On Jul 15, 10:39*am,
(lightless) wrote:
* Hello.

* I want to make a cheap furnace which is capable fo melting brass. *First
time doing this so it must be as simple and as cheap as posible. *It
should be gas fueled as I can't get away with loads of smoke and mess in
my small garden. Have no tools which would be helpful nor can i weld, so i
think i will eiether use a plant pot for the cylindrical body or just
visit a few scrap yards and i'm bound to find something i can use. *I will
purchase comercial refractory. *The crucible will also most likely be paid
for. *
* *I would need some info. on the basics of such a simple furnace, *really
i am only asking because i see so many disclaimer notices on foundry
websites which funnerly enough must make people buy their books aswell as
obviously serving as a disclaimer notice. *
* *If i had a big garden with loads of space i would just go ahead and use
my logic, except when it comes to working near other people's homes with a
gas canister my logic could become very explosive which isn't too bad
until i kill burn someones house down. *So please give me tips about
safety, and what are the precautions to take when melting brass, i know
zinc is very poisonous and obviously water will make the molten metal
splash everywhere. *What material should my crucible be made from, i'm
guessing there might be some which would be adverse to use when attempting
to melt brass because of it's alloy content??

* And please give me some info. on how to arrange my furnace, do i need an
air blower and how exactly should i position my burner pipe(i also could
use some correct terminology) inside the funace? should it be opposite the
air inlet should the flame contact the crucible. *Should there be a gap
around the burner pipe opening in the furnace or should the radius be
tight to the burner pipe?

Thnx, and as i said before for now i cannot rely on my own brain as it
could be too dangerous even though im sure i could make something which
could melt brass, but for now i wont use too much of my own logic till i
get some experience.
Thanks, James
-------------------------------------

Gingery's books would be a place to start, he was melting aluminum
with homemade equipment and charcoal and the series showed how to
build your own shop out of scrap. Brass is a whole other animal
although the basic pattern-making skills and such will transfer.
There are a number of foundry work reprints that are helpful, might be
the local library would have some originals, too. Don't neglect
archive.org, either, there's a whole bunch of old shop books on there.

If you want propane-fired, do a search on "Mongo burner", these are
homemade from plumbing fittings, intended for forges. It should be
able to adapt one to some sort of melting furnace without a whole lot
of trouble. Castable ceramics and ceramic fiber blankets have
revolutionized building forges and furnaces, too. Depending on how
big a crucible you want to heat, you might be able to build the works
in a 5 gallon bucket. If you can't weld, you're going to have to
either find somebody who can or buy your shanks and tongs for crucible
handling.

Stan