Author Topic: My foundry project  (Read 3773 times)

Offline Ashlyn Katarzyna

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My foundry project
« on: October 15, 2013, 09:31:56 PM »
So I finally got around to working on my foundry some 5 years afterward-took me a long time to finish projects and get them out of the way and be able to do this.
When I first started mixing refractory I miscalculated the moisture needed and rammed it in very wet it sat for 7 days before i pulled the form out.  Lets just say it was evident that starting over was a good idea, but it was messy.  I started a lid assist but i havent finished it yet, the cam action got me stumped for awhile :scratch:.

It all started with an old propane cylinder that I found out the desert that had been shot up so it was empty plus a few slugs and holes and dents. That was less than fun to repair but it all worked out. A liquid axe was used to make holes for a drain, air hole, and vent hole. For the air blast inlet I used a short piece of small diameter fence post which was also found in the desert and that was welded in place.

Handles are old exhaust clamps U bolts with the nuts, I know I threw it out probably 13 years ago to rust-its a habit. Refractory is the one suggested in Gingery's first book with perlite mixed in I forget the mixture I used but refractory specific clay was ungodly expensive.  It was fired a week after ramming the lining in, I got it up to an orange flame and called it quits, the next day, a look at the lining showed no visible cracks and no blow outs.  Firing the lid was a chore it was done outside in a pit for 4 hours with an hair dryer and EMT tubing which melted in the hot fire.  I subsequently burned my first riddle after poking a long wire thru my finger that had broken loose from the grid.

the sides of my fire pit are covered to keep the flying debris at bay, I cut a truck bed for scrap and kept the one piece the other is from a range oven hood that I used to keep the rain off the fire the first night.

Every thing else was added after firing, the lid assist, vent tube, followed by a dedicated air tube and wiring in a dimmer switch for the hair dryer and weather proofing it all since it sits outside. Air tube will be press fit with a bolt securing it so it doesn't come out unless I want it to, haven't figured out how to add a diversion gate yet, not sure I need one unless the dimmer switch fails and I need to add one then. 

For the lawn mower deck the only thing I did was reuse a bicycle fork for 2 front mounts and another bar of steel that was also found in the desert, come to think of it most of the stuff I used to build this thing was either found, given to me or removed from one my companies rental houses.

I found the stool at the road a few nights ago, needs a cover but the cushion is fine my butt will like that instead of the lawn chair.



I found (at the local welding supply shop) some 4" thin wall pipe for crucibles and cut out 2) 1/4" plate for bottoms and burned those on, next was lifting lugs and yet to be added is an eye for pouring and a spout of sort.



Not done yet though, still working on flasks, riddle and other things.

Offline vtsteam

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Re: My foundry project
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2013, 10:38:03 PM »
Great that you're using what's available and what you have to make a foundry!

My inlet pipe for my Gingery furnace was only about 18" long so yours looks like a lot. I positioned my blower (an air mattress/pool inflator that runs on AC) a few inches away form the pipe. That was my blast regulator. the closer it was and the more directly inline, the greater the blast.

I always meant to make something more sophisticated, but ended up building a lathe, a milling attachment, a Tesla disk turbine, and many other things from castings produced that way, and never got around to a proper blast gate.

To this day, even my waste oil burner for iron is regulated by the same crude method -- a separation of the inlet tube from the blower tube. Ten years of what was intended to be temporary! Now it just seems familiar.
I love it when a Plan B comes together!
Steve
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sDubB0-REg

Offline Ashlyn Katarzyna

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A butterfly in my Tuyere
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2013, 02:02:18 AM »
Dimmer switch was a no go, what a dud :bang:

I made this in about an hour, the really neat part is it seals up leaving about a .010 clearance around the butterfly on inside of the pipe and only binds if its reversed when I add heat that may change, I made this 1 time and had no errors even in mounting it.  Its unusual because I often have to make it several times.




Linkage is done, I did the split nut and added a self closing spring mechanism that was repurposed from a junk truck door lock assembly. I used a 45degree hinge so that I could keep the alignment correct on the thread rod and with the friction of that it keeps the butterfly in position.






« Last Edit: October 20, 2013, 01:14:38 AM by ChadA4MG »