The Home Machinist!

I have some scrap metals to give away but I'd like to get the shipping costs. Bronze 3.5 pound bronze valve - a new Hansgrohe pressure and temperature shower rough in valve I've been unable to sell to plumbers. If you need one to use you are in luck - these run over $200. As scrap it has a little bit of plastic you can remove or skim off as dross. UPS flat rate is $13.60 anywhere in the US. I live in Fairfax, CA and local pickup is free.
Brass and zinc. I have 20+ pounds of valves cut off WW II aircraft oxygen tanks. The valve handles are zinc, the bodies are brass, and there is also a collar of steel The zinc handle is held by a screw, easy to remove, and I made a some zamac with them. If interested PM me your zip code and we can figure out the cheapest way to send it. I can also send pics.

This is cool! I was just setting up a small induction foundry. I'm on the other side of SF, but do you think all that would fit in a FR box?

Wow, a induction furnace, that's impressive. You can make some nice alloys.

I have a lot more brass, zinc than I thought. It is in a 5 gal bucket, maybe 3 gallons worth. Guessing it is close to 40 pounds.

I could fill up a large fixed rate and you'd get whatever fits if you want a sample large enough to melt. Or you could take a trip out here - about 45 to 60 mins from SF in non rush hour. Or possibly we could meet in SF. I go there a couple times a month to Sunnyside, usually on the weekend.

Best, Vakil

ctwo wrote:This is cool! I was just setting up a small induction foundry.

I'd be interested in hearing about the induction heater you will use. Care to talk?

H

Harold_V wrote:Care to talk?
H

Well, yes. Specifically, I had intended on asking about graphite crucibles here as that is what I bought.

You and Vakil have correctly described the device as a heater/furnace. It might be imagined better than it really is, but this video illustrates it well enough (not mine).



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ZK_Hs99FU

The units are described as heaters, as that's what they are. How the heat generated is put to use would further define the power supply/furnace combination.

For the record, the word foundry implies a place where castings are poured. A foundry is not a furnace, nor is a furnace a foundry.

I am interested in the discussion of induction heaters, as I am in the middle of resurrecting a second generation (motor/generator) type of unit. They have been rendered obsolete due to solid state devices replacing the cumbersome and expensive generators.

It should be noted that there is a direct relationship between frequency of operation and furnace size. As size decreases, frequency must increase, in order for a level of efficiency to be achieved. In this case, while I can't address the frequency, his choice of a graphite crucible is required, as it becomes the shunted secondary in which heat is created. That isn't necessarily the case in larger units, where they may be lined with just refractory compounds, with the heat generated directly in the charge. In order for these units to not self destruct (from heat), they are normally water cooled, including the coil (the furnace, proper), buss system, and capacitors. Units such as mine (50 kw) are equipped with various meters, including a KVAR meter, so they can be operated at unity, made possible by the ability to switch, in and out, various capacitors.

H