Aluminium Foundry

Step 2: Inlet air hole

I cut the inlet air hole and welded 2.5" pipe in an angle so the air will swivel and create more heat in the center. I kept the pipe 2" inside that will be the thickness of the refractory in the furnace. I found my welding magnets very usefull for holding the pipe in place. After getting all my welding gear ready the pipe was perfectly welded into place. Small tip: when placing the cylinder on the side place 2 wood battens under it to prevent it from rolling aside when using the grinder on it.

Comments

[AppalachiaAngel]

I have heard that a lot of blues and yellows in paints have cadmium in them, thus their names...

[rhulett1]

How long is the inlet pipe ?

Is the length critical ?

Is the flange important ?

Great job.....Roger

[mista.v]

Would it be possible to use extremely strong industrial epoxy to stick the pipe in if we cannot weld? Or maybe solder in some places of it and then fill the rest in with cement?

[NutandBolt]

If you mean the inlet vent hole I dont think epoxy will take the heat, we are dealing here with temaptures over 1000C. You also dont want to use material that will melt and might realse toxic fumes. You can use metal screws with angle brackets that way you dont need any weld.
Another simple option is using card board or plastic cylinder  to form the inlet hole, after refractory is set take the cylinder out.
In my image I drew blue line that represent metal angle brackets and the red dots arepresent metal screws.
Hope this will be useful to you.

[Ken Chevy]

Be careful of the brackets or any other parts that are cadmium plated.  It gives off a poison smoke/gas fumes when heated.

DANGER:

Cadmium is extremely toxic even in low concentrations.  The fumes given off by zinc is toxic also when heated.

Lots of materials around that we need to be careful we don't breath the fumes it makes when we are heating it.

Once it is burned off, you are probably okay.  Just remember to not breath any of the white smoke/fumes.  They are toxic/poison.  If they never get heated hot enough to smoke/cause fumes, there shouldn't be any problems from using cad plated parts.

Great instructable!

Ken

102410 2029

[NutandBolt]

Thank you for your tip that is very important. I prefer when I do my work with the furnace usually to use respirator and in general to melt aluminum parts with no paint or other impurities.
Is there any way to know when melting coated object if the paint contains cadmium?
Or the best thing is just to melt clean parts such as car pistons act' ?

[absolutekold]

It has been my experience that using the cleanest metal you have is generally the best bet. Not just for health considerations but also some of those impurities can be absorbed into the metal. This can ruin a casting and be very difficult to diagnose the true nature of the problem. If you have no choice than to melt a questionable piece then take all steps necessary to ensure your safety and after the melt remember to mark the ingots. After a little trial and hopefully less error you will become familiar with how different coatings look.