Crucible Tongs & Melting 56kg of Aluminium

This is a fairly simple project using only a few materials that greatly simplifies the metal casting process. the first tool is a lifting tool to easily remove the crucible from the foundry the second is for pouring. the crucible im using is an A12 but the project can easily be modified for any size, whether it be by enlarging the ring diameter or adding a second handle to help pour.

Step 1: Materials

Lifting Tool

1- 1 nut and bolt roughly 6mm

2- 2 3mmx100mmx 150mm steel plates for the crucible contact plates you could also cut up a steel cylinder with a similar radius to your crucible (fire extinguisher, small gas tank etc)

3- 2 10mm square tubes approx 50cm long (the length can be adjusted to suit your foundry depth and crucible width)

Pouring Tool

1- 3mmx50mmx500mm (the final dimension depends purely on your crucible radius, for a 80mm radius crucible the length will be 500mm use the formula 2πr to find the size (make sure you make the ring slightly smaller than the crucible so it doesnt slip through, once again you could also use a pre made cylinder))

2- 20mmx20mmx 1000mm square tube for the handle

Step 2: Tools

This project is in two parts part 1 is the crucible pouring tools and part 2 is the aluminium melting.

Part 1 - Crucible Tools

1- Angle grinder or hacksaw to cut metal

2- Welder (mig or arc recommended) alternatively you could use bolts to hold everything together

3- Drill press or corded/cordless drill

4- A metal bar bender/pipe bender/sturdy vice

Part 2 - Aluminium Melting

1- A foundry capable of reaching at least 750c you can see how i built mine in my other Instructable or watch the video directly from here

you can also see how i built the oil burner which the foundry is designed to be powered by below and the instructable here

Step 3:

Below is the video where i build and explain the process of creating the tools and then cast the aluminium

Consider checking out my Youtube channel DIY Jet Engine Guy where i build all sorts of metalworking stuff but my main project is of course a back yard Jet Engine