On Wed, 09 Nov 2005 07:49:54 GMT, mark
wrote:

Could a person melt brass or bronze

Go with bronze ("copper" loose change is good, but sort it with a magnet
first) Brass has the problem of zinc boil-off, which is significant for
small loadings.

with a oxy welding torch

Oxy-propane maybe, oxy-acetylene is too much temperature and not enough
heat. Best of all is a well-insulated box kiln around the crucible and
something like a Ron Reil propane-air injector burner.

in a cruxible

Crucibles are good, but you can get away with steel pipe and a welded
end cap for your first attempts. Don't melt too little at a time,
because you need to maintain temperature from the kiln to the pour.

and pour it in a shallow, crude mold of plaster paris or some
other material?

Don't think crude, you don't have to. Lost foam in sand works
(builder's insulation foam, builder's sand) So does cuttlefish bone.
Plaster is mainly used as an investment around lost wax, and you might
want to buy specific investment plasters for that, then follow the
bake-out rules properly.

Greensand moulding around a woodern pattern is worth trying, but it's
easier to mould a large piece than a small piece, and easier to pour a
small piece than a large piece. For one-offs, I'd use lost foam.


Jarkman and I have been doing some of this lately. We're still pretty
rubbish at it, but it's fun.
http://www.jarkman.co.uk/catalog/fripperies/index.htm