I was preparing to make your paint can furnace specifically for aluminium, but I’ve changed direction (because here in the UK it’s impossible to find the Bernzomatic torch you recommended since they discontinued it here) and want to build a small electric kiln for firing metal clay pieces. I have the fireclay and sand and the furnace cement and was wondering if I could use them instead of buying firebrick?

I don’t want to waste all this material I’ve bought. Do you have any suggestions for me? Hope to hear from you soon!

Anyways, I’m not sure how well the homebrew castable refractory will hold up to those temperatures – possibly good for a few melts and then degraded performance. You might want to look into purchasing a commercial product for the longevity of the furnace.

Finally, you’ll need more than gloves for melting Copper, and you really should have all the safety gear anyways just to be on the safe side. Full face shield, leather boots with covers, full leather apron, etc… You are young, and don’t want to ruin your life by not taking all necessary precautions ahead of time – it only takes one accident and improper gear, etc…

Here is some information about casting / foundry work and has the melting temps / recommended safety gear, etc…
http://foundry101.com/archive.htm

Let me know how it goes, and best of luck,
Morgan

Bolting would probably be the best option however you could probably braze, or weld, if you have the proper welding equipment, the aluminum pieces together as well. For the lathe project for instance the lathe feet are bolted to the bed casting, etc… I don’t think you would want to cast the lathe bed in parts and bolt that together however as the top surface needs to be scrapped flat, and anything bolted could be prone to shifting over time, etc… Brazing could be done however you may need to work the top surface a bit more to get it flat due to the effects of heating the aluminum during the brazing process, and it probably being a bit harder to get the pieces lined up exactly.

Cheers,
Morgan

Cheers,
Morgan

thanks in advance

Bob

Thank you so much for the link – I wouldn’t say the second part of the project isn’t ‘fine’, but I do love the idea of combining 3d printing tech with casting to produce strong metal parts. I wish I had a 3d printer, and may build one someday to give this method a try.

Thanks again,
Morgan

Bob

Glad you liked the tutorial, sorry I didn’t drop you an email when it was up. The hot wire cutter was built off this project ‘5 Minute Foam Factory‘ and that would be the best place to get the details. It is basically two pieces of 2×4, a pegboard sized to 2′x2′, a bent 1/4″ aluminum rod, nichrome wire, a bolt, two nuts, a nail, a model train transformer/power supply, two alligator clip wires.

Some problems with the foam factory above that I have noticed. If you cut too fast the wire will bend which kills any accuracy you may want to get out of it, if cutting parts for something other than art / fun.

The top aluminum rod that holds the wire in place will wobble a bit even with the nail preventing it from rotating to some extent. This means again that you will not be able to cut as accurately as you would want for a part that needs to be within certain tolerances.

Finally, the setup simply cannot tension the wire enough, and you’ll find that the bolt that holds the other end of the nichrome wire down will float around a bit to the extent of the pegboard hole.

That being said, it was a great little cutter that I threw together in an hour or so ( not 5 minutes haha ). It got the job done for the video, and was proof of concept that lost foam could be a viable option for me to make parts quickly.

When I have a chance I’ll most likely build a new hot wire cutter with sturdier parts. There needs to be a strong column that will not flex to hold the wire. The top of the wire needs to be attached to something that will allow you to adjust tension – similar to the top wheel on a bandsaw. The bottom needs to be anchored at a fixed point, not tied around a floating bolt, etc…

Anyways, just a few thoughts but it will get you cutting foam pretty quick if you have the parts lying around. The main things are the nichrome wire and the model railroad power supply… You need about 12V @ 7amps or something like that ( depends on the thickness of the nichrome and the length of the wire – all variables in the wire’s resistance and how many amps it will suck up ).

Cheers,
Morgan