Crucibles???

L6steel

L6steel

Joined
Sep 23, 1999
Messages
5,855
I need a crucible so I can melt brass and maybe bronze to make castings. Would anyone either have a large one for sale or know where I might find one online. Also, I have access to a ceramic shop. Could I make one from fired clay?? Thanks!! Michael

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I haven't seen a homemade ceramic crucible work yet, but you can order one from http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/
Their prices are some of the best I've seen, but I still consider it expensive. I usually use cast iron to melt nonferrous metals. Old dutch ovens from yard sales work well.

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Oz

Now, what other news did I have? Oh yes, IT'S A GIRL!!!
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I bought a nice cast iron pot, but got to reading and got the idea the cast iron would melt. Guess I'll try that and just keep an eye on it. Is there anything particular you need as a mold release or such?? I'm going to use the lost wax set up with plaster as the mold. Thanks Oz!!! Michael



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L-6
I used to do a lot of lost wax casting using silver but brass isn't much different.Are you going to pour the molten brass into a mold?
If so make sure your path that the brass will take goes from larger openings to smaller openings.Check out using casting investment for the mold as it needs to be pretty hot when you pour or it don't work.
Crucibles are availble, and a lot of other stuff, for lost wax casting.Let me know how things turn out as I have casting guards on my list of things to do.
Take Care
TJ Smith
 
I should give the disclaimer that, although I've melted aluminum many times, I've melted brass (on purpose) all of twice. I did use iron, but I watched it very carefully. This was in the forge, not the furnace, so it was much easier to regulate temperature by sight. My furnace easily destroys sheet metal crucible attempts, I suggest not wasting your time with them. Even 12 guage only lasted 15 minutes or so. And clearing metal out of the tuyere is not fun. When we use makeshift crucibles, we're gambling a bit, so be ready to lose. Have your area and yourself fireproofed, and have the inside of your furnace set up with some kind of drain in case you spring a leak. These are dangers with commercial equipment, but they're exponentially worse with us novices. Fire extinguisher, full welding leathers, if you have them, full face shield, and don't forget to protect your feet! They're in the most danger.
Sorry, went off on a safety tangent. It also doesn't hurt to anneal the pot. It will develop grain structure when it's used, but no reason to have to deal with more than you have to. One variable lessened.

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Oz

Now, what other news did I have? Oh yes, IT'S A GIRL!!!
See her and my latest blades @
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Has anyone tried David Gingerly's idea of using a malible iron pipe nipple and cap as a crucible? I think the temperature in a forge is higher than most furnaces. I know I've burned a few things I wasn't planning on.
Karl
 
Check out the Neo-Tribal forum. I believe Tai Goo makes his own small crucibles of clay. The manufactured crucibles are cheap enough from the jewelry trade suppliers(Rio Grande is a great one, get their catalog) I would be wary of any "ho made" substitutes for a real crucible except for low temp stuff, pewter, aluminum, maybe brass. Nothing scaryier than a catastrophic crucible failure. Visualize molten metal splashing everywhere.
 
Reason I brought up the home made crucible idea was because I watched a show about Otzy. For those of you who don't know Otzy, he's the 5000 year old iceman they found up in the mountains, Himalayans I think it was. They profiled his way of life and thru the fact that he had a copper headed axe with him and arsenic in is hair, they deducted he was a copper smith. They showed some guys reenacting how copper smelting was done 5000 years ago and it was fascinating. They had some simple bellows made from deer hide and wood, a very crude but usable crucible they made from clay, and just made a wood fire on the ground and stoked it with the bellows. They made the mold for the axe head out of clay too. I have a section of 20" diameter steel pipe thats 1/2" walled and about 2 feet long. I plan on burying it about 18" in the ground for insulation and making a fire with charcol briquettes and wood and smelting some brass in it. I've been wanting to do this to cast some fancy guards for my bowies, but whats really got me going is a sword I'm going to make. The guard will be about 12" long and 1/2" thick and 6-7" wide front to back. The design I made is way too intricate to cut out with my bandsaw, so I figured I'd try casting it. I'm going to make one out of wood first, full size. Use that to make a mold so I can make a copy in wax and use that to make the actual mold for the guard. This way I can add some 3 dimensional decoration to it where if I cut it out it would just be flat brass. Whewwww!! I sure am long winded this morning!! Thanks for tips forumites and I'll let everyone know how it goes. Take care! Michael

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Generally speaking, a forge is capable of getting higher temps, but my furnace gets a LOT hotter than my forge. My forge gets up to 2200f or so, usually, my furnace gets well over 3000f, and can burn holes in crucibles if I'm not careful. With the amount of charcoal it takes, I haven't had much practice with it. Most melting I've done is in the forge, reconfigured, with the ladle.
Fox Creek, what size do Rio Grandes crucibles go up to? I don't have their catalog in front of me, but as I recall, their crucibles were for jewelry, and very small. Their prices are also far more than I'm willing to pay for something so disposable in nature, at least in those sizes, but it's been awhile since I checked.

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Oz

Now, what other news did I have? Oh yes, IT'S A GIRL!!!
See her and my latest blades @
http://www.freespeech.org/oz/
 
Oz, thanks for the info!! I went to their web site and they have crucibles up to 20 pound capacity. Do you think I could melt the brass and get it hot enough to cast with an oxy acetelene torch??? I also have an old heat treat oven I was thinking of converting into a propane forge or furnace to melt brass and such and maybe anneal some steel. Would a square oven work with one burner??. Michael

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