Hi guy. Recently finished my first foundry, using roughly the design
on John Wasser's site, a Reil derivative burner, except instead of a
coffee can, I used a galvanized bucket.

Pictures of the first melt are available at:
http://www.psychemorphic.com/pics/forge/

First melt of lead in an iron crucible made from the bottom half of a
bernzomatic oxygen cylinder went off without much trouble.

It did expose some weaknesses though. I used channellock pliers to
lift the crucible, that worked OK, but it took a little more effort
than I was expecting (lead is heavy!), and didn't seem to give me much
control over the pour.

I've purchased some beefier channel lock pliers for future use. What
do you guys recommend for crucible tongs? I see some on
budgetcastingsupply.com, but they don't seem particularly "budget" to
me!

I've also purchased some graphite/clay #4 crucibles from LA Graphite
(they are having a going out of business sale BTW, lagraphite.com).

I'm baking the crucibles in the kitchen oven, first I tried 500F for 10
minutes, and that produced copious smoke. Down to 250F for 1 hour and
a little less smoke. Can I just put them in the foundry with the
burner as low as it will go, and let them cook there for a while?

My wife is going to kill me when she gets home today and the whole
house smells like acrid burning mothballs.

My wife is going to kill me when she gets home today and the whole
house smells like acrid burning mothballs.

I don't know jack about the processes you are trying, but I can tell you two
things...

1. Use the grill outside for curing that thing if you can...

2. Buy your wife a gift NOW and meet her outside with a clearly evident
"Sorry!" look on your face...
--


Regards,
Joe Agro, Jr.
(800) 871-5022
http://www.AutoDrill.com
http://www.Multi-Drill.com

V8013-R

wrote:
.... I used channellock pliers to
lift the crucible, ....


No no no no ..... no no no .... NOOO!!!!

This is extremely hazardous! Your hold on the "crucible" is tentative
and if it slips you're in deep ****. You don't want to be that near to
flying molten metal. Especially if it lands upright: the momentum
while cause it to erupt straight up (where your face is).

And if your safety isn't that much of a concern, pliers will ruin your
graphite crucible (they are rather fragile).

Other than that, enjoy yourself,
Bob

Bob Engelhardt wrote:
Especially if it lands upright: the momentum
while cause it to erupt straight up (where your face is)

You are of course right Bob. I guess it shouldn't be too hard to
fabricate
something like this myself:
http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/i...6040-tongs.jpg

I'll give that a go this weekend.
Thanks,
Jason