and outgoing sides. The burner if feed from a standard propane tank with an adjustable regulator.
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    Last edited by mr95gst; Sep 11, 2017 at 04:30 PM.

  2. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to mr95gst For This Useful Post:

    Jon (Jan 11, 2016), kbalch (Jan 11, 2016), Moby Duck (Jan 17, 2018), Paul Jones (Jan 12, 2016), PJs (Jan 12, 2016)

  3. #2
    Supporting Member mr95gst's Avatar
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    These are pictures from my first melt.




    I started by melting some scrap aluminum and then I added a bunch of soda cans. Once I cleaned out the dross, I poured the aluminum into a muffin pan to make ingots.



    This is a picture of one of the ingots sawed in two. You can see some small air bubbles but for the most part, it is solid. I have not tried using any degassing or flux additives yet, but they are supposed to remove the air from the molten aluminum.


    After some trial with melting ingots, I mixed up some casting sand and made a couple flasks. So far I have been doing trials with flat objects. I made some flat plate and rectangular billets for machining on my mill. Once I get the hand of mold making, I will try some more complex parts.







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  4. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to mr95gst For This Useful Post:

    daleconway (Nov 14, 2016), kbalch (Jan 11, 2016), Miloslav (Aug 1, 2018), mudnducs (Jan 14, 2016), PJs (Jan 12, 2016)

  5. #3
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    Thanks mr95gst! We've added your Foundry, Crucible, Crucible Handle, Crucible Hook, and Foundry Burner to our Forging and Casting category, as well as to your builder page: mr95gst's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:


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    Appreciate your thorough presentation. Nicely done.

  7. #5
    Supporting Member mr95gst's Avatar
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    MORE PICTURES
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1907.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1908.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1910.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1911.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1912.jpg  

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    Supporting Member mr95gst's Avatar
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    MORE PICTURES 2
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1981.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1982.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1983.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1984.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1985.jpg  

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    Supporting Member mr95gst's Avatar
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    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1982.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1984.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1986.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1987.jpg   Aluminum Casting - Propane Foundry - Furnace and Tools-imag1988.jpg  

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    Yep, Photobucket 'blackmail' sucks. No idea if I can even remember what I posted in various places on different forums



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