OP
R.Anderson
Well-known member
Its no more dangerous than in the summer.
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Casting Aluminum
- Thread starter R.Anderson
- Start date
Its no more dangerous than in the summer.
Its no more dangerous than in the summer.
If molten aluminum hits a wet surface, the water can flash to steam. This can throw small drops of molten aluminum everywhere. It's like a small explosion.
This is why foundry floors are covered with dry sand.
OP
R.Anderson
Well-known member
If molten aluminum hits a wet surface, the water can flash to steam. This can throw small drops of molten aluminum everywhere. It's like a small explosion.
This is why foundry floors are covered with dry sand.
It would have to be a larger amount for that to happen, the aluminum cools fast and rattles like a plate (from experience) I find it more dangerous if molten metal hits dry concrete, that's not fun and a bit scary (from experience again)
OP
R.Anderson
Well-known member
Nice neat little furnace, how has the firecast held up?Out doing a pour in the snow???
Very dangerous.
I did a little casting long ago.
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/guest_stephen.html
Did you use a coffee can to melt aluminum in with your furnace?
Robert Hall
Well-known member
Way cool!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Nice neat little furnace, how has the firecast held up?
Did you use a coffee can to melt aluminum in with your furnace?
I haven't cast in years. The firecast held up great for the couple of years I used the furnace. I used a heavy steel crucible; you can see it inside the furnace in the picture with the lid open. The coffee can was a place to toss the dross I skimmed off with the skimmer. I used petrobond sand.
I got rid of the furnace, but still have all my materials and intend to do more casting in the future. I will build a tilt furnace next time.
OP
R.Anderson
Well-known member
I haven't cast in years. The firecast held up great for the couple of years I used the furnace. I used a heavy steel crucible; you can see it inside the furnace in the picture with the lid open. The coffee can was a place to toss the dross I skimmed off with the skimmer. I used petrobond sand.
I got rid of the furnace, but still have all my materials and intend to do more casting in the future. I will build a tilt furnace next time.
Why did you do away with the just the furnace? A tilt furnace sounds interesting.
larry4406
Well-known member
Waking this thread up!
With all the pandemic downtime I have been watching a lot of YouTube on melting aluminum.
OP - I saw the pictures of your furnace. Can you provide some details of how you built it including the burner?
With all the pandemic downtime I have been watching a lot of YouTube on melting aluminum.
OP - I saw the pictures of your furnace. Can you provide some details of how you built it including the burner?
Just an FYI for everyone
Curbside lawnmowers are a good source for castable AL
B&S has one of the largest AL melting pots around
The heads are easy
With a little more work you can get a crankcase
(Don't be afraid to use a BFH. You are going to melt it down anyway)
Curbside lawnmowers are a good source for castable AL
B&S has one of the largest AL melting pots around
The heads are easy
With a little more work you can get a crankcase
(Don't be afraid to use a BFH. You are going to melt it down anyway)
Had old Lawnboy mowers and the decks were aluminum. Also, many older cast propane grills were aluminum. Used to keep an eye out when going around neighbor hoods cutting grass and collect the cast grills because everyone was going to the stainless or sheetmetal ones.
Firebrick43
Well-known member
Had old Lawnboy mowers and the decks were aluminum. Also, many older cast propane grills were aluminum. Used to keep an eye out when going around neighbor hoods cutting grass and collect the cast grills because everyone was going to the stainless or sheetmetal ones.
Lawn boy decks are magnesium. Tossing a piece of magnesium in a melt pot leads to some bad times, real bad times!!! Stock Vw h4 crankcase are mag as well!
My father (when I was a teen) had a 500lbs capacity furnace for more than a decade and I had to help feed it most of the time it was ran. Great way to spend time in short sleeves when it’s 20 degrees outside.
I started casting and we found diesel pistons to give the best quality.
pcmeiners
Well-known member
Interesting subject, was not aware of the trapped moisture issue.
FallibleFlyer
Well-known member
Not all lawn boy decks are magnesium depends on year and model. Many lawn boy decks are aluminum, so I will say that you need to check out the metal from decks before melting down or scraping.
For those curious, you can check by using vinegar. Magnesium will bubble some, aluminum won't. Had to look it up once scrapping a motorcycle engine that had some magnesium parts.