How to make a foundry for metal casts

8 perf said:

And then there's this one, from the "King of Random" himself.
A bit bigger, and a little more professional looking, at least for one that doubles as a decorative planter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHD10DjxM1g&feature=em-subs_digest

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Fatesalign said:

They are two very different foundries. The King of Random's heating source is charcoal, which in my experience, is far more annoying to work with than propane. You have to continue putting charcoal in, as well as deal with the sparks that can occur. Another issue is the flame coming back out of the air source (hair dryer). I put this out there because I personally find propane far easier to deal with.

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Conqueror_Worm said:

I built a foundry using the Charcoal Foundry book by David Gingery. Great book, it walks you through building the furnace, making the green sand, building the flasks, making all the tools you will need, and explains how to use all of it.
Here is a video of my foundry running on a charcoal and coal mix (trying to get the higher temps needed to melt brass):
https://youtu.be/J_IMRPQhM28



Yeah, huge clouds of smoke (breathing anthracite smoke really hurts), shooting sparks, having to get the fuel burning, having to load the messy fuel, having to empty the messy ashes, as the fuel burns and settles it can dump your crucible inside the furnace, etc... It can be a pain, but it is also very exciting!

But yeah, my next aluminum casting furnace will be propane or electric...

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