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.

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.



--Winston

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
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.

Next time, write in and someone here will make one for you. You can afford
it.

Steve

"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





--Winston

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 .
--
Snag

"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??

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?

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

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

--
EA

--
Snag

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

"Snag" wrote in message
...
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 .

When I took mickey-mouse metalworking shop eons ago, they had a little
18"x18"x18" bricklined gas-fired furnace, I think for heat treating or
sumpn.
It used a blower, which was deafening, even tho it wasn't that big -- mebbe
a 4-6" diam blower (tops) -- musta had hellified cfm's. With natural gas.

I seem to recall the instructor talking about how the air/gas mixture made
this thing blisteringly hot, much hotter than a regular gas oven.

How much hotter, I wonder?
Do you use a setup like this?

Would an oxyacetylene setup make sense, be at all economical for run of the
mill smelting? Or good only for special projects?
--
EA




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

On May 5, 10:26*am, "Existential Angst"
wrote:
"Snag" wrote in message

...





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 .

When I took mickey-mouse metalworking shop eons ago, they had a little
18"x18"x18" bricklined gas-fired furnace, I think for heat treating or
sumpn.
It used a blower, which was deafening, even tho it wasn't that big -- mebbe
a 4-6" diam blower (tops) -- musta had hellified cfm's. * With natural gas.

I seem to recall the instructor talking about how the air/gas mixture made
this thing blisteringly hot, much hotter than a regular gas oven.

How much hotter, I wonder?
Do you use a setup like this?

Would an oxyacetylene setup make sense, be at all economical for run of the
mill smelting? *Or good only for special projects?
--
EA





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

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You'd burn through a lot of gas without a lot to show for it.
Acetylene burns HOT, but doesn't have a whole lot of heat per unit
volume. Air/natural gas or air/propane will do the job a lot cheaper,
or you can go with a blower and the Gingery route and use charcoal in
a modified bucket. Insulation has changed a lot in the last decade or
two, you no longer need buckets of bricks to line a forge or furnace
and it's a lot more efficient. Space shuttle technology at work.

Stan

Existential Angst wrote:

"Snag" wrote in message
...
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 .

When I took mickey-mouse metalworking shop eons ago, they had a little
18"x18"x18" bricklined gas-fired furnace, I think for heat treating or
sumpn.
It used a blower, which was deafening, even tho it wasn't that big -- mebbe
a 4-6" diam blower (tops) -- musta had hellified cfm's. With natural gas.

I seem to recall the instructor talking about how the air/gas mixture made
this thing blisteringly hot, much hotter than a regular gas oven.

How much hotter, I wonder?
Do you use a setup like this?

Would an oxyacetylene setup make sense, be at all economical for run of the
mill smelting? Or good only for special projects?

O/A is expensive. I don't think it's practical for anything beyond
jewlery work in thimble sized crucibles.

Pete C. wrote:
Existential Angst wrote:


Would an oxyacetylene setup make sense, be at all economical for run
of the mill smelting? Or good only for special projects?

O/A is expensive. I don't think it's practical for anything beyond
jewlery work in thimble sized crucibles.

What Pete and Stan said . The Reil design burners I use burn LPG (no
blower) and I can have 5 lbs of aluminum melted in under a half hour - for
the first melt . Once the furnace is hot , I can melt the same amount in
under 10 minutes . There's a ton of info on burners at www.abana.org ...
Yesterday I cut a pattern out of styrofoam (google lost foam casting) and
cast a cup shaped piece that has since been machined into a tool for
compressing diaphragm springs on early 90's HD motorcycle clutches . Mine's
been slipping a bit , and the last part arrived yesterday . Guess what I
want to do today ?
--
Snag
"90 FLHTCU "Strider"
'39 WLDD "PopCycle"
BS 132/SENS/DOF

"Pete C." wrote:



Would an oxyacetylene setup make sense, be at all economical for run of the
mill smelting? Or good only for special projects?

O/A is expensive. I don't think it's practical for anything beyond
jewlery work in thimble sized crucibles.


Works fine for crucibles significantly larger than that, easily works
for cup sized crucibles.
But I have also used clay and grass open hearth with charcoal for
that same size with bronze. Not a whole heck of a lot slower.


jk