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gas torch for a swap n go?
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miles&Jules
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Nice find there Nick... i know we have a couple of dead ones around here somewhere.

This pile of lathe chips shouldn't take long to melt.




@Sean
Yeah will be interesting to see how tough the different grades will be....I still reckon a weak grade of ali will be tougher than a hdpe..so would be good for motor mounts etc. I wonder if there is stuff you can mix in to make it stronger?
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Post Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:57 pm 
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Valen
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Cans also (generally) have an epoxy coating on the inside, so it might dump a bunch more carbon (and who knows what else) into the mix too.
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Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:02 am 
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miles&Jules
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The other thing that sucks about cans, is they are very light weight....24cans is like 30grams of ali. Sad
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Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:15 am 
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miles&Jules
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Damn...my crucible sprung a leak today...I need to make one with 3-4mm steel.

I timed it today....my furnace thingy takes an hour to get about a litre of molten ali ready to pour.

Pity there is a pool of ali in the bottom of the furnace...hopefully it will just peel out once its cooled down.

The lathe chip mix seems to make a heap of ash that sits on top of the brew....better off melting large chunks of cast ali and less smoke and fumes to. Very Happy
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Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:16 pm 
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Nick
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What is the crucible made from? After a bit of research, I found that many people use a length of steel pipe with a plate welded over one end; it makes a strong and stable crucible. never use galvanized steel, the fumes from the zinc coating are poisonous.

I can post more details after my book on backyard smelting arrives - apparently making a clay crucible reduces the melting time considerably; that's counter-intuitive for me but mentioned many times on-line.

Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:29 pm 
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miles&Jules
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that book should be a win....yeah porcelain seems popular but you would need a handle or something to lift it in and out..

yeah I have some steel square box section that will probably do the trick no round unfortunately.

I was using the bottom of a map gas bottle. Its probably only0.8 mm thick.



it came out Very Happy
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Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 7:21 pm 
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Knightrous
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The local gold mine (read: tourist attraction) does gold pouring demos, they use a gas furnace and a ceramic/porcelain crucible. They use tongs to lift it out of the furnace and do the pour.
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Post Wed Jan 02, 2013 10:15 pm 
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miles&Jules
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The thing that worries me about clay is ....Would it crack as you moved it from the oven to pure the metal.....I know you cant take freshly fired clay from a kiln without it falling to bits on contact with the cold air Sad
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Post Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:47 am 
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Nick
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It has to be a special type of clay that can take the heat, that's why commercial ones are rather expensive.

Post Sat Jan 05, 2013 12:17 pm 
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miles&Jules
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Haggerty's in ip sell 88mm x 4mmx 1000mm steel round tube for $17 ...we will get some of that and weld a flat base on it. I'll cut it to about 300mm that should do the trick for our new crucible. Very Happy
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Post Sat Jan 05, 2013 10:13 pm 
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maddox



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Now we're talking melting and pouring metal. I'm working on a vacuĆ¼m casting bench and assorted tools. (the bench itself is almost finished)

One of the things I don't have a clue about is an induction furnace. Anybody here who does?

Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 6:40 pm 
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Nick
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No, I would like one for tempering steel! Search the Instructables site - there were several designs for small induction heaters over there, although they all looked a bit dodgy to me.

Post Sun Jan 06, 2013 7:57 pm 
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