Show me your mould ovens please!

[Boosted98gsx]

Looking for some idears to copy for a preheating oven. I have a sawblade for the "base" of one, but who knows, maybe there are some better options! Show me what you got!

[bangerjim]

Ovens....we don't need no stinking ovens!

HA........ha!

I just lay my molds to heat up to casting temp right on top of the aluminum top of the lab hotplate I use. Then I put 1# ingots on top to hold them down and to preheat the ingots. And fill in the gaps on the top of the plate with other ingots. Saves lots of time when recharging the pot with feed ingots.

bangerjim

[462]

I use a 5" metal electrical box and its cover. The box will easily accommodate a Lee six-cavity mould. Cut down one side of the box just enough to accept the largest mould and handles. A wooden knob on the lid allows it to be lifted off when removing a mould, and strategically placed holes allow a thermometer to be inserted inside a mould cavity.

The box will not warp, unlike a saw blade.

[Boosted98gsx]

Thanks guys. Got any pictures of that, 462?

[OuchHot!]

Somewhere on this site is a picture of one made using an electric skillet with lid. He cut away enough of the lid to insert the mold. I had just built one out of a "milk pot" (India Grocery store item) and an aluminum plate with TC for a pid using a hotplate. The world's most complicated way of getting there and felt kinda dumb.

[Boosted98gsx]

That was my idea. Electric coil "burner" with a saw blade atop it, and a large coffee tin on that, with a window to insert the mold.

[OuchHot!]

I had "built" a pid and hooked it to a plate (1/2" thick aluminum) with a tc hole. Set that on a hotplate and control the hotplate with a pid. The idea was to preheat printed circuit boards for surface mount soldering. I see this from a vendor:http://www.circuitspecialists.com/csi835b.htmlI have done business with them before and they are reliable. If a person wanted a pretty turn key operation, $69 is pretty cheap. It has a "5X5" heated area and a pid.

[OuchHot!]

The address above is correct but it insists on including "I" after the dang .html. I cannot seem to edit it out. sorry

[462]

Here you are.112848112849

[cainttype]

I try to keep it simple, so I float blocks of aluminum in a full pot while resting the mould I intend to use on top of the block. The floating block will cant to creat a perfect mating surface to the mould's base and act as an excellent heat transfer device. You will, of course, have to support your mould handles if necessary.
The blocks I have are from 1"x2" to 2"x2" and cut to fit the various pots I use. A couple of dollars, a short trip to my local recycler, and a port-a-band solved the preheat needs for me without additional cords and outlets, not to mention they never over-heat and will never wear out.

[Mike W1]

The shelf I added to my pots pre-heats the moulds just fine.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u310/Mike4245/HPIM1075.jpg

[Boosted98gsx]

Here you are.112848112849

That's awesome. Thank you!

[462]

You are welcome.

[dragon813gt]

Doesn't get any cheaper than mine.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa39/dragon813gt/TimeToMakeAmmo/E463A94C-15BA-4F4A-98FF-CB07E7074F2F-452-0000000FDC7A6FFF.jpg

The two burner hot plate wasn't much money and it actually gets hot unlike some of the other new ones.