Hi All, There are many books on the market on how to start a small home foundry, can anyone recommend one that they like? I think I'd like to give charcoal a try...
John
book recommendation?
Moderator: Harold_V
John,
Lindsay offers some books on foundry---including one for building a charcoal furnace.
I've built and run several furnaces through the years. I can't imagine one that is fired with charcoal----although I know they work. I'd be concerned about the the inability to insert a crucible at will, but maybe I don't understand how they work. Bottom line is I'd recommend you explore a gas fired furnace if you're serious about having a small foundry. If you have natural gas at your disposal, I can't think of a better fuel source. While it's a little beyond what you're considering, here's a picture of a tilting furnace I built for processing precious metal wastes. It had no safety features, so you couldn't run it unattended. I has an igniter built in. A very similar design would work for foundry, or a plain crucible furnace could be built even easier.
Harold
Lindsay offers some books on foundry---including one for building a charcoal furnace.
I've built and run several furnaces through the years. I can't imagine one that is fired with charcoal----although I know they work. I'd be concerned about the the inability to insert a crucible at will, but maybe I don't understand how they work. Bottom line is I'd recommend you explore a gas fired furnace if you're serious about having a small foundry. If you have natural gas at your disposal, I can't think of a better fuel source. While it's a little beyond what you're considering, here's a picture of a tilting furnace I built for processing precious metal wastes. It had no safety features, so you couldn't run it unattended. I has an igniter built in. A very similar design would work for foundry, or a plain crucible furnace could be built even easier.
Harold
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book
I have yet to order and read this one...but it is still on my mind.
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/book_fp.html
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/book_fp.html
Probably the best book to start with on charcoal fueled metal furnaces is the one by the late Dave Gingery, offered by Lidsay Publications.
http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/char/index.html
This will give you everything you need to start making castings.
Keep in mind that charcoal burners are limited aluminum, pot metals, and brass; to melt steel, you would have to upgrade.
http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/char/index.html
This will give you everything you need to start making castings.
Keep in mind that charcoal burners are limited aluminum, pot metals, and brass; to melt steel, you would have to upgrade.
Charcoal gets expensive quick. I use a very inefficient pottery kiln on natural gas. In 15 minutes I have an easy 10 plus lbs of molten aluminum. I generally just prototype at home so it works fine for that. The gingery books are a cheap way to gain a ton of knowledge. Check your local pottery supply house for a used kiln, that is where I got mine. I paid 300, but I didn't get my hands dirty either. Here's a pic of my old short lived charcoal setup in action, and a part I made with this cave man technology.
I own a bridgeport series one mill and a sheldon lathe.