Homemade Mega-Furnace

[MakeMineA10mm]

Anyone built their own casting furnace? (Not a smelter; rather, a real casting pot.)

I'm looking at building my own, because of Magma's recent price increase. I've got some design ideas already, and am blessed with friends who work at the numerous metal-fabricating places in my area.

Anyone have a suggestion for where to look for a heating element, and more importantly, an accurate thermostat?

I'm looking at building a bottom-pour with mould guide shelf and built-in ingot mould/spill-catcher. It will be about 100 lbs capacity, and have a bathtub shaped bottom (mostly flat with a slight angle towards the spout at the front end of the pot, and a funnel-shaped area in the immediate vicinity of the spout). I'm stealing Magma's idea for the pour lever (with a chain that hangs down to about even with the mould). And, I'm going to have the heating element exposed in the lead, rather than in the walls and/or bottom of the pot. (My Ballisti-cast machine is like this and it melts the lead much faster...)

Anyone done something like this/have additional ideas/got a guess as to the cost?

[45 2.1]

I think the main thing is too find the correct heating element for the inside of the pot. Please keep us informed as several of us would like to do the same thing. My neighbor is a steel fabricator and this would be right down his alley.

[Morgan Astorbilt]

Won't radiated heat from a 100lb. pot be a factor to be considered? I find that my 20lb. Mouldmaster throws off a lot more heat than my 11lb. model. Only noticed it because of the recent heat wave, it's usually cooler this time of year, and after a long summer, I couldn't wait any longer to start casting. I suppose a large space between the pot and the outer shell could be lined with insulation to prevent excess heat loss through the sides.
Morgan

[Lloyd Smale]

Why couldnt a electric range burner be heated and bent to the right shape to fit in it. It might be trick to fit one to the inside and another at the bottom and wire it 220. Might make for good recovey and melting times. Guy could even wire one to just come on with a switch for initial melting of the pot and then shut it off and let the other maintain temp. Make two while your at it. It would be well worth a trip to the copper country!!!! By the way im still waiting for an address if you want that 10mm brass

[ktw]

Make two while your at it. It would be well worth a trip to the copper country!!!! By the way im still waiting for an address if you want that 10mm brass

Different 10mm fan. Nice try, though. :-D

-ktw

[montana_charlie]

Anyone built their own casting furnace? (Not a smelter; rather, a real casting pot.)

I'm looking at building my own, It will be about 100 lbs capacity,
Somehow I have the notion that you are into 10mm bullets. Figuring an individual weight of (say) 200 grains, your pot would hold enough alloy for a 3500-bullet casting session.

Don't know about you, but I couldn't go that long...without a nap.
CM

[targetshootr]

Me too. The tinkering would be fun but a 20lb pot and six cavity molds are all I care to wrestle every few months.


:castmine:

[kodiak1]

Guy's you don't have to empty the pot everytime you turn it on!!!!!!
You can cast a few hundred or a hundred and shut it off. Much to popular belief after lead has been melted once or twice it doesn't go bad.
I have sat down though on the rare occasion and emtied that Magma 90 pounder and as Charlie stated there is a nap required after that.
I didn't have any pent up frustrations after that either so I guess you could also state that casting is theraputic!!!
Ken.

[Lloyd Smale]

oh well it was a dream anyway!
Different 10mm fan. Nice try, though. :-D

-ktw

[shooter575]

Some months maybe a year ago a fella from Texas I seem to recall built a real nice homade electric pot.Had a lot of pics on how he constructed it.Someone with a better memory than I may remember his name and do a search.

[454PB]

Here ya go:

http://www.castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=5126&highlight=texasflyboy

He really did a lot of research and work on this monster

[shooter575]

454PB,that is the one! Lets see that post started 20 months ago....Gee time does fly here!

[testhop]

Why couldnt a electric range burner be heated and bent to the right shape to fit in it. It might be trick to fit one to the inside and another at the bottom and wire it 220. Might make for good recovey and melting times. Guy could even wire one to just come on with a switch for initial melting of the pot and then shut it off and let the other maintain temp. Make two while your at it. It would be well worth a trip to the copper country!!!! By the way im still waiting for an address if you want that 10mm brass

the electric range burner element has cermict around a thin wire so i think if you bend it it can break
as for the therostat how about a electric heater t herostat like the one for heating the house