$30 backyard aluminum foundry - TURBOCHARGED

[jackoskellington]

I now have the ability to melt metal!!!

[jmg1957]

well done.

[ThePajamaPlayer]

Just a bit of inpit, I've got my own forge in my backyard, and I figured that using a pipe the size of the hair dryer, and making the forge very large actually makes a significant difference; in fact, when i melt aluminum cans, the idea isn't to melt the cans, it's to melt the cans WITHOUT melting the steel. Just saying that it you do it right, a hair dryer can do alot more than melt blocks of aluminum, which ive done before, you just have to do it right

[misterprickly]

@ThePajamaPlayer I have to agree; You're almost melting the paint can.

[robokid560]

how do the can support the heat

[1220975]

screw hair dryer, get out the ol leafblower!

[Nuvious]

There are many things I could've used besides compressed air that would've worked much better including the mentioned vaccum blowers and other air pumps designed for continuous airflow. In all likelihood a more powerful blow-dryer could've also worked, but I bought one specifically to be disposable in case this experiment went awry and as such I bought cheap and it didn't push enough air.

[Sn1p3ro3o5]

now i am just getting into this but can i suggest breaking down your raw material (aluminum) into smaller pieces so they melt faster?

[Nuvious]

@Sn1p3ro3o5 We actually did this with smaller strips of metal. However, once you get a good pool of molten aluminum, it doesn't matter how big or small the pieces are as the transfer of heat from molten metal to the unmelted pieces will be very effective. We started with a bunch of chopped up pop cans and got a nice small pool going and then started putting in the larger pieces. The last piece was nearly 6"x2"x2" and it melted in less than a minute in the already molten aluminum.

[paramedpiper]

what did you use for a Crucible?

[Nuvious]

@paramedpiper A piece of 2" steel piping with a pipe nipple on one end. I then drilled a hole through the top of the pipe section so I could use a piece of re-bar to pick up and put down the crucible. Even though it's a threaded seal, when the pipe heats up it effectively makes it leak-proof as the threads expand against each other.

[Griffith181]

A hair dryer should work perfectly fine..

I just think the forge doesnt have enough Charcoal

Try making the steel pipe shorter , going back to a blow dryer

[MrLeonard55]

Who counts their eyelashes?

[butkatrello]

row'n hot fire3

[fierwall5]

instead of using a air compressor you should get a vacuum that does not work take it apart and use the vacuum to blow air and you would save your compressor but it would make a lot of noise but it is just an idea

[Allroundmoviemaker]

I finished my foundry three days ago and successfully casted my first copper ingot. Go see the video, I guess, you might like it :)

[fireball1821]

what can i use to put the aluminum in ive tried a tin can like the one with corn a stuff like that and it melted any suggestions?

[drocketman2000]

If you can't afford a graphite crucible, then make one out of a piece of steel pipe. Check your local water company for a piece of scrap or go to a steel yard if you have one nearby. If you wanted to, you could also make some hoops of steel of various sizes and weld them together to make a tapered crucible and weld a plate on the bottom. Lots of work, but very doable.

Randy

[Yunneck]

"DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME" damn, now i MUST to try this at home :/

[sking0369]

Are you using anything to remove slag? and what?

[Nuvious]

I didn't, but since it floats on the top you can use a piece of iron to scoop it off the top.

[minibikerider1]

@Nuvious you can use a leaf blower it don't need to be close because of the volume of air it get hot near it though

[iSMITH4life]

was that a paint can? and if so was there anything on the inside? please reply, thank you

[Nuvious]

It was but it was empty to begin with. You can get clean and empty paint cans from most hardware stores for about 1-3 bucks.

[trooperrick]

Be careful, too much air can cut through the steel crucible, it happened to me.

[Lje123]

Whats your fuel source? Coal? You just get a nice coal fire all stoked up, then get her really hot with the compressed air? Im asking cuz im gonna make my own too!

[Nuvious]

Yup, just plain ole coal. One thing you didn't see in the video though, I had to remove the lid from time to time to reload the paint can with coal. With all the heat and compressed air the coal actually incinerates down to nothing though so you don't have to worry about emptying the coal ashes.

[JacdCat]

Could I melt copper in a setup like yours?

[gremlinskinner1]

HOw did you build that forge, I am planning on building something small like that but I have never done it before.

[Nuvious]

It's just a simple metal paint can. You can get empty ones at hardware stores. The crucible is a pipe nipple with a cap on one end and a hole drilled through the top so you can lift the crucible out with a piece of rebar.

[pattymatic]

Nice vid man.Good basic foundry. I'm inspired :)

[MihiLibertas]

I made one of those years ago to melt brass and gold..I use an old hoover vac reverse the hose into the pipe.

[Nuvious]

That sounds like a much better idea than what I did. I'm sure I took a good couple months off that compressors life running it continuously like that.

[MihiLibertas]

Yes it worked very good.. I used BBQ charcoal and coal when i could find it..It got super hot..It was a canister dirt devil now that i remember.

[abpaintball]

@Nuvious could you use a scuba tank filled at 3000psi and regulate it down to your operating presure? they can be found used cheap and are cheap to fill, like $5 at the local shop. just an idea to toss out. so you dont ruin a good compresor

[chaz706]

Would a Wet-Vac set on blow work too? I'm curious.

[MihiLibertas]

Maybe...I attached the hose to a black iron pipe and shoved it in the furnace on an angle. You don't need a super high volume unit to make it work.

[videosrock654]

some suggestions.... can you make a video about melting glass in the furnace, also a vid about sand casting for molds would be nice

[Dragonsintuxcedos]

Is it possible to make aluminum alloy or recast in that foundry? For example if we want to make 7000 series aluminum alloy (chose that because unlike magnesium it doesn't burst into flames when it enters the molten aluminum and is easy to get) we just throw zinc in the mix. Or would the zinc just sink due to its density but we could keep stirring? There seems to be no info regarding the difficulty of making alloys apart from the price!

[skikkizr]

sorry 4 my english, i'm italian. melting zinc alloys using crucibles furnaces but magnesium alloys use electric crucibles furnaces!! Mg is too dangerous if start burning!!!

[phaloxxx]

i was thinking the exact same thing, would be like asking to get scarred for life in my opinion,

[drzoidberg223]

to melt anything much hotter you would need a blowtorch. i would say to melt huge bars like that quikly at all it would have to be about 1400 degrees farenhiet. i love to melt metals. i do it over a fire in my woods though...

[BelgianCommando]

What temp can you reach with this one in Celcius?

[Nuvious]

I'm not sure exactly, but at least 660 C, that's the melting point of Aluminum. If you're looking to melt something with a higher melting point, you may have to go with something more involved.

[P4452]

I used a mix of deep red clay and fine mortar mix on my paint can foundry, about an inch thick on the sides and bottom. That insulates it to the point that you can move it with lightly protective hands even at full heat; it's very efficient. I melt pewter and aluminum often. If I could find a source of coal, I could smelt copper or even iron.

Currently looking into inductive heating. Looks cheap and reliable. You can use it indoors if you need to and the metal is pure enough.

[drescher3]

I love melting metal too!

[alexborgesbr]

hi, your 30$ foundry is cool.. do you use gas or any other material to feed fire?

[Nuvious]

I used charcoal. Just lit it and then stoked it with the compressed air.