Homemade cast iron

[ironman]

I do like to experiment with my own alloys so I will post some links to my videos about how I used ball bearing races and mild steel punchings and added carbon to make homemade cast iron. 

   

   The second video is about having my homemade cast iron analysed. I was very interested to see what was in it because I had to guess the amount of chromium and it was a bit more than I expected, also the carbon was a little lower. The finnished casting was machineable in my lathe.
                                                                             
                                                                                ironman

[AdeV]

  Looks great! I haven't watched with the sound on yet (I'm in the office, we're supposed to be doing computer things, not casting iron!)...

I'm starting to need a furnace myself, did you build your own & if so, any details anywhere? I've always wanted to be able to cast iron (happy to start with Aluminium, but I want to end up doing Iron), so any pointers gratefully received 

[ironman]

I'm glad you liked the video. I can help you with building a furnace so I will give you a quick run down of different types. Do you have very understanding neighbours? because the easy to build furnaces do make a lot of noise. If you are only melting aluminium a few house bricks can work. As you go to higher melting point metals a furnace starts to get expensive. If noise is a problem Electric resistance furnace makes no noise but are very slow to melt and require electrical knowledge and materials that can be expensive. That type of furnace is not suited to melting cast iron.  Let me know what you want and then I can help you ironman   

[awemawson]

...he he ! The noise - the smell! I used to have a Morgan Crucible No 5 oil fired furnace in a pit in my home foundry at my last place until my neighbour sold off the bottom of his garden for a house to be built. I ended up with their kitchen 10 foot from the furnace which put an end to my activities. 

[Mayhem]

Hi Ironman - impressive work. 

I'm curious if you have refined your recipe?  I am in the process of building a waste oil furnace, using a babington burner.  Other projects and 'stuff' is impeding my progress though.  One other question, could this be done in a steel crucible or would it need to be ceramic?

Cheers,
Mayhem

[ironman]

If you are melting iron a ceramic crucible is vital.

[Mayhem]

Thanks.  Something else to add to the shopping list.

How is the cast iron recipe going?

[NeoTech]

I have machined castiron parts from transmission boxes it doesnt even come of the lathe in flakes, spirals, chips whatever.. it just.. well explodes and becomes trillion hot particles that burns the crap out of you..

Your castiron, does it act more like proper steel or like that.. well ****.. that was a bitch to cleanup. :|