![]() ![]() Everyone uses a slightly different ratio doing this. We put coke in plastic grocery bags, and throw em right in the top of the furnace before charging the iron. I think I did 3 lbs of coke, mixed sizes, for every 25 lbs of iron. Critical is ratio of coke to iron- you have to weigh them out carefully. We add a handful of limestone gravel to each charge of iron and coke, it acts as the slag flux and coagulant. Plus, smashing bathtubs with sledgehammers is fun and a great workout. Iron is better quality, thinner, and easier to melt. Tidbits of info- brake rotors aren’t ideal- cast iron bathtubs from builder’s salvage yards are. ![]() The people I cast with are very experienced, far more than I. There is a lot to running a blast furnace, but its not rocket science. I just did a pour a month ago or so of 700lbs of iron. Posted in Misc Hacks, Slider Tagged aluminum, cast iron, casting, ferrosiliocon, flask, foundry, furnace, metallurgy Post navigationĪs mentioned above somewhere, I cast iron occasionally with Rivers of Steel Arts foundation in Pittsburgh. And if you use a lot of brake rotors for your homebrew cast iron lathe, it might require special handling. A homemade cast aluminum lathe is one thing, but one with cast iron parts would be even better. It’s an interesting lesson in metallurgy, as well as a graphic example of how not to make a flask for molding cast iron.Ĭast iron from the home shop opens up a lot of possibilities. ![]() The furnace itself is quite a thing, running on a mixture of diesel and waste motor oil and sounding for all the world like a jet engine starting up. had to play with the melt, adding lumps of ferrosilicon alloy to get a cast iron with better machining properties than the original rotors. Usually available free for the asking at the local brake shop, he scores them with an angle grinder and busts them into manageable chunks with a hammer before committing them to the flames. The cast iron comes from a cheap and abundant source: car disc brake rotors. The video below shows a fairly expansive shop and some pretty unique tools he uses to recycle cast iron we were especially impressed with the rig he uses to handle the glowing crucibles from a respectful distance. It looks like knows a thing or two about slinging hot metal around. But imagine what you could accomplish by recycling cast iron instead. Not that there’s anything wrong with that there’s a lot you can accomplish by casting aluminum. When it comes to choice of metals that can be melted in the home foundry, it’s a little like ’s famous quip: you can melt any metal you want, as long as it’s aluminum. ![]()
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