aNtistic design

Step 8 Getting the metal and something to pour it with

As much as I hated to ,I had to buy the zinc I used .I bought about 17lbs. For about $50 ,shipping included .the zinc was found online and is 99.9% pure .even if I had found scrap zinc I'm sure the purity wouldn't compare .I also decided to melt and mix some aluminum from old cans as well as cuttings I had from a street sign I made into my TV table and even used discarded aluminum foil .it took me a while to get the aluminum to a state in which I could pour .not having a proper furnace ,I used an old stainless steel serving dish and some channel locks ,and with my trusty harbor freight torch I was able to get the job done .I ended up with a nice 2 pound ingot that measured roughly 5 inches in diameter and 2 and a half inches thick

With all the metal I was going to use and need to pour fairly quickly .using a couple pairs of channel locks wouldn't be to easy .not to mention rather dicey from a safety standpoint .so I decided I needed to build some crucible tongs .there are many types out there ,but I decided on a one person clamp design

I had found a flower pot holder someone was throwing away and at the time I picked it up had no use for it .but I knew it was going to come in handy .it was made up of these metal rings I think were some sort of valve seals used in refineries (which surround me) but whatever they were initially intended for they had been welded together into the structure pictured below .with one of the rings ,some rebar ,and a shackle type thing I found along the rail road track .I had what I needed to make my crucible clamp

Before I began building I had to know what I was using for my crucible so I could use a ring of a corresponding diameter .on one my trips to wal-mart I saw a stainless steel cylinder marketed for storing utensils .it was a perfect height and diameter .and turned out to fit perfectly in the smallest of the rings .so 5 bucks later and it was mine

I wanted the clamp only to be on the crucible when I was ready to pour .that way it wouldn't heat up and I'd be able to hold it long enough to pour .so knowing that I knew I had to make a hinge .this is where the shackle I found at the railroad track came in to play it already had holes in it for the pin (1/2 inch bolt) and forked so that I'd have a two out side and one inside sandwich configuration .rather then the less stable one on one hinge setup

I started by cutting the shackle into the pieces I would need .bolting them together to keep the hole aligned properly ,and welding them into place on the still intact ring (still intact to keep the ring from distorting) .once I had the hinge welded and how I wanted .I made my first cut into the ring in between the hinge sections .then I made my second cut in the front allowing me to test my hinge action .it worked great

Now came time to attach the handles .I welded a section of rebar to each side of the half ring .one piece of the rebar had a curve in it which did two things I needed .first thing the curve did was give me some leverage action for a tighter holding clamp .second it gave me a wider hand hold away from the crucible which made it easier to tilt the crucible and pour