niko wrote:
WOW ! Any more info on the casting method ? I'd be interested to see the furnace . I have an injection burner powerful enough for forging, maybe I can make it work for this type of deal ?
Niko - here's some pics of my home-brew casting furnace and burner.
I found these burners online and liked the idea of a venturi burner (instead of forced air - I can cast anywhere and don't need power, just a propane bottle).
http://www.hybridburners.com/I just scaled the picture on his website and played around a bit with the nozzle size and fuel pressure once I got it running. I used a .035 MIG tip for a fuel nozzle and it seems to work well enough.
I made the furnace from an old air tank that the previous owner left in my barn when I bought my house. I had to compromise to fit the #6 crucible by only having one layer of 1" fiber blanket covered in a thin layer of castable refractory. It works fine for melting aluminum, but I think it would take a lot longer to melt bronze. Someday I'd like to make another furnace with 3" of fiber blanket and a thin layer of refractory - that would be super efficient. As it is, I think the whole setup cost me less than $150 for the Propane pressure regulator, hose, fiber blanker and castable refractory, and I have enough left over materials to make two more furnaces.
Here's some pics of the burner, and the furnace during burn-in.