Existential Angst wrote:
"Snag" wrote in message
...
Existential Angst wrote:
"Winston" wrote in message
...
On 5/4/2010 6:52 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
Today I decided I needed a short piece of aluminum tube to modify
a prototype... I didn't have any so I made a piece. Geez.


Watch the criticism Bob.
We'll have you in the back yard digging for bauxite.

My junk-collecting dumpster-diving buddy wants me to hook up a
smelter in my shop.... goodgawd.....
--
EA

I've got a foundry furnace built in a 5 gallon steel bucket .
Wheels , radiators , extruded stock , cylinder heads , nothing is
safe from melting but cans . Too much work for too little material .

What do you then do with your melted/smelted stuff??? Forge it??

Well , some of it becomes tooling , like the adapter for my chucks to
mount onto the rotary table . Some becomes flask parts for sand molds . Some
will become decorative trays if I ever get the venting right .

And, couldn't you just crush the cans first (in an automated
hydraulic 80 ton press, of course), and drop them in with the heavier
stuff?

Problem is the coatings and contaminants also contribute to the dross .
Not very good stock for machining either , it's almost pure and is very
gummy to cut .

What happens if you melt, say, alum, brass, and steel together?

Aluminum and brass will melt together , forms an alloy (depending on the
base stock) that can be impossible to machine with the tooling I have .
Ain't gonna try to get to steel/iron heat until/unless I get a real crucible
..

Sound really neat. Mebbe I WILL get a little foundry thing going!!!

--
EA
I've got around a hundred bucks into the equipment . I've already recouped
that investment from stuff I've cast . The bucket furnace is a modified
Gingery design , the burner I'm using is a naturally aspirated Reil type
with minor mods for better gas flow . Biggest expense is an adjustable
regulator , I was lucky enough to receive one as a gift .
Good sand (crushed olivine , for example) is a little pricey , but
playground sand that's been sieved to get the bigger chunks out works fairly
well to get started .

--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF