Build and first melt!

[Dentedcrown]

Hello all,
I made my first pour today, DAMN do I ever feel manly...

I started putting my smelter together a few months ago. I did some research on the net and decided to go with a charcoal burning propane tank on a lawnmower deck. Thank you to all I borrowed ideas from... I displaced the tank with water, cut it and filled it with refractory mortar. I ended up getting busy and did not get a chance to fire it up for over a month. That was ok, plenty of time to cure in.

Last week I did the burn in, didn't loose any insulation. I must admit I got a warm fuzzy when I hit the blower and the coals started really going. The blower is an old vacume I got for $3 at a thrift store and a dimmer switch I had replaced from the house. It works great.

Yesterday I purchaced a 6" pipe nipple and a cap, schedule 40 black pipe 2.5" diameter, to use as a crusible. I had a couple old brass plumbing fuxtures from house repairs and decided to melt them down.

Today I filled up with good old Kingsford and started in. What a learning experience... I started with only a little bit of metal in the crucible and added more when it started glowing orange. I was a bit too conservative with the air flow to start and had to refuel a couple times before I figured out it needed more air. Third times a charm, I just let her rip and next thing you know I had MELTED METAL WITH FIRE!(again, MANLY!) There was a LOT of sulphur residue and junk in the metal. I did not skim it enough and the pour was dirty. The other issue was what I poured it into, old, steel?, baking pan. It's stuck in there, will try to get it out again later. But I did a safe pour and am on my way with a bit more knowledge. Check out the pictures, fire is cool...

DC

[diecutter]

Great show and tell post. Brass is tricky to cast, especially random scrap. Sometimes additives such as lead make it hard to get a good melt, and a lot of heat, flux, and skimming is usually required.

You should try aluminum. It melts fast, pours nice, and you can pour into a muffin pan and have a pile of nice little ingots for future melting.

[Roy Omnigopilus]

Sound like your having a good time. We are building a smelting furnace using old truck brake drums. We were able to use a large metal lathe and machine them so they fit together. Now we just need to line it with fire brick or clay.