Smelting with charcoal?

[Bert2368]

I have a pile of reclaimed bricks and cinder blocks, an old shop vac and a Dutch oven. With the addition of a good design, some suitable cement and a stove pipe I think I could make a smelting setup to run on charcoal and/or wood.

I would rather use available on site fuel and scrounged materials than buy LP gas and new equipment- I think the main problem with such a setup would be the danger of running it TOO hot.

Has anyone here done this? I have Agricolla's De re metalica as well as Biringuccio's La Pyrotechnia, but more modern furnace design tips would be nice!

(edit)

Yes, of course you "frugal" folks have thought of that-
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=23914&highlight=Smelting+wood

[Cactus Farmer]

I can't see why you couldn't do it with wood of charcoal. With your vac as an air supply it will get hot. Try to get the exhaust away from the pot so you don't cook. I think I would try to get a steel cylinder,ie, a piece of 10-12 inch pipe for the pot. It won't break like cast is subject to.

[Edubya]

Might ought to think about putting a roof over your operation, never can tell when a rain cloud will open up on your smelting operation or a bird flys over and lets go with a dropper that will explode in your pot.
EW

[MT Gianni]

Bret I don't think you need a shop vac for air flow. You may move your heat faster than you want, wasting fuel. I would try a burned out hair dryer that didn't heat but still blew air. Duct it in with 2" pvc and transition to steel the last 6" through your firebox.

[markinalpine]

Have someone take pictures!
We promise to not laugh (Yeah, that's the ticket) :bigsmyl2:
Might be interesting. :kidding:
Mark :mrgreen:

[docone31]

If you use a blower with charcoall, you can definately melt aluminum.
Might even melt steel also.
I might six the blower.

[TAWILDCATT]

the charcoal alone will melt the lead.what do you think they used before propane or coal gas.how hot is fire over a 100 degrees???

[Bert2368]

I do understand charcoal with a forced draft is good enough to smelt Iron from the ore, and a plain old wood fire was all the old timers needed for bullet casting. I have made my own charcoal before, Kingsford makes poor black powder!

An enclosed fire box with draft control and a stove pipe offer higher efficiency, the ability to regulate the temperature better and a less smoky work area.

Never fear, I will take pictures if I go there-

[Bret4207]

It will certainly work. And I like the idea too. If I ever get my shop set up the way I want my portable forge will become semi permanent and I'll be able to heat big hunks astuff for cheap. Nothing worse than wasting all your Oxy/Acetylene getting something hot enough to bend.

[hiram]

http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/

[bigdog454]

I've melted lead over a coal fire before, didn't need to add air flow. The natural flow of air was plenty to melt lead. As was said, if you add a blower you will have enough heat to melt alum. and be able to forge weld steel, you don't need that much heat.

[10 ga]

Charcoal and a blower! You can smelt iron and steel if you have a real crucible. Google "home smelting" and you will find a wealth of information on just the subject question posed. Much of it is diredcted to smelting Al and Cu but just turn the rheostat down on the blower and you are good to go. Been there, 10 ga

[Changeling]

What Hiram showed was awesome.

What Edubya said about a bird flying over, I saw it happen!!!!!!

"Murphy's Law" I guess. Two women were walking back from a restaurant across the street from where we worked, I was heading to the restaurant.
When I got about 10 feet from them (I knew them both) a bird of some kind dropped one Hell of a bomb on one of the girls face so bad it splattered on the other girls face and cloths ( I didn't see the bird). I ran to the side of the building, girls right with me, hiding around the corner.

I took off my shirt and drenched my T-shirt in a water faucet and they washed off the Poo, LOL. It took 2 or three drenching till they were satisfied/clean enough to go in the building to the lavatory.

The girls became my friends for life but told me if I ever told a sole, there would be HELL to pay, LOL.

Just go's to show you that it can happen, imagine if it had been a big pot of molten lead, OUCH!

[fj3fury]

Yahoo groups has a casting hobby group, they can also tell you how to make various furnace setups. The main draw back to smelting anything more than aluminum and lead, to reach the temperatures needed to melt brass and steel will disintegrate most refractories. Here is another page for making a smelter that looks like a good design.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/v.ford/furnace.htm

[Bert2368]

Yes, I have been cruising the home metal casting hobby pages. Turns out one of my fireworks crew members is into home smelting and forgeing too-

I'm still trying to find a home recipe for a refractory cement good enough to stand up to forced air/charcoal heats.