DIY Iron Furnace Build
Vložit
- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- I made a small furnace for casting iron and stainless steel.
It uses the same burner as my aluminum furnace but takes about 2 hours to heat up( a .75GPH nozzle is in the mail). If you wanted to save fuel simply coating ceramic blanket in santanite or Itc-100 might be better. I wanted something more robust, the refractory is very heavy and rated to 3000F. I should be able to push it a bit but the crucible won't quite cut it. I'll likely need one that's rated higher and can be capped and flooded with argon.
*********** CRUCIBLE - Purchased on EBAY -A10 Clay graphite
Fuel- Start on propane, than switch to diesel
I'm pretty happy with it and some of my castings have come out nice(video on that later) but they do rust quick unpainted.
If you have any suggestions let me know.
I got the Cast-O-lite 30 off ebay + some mizzou plus for plinths and the 2600F ceramic blanket
I made all the foundry tools with hardware store steel
The 10 gallon barrel was free and stays touchable even when the pour is molten!
This is really dangerous, the molten iron can go right through just about anything. Start with aluminum before going up to iron. The fumes are bad, the heat will melt flesh, the fuel tank could explode the crucible could rupture, the pour could hit water. You really need to be careful
Consider supporting me and my projects on patreon! / bennbuilds
**Note about my shoes: They are made of leather, plus they can be kicked off super quick, plus I tested them by pouring some metal on them and it was not a big deal at all, so I wouldn't even need to.
Its a small furnace in an open space that's really easy to run away from in the case of an accident such as a crucible rupture or spill, and no skin is exposed so I'm pretty safe from splatters.
Also, all the clothing can be removed really quickly, witch matters most to me. Its surprisingly hard to get metal to pool up and burn through clothing, especially when you can shake around. And if it does just pull the clothing off as you run away.
This is not a professional foundry where you can get trapped and there are thousands of pounds of molten metal around you. Danger scales, like everything else. Incandescent light bulbs get hotter than this, yes they burn down houses but you don't wear a fire suit in your kitchen.
Love to see younger guys who are into stuff like this. Gives me some hope for our future.
Very well composed video - efficient, no time wasting bits - short and to the point ! Gold Star for you, my Man !
Just for the record, a 7 minute video is nowhere near "way too long"
***** Not for something this cool, no sir it is not. :)
seven minutes is way too long
Especially considering that there was no fluff. 100% lean content!
That sentence was way too long; would someone TLDR it for me?
I can tell you, this is the best design I saw by far. Its clean, more safe and has more durability.
"This is so dangerous but it works!"
The perfect last words of a youtuber who made a video doing something dangerous lol.
My new favorite comment ever
you are one seriously mad scientist, I love it. you might want to have a more organized working environment so you don't tripping over stuff
Dude got some mad metallurgical skills.
I got the big brother to this thing in my backyard. 4200 pounds of fire brick and high temp mortar, 6 feet by 8 feet by 8 feet. Good video man.
Get cutting goggles shade 5 or shade 5 lens for your face shield. As a welder i can say the glare will damage your eyes. Not preaching just warning don't want you hurting yourself umknowingly. I believe in personal responsibility so take care of yourself.
Great work! A few tips though, you're losing a lot of heat through those gaps in the lid. Also, if you're using a ceramic mold that you plan on breaking, I'd add some sand and bottle glass to the metal to help remove slag from the mixture. Other than those things, there isn't much else to say. Be safe, and have fun!
Man it takes a lot to melt steel, much respect👌
That's cool, I made a furnace in the garden from bricks and mud for aluminium and copper melting.
I use a throw away fat 80 gallon air compressor tank and still was not big enough ! I'm gonna try a 42" inch wide steel covert pipe next time . That should fit my needs well . Thank you for the upload ! Very educational !
Should weld some handles on that lid.
A furnace, using wool and coatings like ITC-100 are QUICK cookers.,and are better for the occasional cook up. The fire has only the crucible and contents to heat up.
A furnace made using a "castable" is better for LOTS of cooking ,over an extended period. It takes a LOT of Energy (Fuel), just to heat the furnace up, before we even start to heat up the crucible and contents.
and edit. Cast iron weights, are great cast iron, soft gray, and can be found cheap.
+aubreyaub Yes!
Most definitely, its all about the thermal mass of the furnace.
You rock! I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at your brave ingenuity!
Thanks this a good chance to learn about furnus and improve the quality of our products
First youtuber with the guts to actually melt iron.
That’s awesome man I hope to see some stainless later!
Finally a guy that doesn’t make vids for the money
Hey that's not true I made like $70 off this channel!
I don't know why I haven't found your channel sooner. Love your video
I will say when u have the right tools ect it makes this job so much more easier and better
most impressive casting video I've seen to date.
amazing bro,it's the first time I saw someone to make a home made steal foundry.And it's work ^^
Okay so I've made a furnace I suppose and its made out of brick, clay, and rocks and wood burning. I use a hair dryer to heat things up. Anyway so my back yard volcano has recently demonstrated that it can liquefy high carbon steel without many issues. I don't know whether to be proud or concerned.
if you are interested in starting a blacksmithing career or just blacksmithing as a hobby then I suggest making a forge which there are several tutorials on how to do very cheap, get a hammer some fire proof gloves good goggles and some steel and dig a hole in the ground with a flat bottom then melt the steel and pour it into the hole if the hole was dug correctly and flat enough you should have a nice flat surface on which to start beating some iron with.
Night Wolf beating iron on* with a hammer*
+Night Wolf furnaces are more sophisticated than forges are. This is an extremely sophisticated homemade furnace too. One of the better ones I've ever seen. I saw one where a guy was melting tungsten in it. His was nicer. But this one comes in a close second.
Ooh, cool, you cast steel and iron, unlike many other youtubers.
if you plan on going with an o2 boost please go with at least 3200 preferably 3400 deg f refractory. also make sure your burner is all brass and it stainless. the flame from an o2 boosted diesel burner can hit 4500 plus f. if you do use it try and wait till the end to quickly ramp up to pour.
Congratulations !: BenNBuilds several years looking for a free tutorial on how to smelt iron at home? and most were books that were bought and I lived far away. I really admire you greatly and I thank you for sharing your experiences. It shows that you are a young person generous heart. A big hello from South America. Why do not you try making a pot to cook? just like the ones worn by cowboys Wild West, Are you up to it? I'll be waiting. The best for you. Keep making videos, ok?
I have worked in foundries pouring iron and steel that being said you could get most of the protective clothing and other gear from the harbor freight welding section relatively cheaply
I knew a guy who wore shoes in the foundry. He was warned not to by the moulders, who wore special quick release boots. One day when he was skimming a moulder's ladle during casting, a newly cast box burst and the metal ran down his leg and into his shoe. He was very badly burned. At the very least, wear ankle boots and thick cotton trousers that cover the top of the boots. Take care.
Damn that crucible you just slapping it around lol. Pretty tough.
U guys r the real deal-men of steel
I seem to remember from shop class that our crucible 'pouring' handles had a simple 't' welded to the end for better control. Helped apply torque and control the speed of the pour. I could not see if your handle had such, but I figure that 'more control' equals 'better pour' and 'more safety'.
glowing like the sun
Full length heavy leather apron might be a good addition. One piece woolen long johns can save your skin.
i think the reason youre getting dross in your casts might be that youre not fluxing your casting material.
It must have been said before, but you are working dangerously. Don't take it the wrong way, but you should have proper protective equipment and not just tiny shoes (for ex.)... I work in an iron ore plant and some people burned themselves pretty badly WITH proper protective equipment. Other than that, great video. You have a cool furnace!
Just a tip for gauging the amount of iron you'll need for the pour:
1) Get a container that's big enough to hold your pattern
2) Pour some water in it (enough so that the pattern will be covered completely when submerged)
3) Mark the water level inside the container
4) Drop the pattern in it. When necessary, hold it (completely) underwater using tongs, a poker etc.
5) With the pattern still underwater, start pouring the water from the container into a measuring cup until your hit the mark you've created earlier
6) Now you have the volume of your desired object. Combined with the density of cast iron (density x volume) you get the weight of iron you need to melt in order for the cast to be successful (applying a slightly bit more never hurts though :P )
Saves a lot of headache and remelting ;)
+CoolKoon or just weigh the pattern. density of wood and density of metal, bit of maths 'n your done. Quite a bit more for runners, spout, dross losses, so on. Takes bugger all, to heat up 3kg instead of 1kg.
Now watch someone else, tell us another way to do it. More than one way to suck this egg, Hey!
+aubreyaub Yeah, it's the easiest option for common homogeneous materials. However the density of engineered and natural wood is not the same BY FAR (not even the density of hardwood and softwood). AFAICT the pattern he used was made from LVL. So he might be able to look up its density somewhere or might not. If he can, then yeah, weighting the pattern then converting that to the weight of equal iron is the best option. But with inhomogeneous materials (e.g. glass or carbon fiber reinforced epoxy, concrete, items made from two different materials e.g. a hammer with a wooden handle etc.) whose density is not known my method might be pretty much the only option.
First of all had you seen the video you'd know that they were pouring the iron directly into the open mold, so there's no need to account for sprouts, runners etc. Second of course you need to melt more material, but with knowing the volume/weight of your material, you know how much material must absolutely be left after you account for slag (which allows you to adjust the charge accordingly).
BTW bronze is a different story, because it doesn't produce (well, call for) as much slag as iron does.
Find a product called SLAX, once youve reached temperature throw some on the top of the molten metal mix it around a little bit then scrape it out. it binds all the impuritities to stop slag inclusion.
With iron it's called slag not dross just so that you get your terminology correct for future videos. I know because I work in an iron foundry. And we add copper and nickel in set amounts to our alloy to make ductile iron. Just a suggestion.
You should add some scrap aluminum to the iron while it's molten. It will lower the slag and dross content, lower the carbon content and melting point, deoxidize the iron and also harden and strengthen it
BenNBuilds I like the way you edit your videos. A good, quick pace.
"this is so dangerous but it just works so amazing" pretty much how i go about everything
@Stetson Donovan what does that have anything to do with any of this?
*Just this once, the Six Million Dollar Man bionic sound would be good here*
It's been stated that you should not be wearing sneakers, but also you should be using a #5 shield to protect your eyes, you can find it at any welding supply store.
That has been said, and I know its not good practice but you can also not look at it, just treat it like a welding arc
dude your funace look awesome, those spinning fire are great
You should have a flow of oxygen, replace the blower you have with it, or add in the O2 into the blower's pipe. pure O2 will make it incredibly hot, youd be making a blast furnace, that's how cast iron and steel is actually made
I'm two years late, but that isn't a good idea. Propane with pure oxygen heats up to over 5000°F, 2000 degrees more than the maximum heat rating for the Kast-O-Lite 30. First it would destroy the crucible, then it would melt the actual furnace.
@5:34 that perfectly sums up the backstory behind most of my scars
Dude, when you picked up the oxygen lance, that is when I thought..."Oh your not, seriously?!" but well done on doing it. With a diesel furnace your limited not by fuel but by oxidant levels. I have a 0.8GPH head and I its almost too big. Well done on this. Don't worry about the saftey nanny comments. The only thing your doing that I wouldn't advise is hitting the hot crucible to get the Dross out. It can get soft when hot and knocking it can introduce some stress fractures. Other than that well done on all of this you crazy bastard :-)
(On the Oxygen, well done on keeing the bottle WAY back from the fire, making sure that hose doesn't melt is probably your biggest safety risk, or should I say out of all you safety risks, your biggest :-)
The crucible was full of aerated carbon/ glass coating from some of the scrap metal I melted and would not come out or melt. There was still a lot left in there after that.
I used to be a industrial glass chemist. What you need is some flux. Some high exo thermic flux pour it on in a healthy manner and letting cook a little. It will help melt away the silicates and will lower their melting temperature. Its a pot cleaner basically. Keep up the insanity :-)
Dont give up, great vid, nice furnace, you can put your bottle of gas in water to keep th epresure up
This kind of stuff blows my mind. defiantly interesting!
Howdy, You don't need to add carbon if you use a clay graphite crucible because the melt leaches out the carbon from the crucible. You shouldn't use a clay graphite crucible but need to use a silicon carbide crucible. Both crucibles will handle the heat but you will make your iron or steel useless if they absorb too much carbon. Even if no carbon is absorbed from the environment, cast iron, straight out of the mold, is as brittle as glass because the carbon in the melt is still in string form. Heat treating the cast iron allows the carbon to change into nodules and becoming Wrought Iron. A material much more suited for use as a cooking tool or machine part. Question; was the lining of your furnace rammed with Cast-o-lite 30 plus?
Just so you know, I was a Navy Molder (foundryman) for 20 years.
If you have any questions about Foundry techniques or Foundry related work...my email is; sandrammer@aol.com
I'll be happy to answer your questions.
sandrammer One more thing...I see that the pedestal that your crucible is sitting on stays in contact with the crucible when you take it out and pour the metal. The solution to that problem is to put a couple of pages of paper under the crucible before you start the heat and when the melt is heating up, the paper turns into carbon and makes a barrier that the pedestal won't stick to or you can make a refractory wash and paint the top of the pedestal again making a barrier that the crucible won't stick to. Have fun!
sandrammer Thanks for all the helpfull tips!
I did that a few times, even using cardboard and 1/4 inch wood; it still stuck. W
When this crucible burns through (my 2nd so far) I'll definitely go for a silicon carbide one. The furnace was just cast-O-lite 30 for a while than I lined it with ITC-100 after a little while
fucking leechers....
FYI, If you put a piece of cardboard or folded up paper between the crucible and base block, it will for a layer of carbon and your crucible won't stick to the base block when you lift it out.
+Lyle Landstrom I do that, Used 1/4 wood too and it only works with aluminm temps. It sticks regardless at iron temps, or at least has when I've tried it
toss a quarter pound of 20 mule team borax (wrapped in paper or foil), and a 2x2x1 pine block in there when you get to pour heat, then stir and skim when the wood is gone. you're also still cold in those pours. more heat, more heat, lol. blowing oxygen into your crucible also burns off that carbon you put in, lol. don't try to "alloy" (you're just adding to your dross, you aren't hot nearly long enough to dissolve either the carbon or silicon). heat til wet lumpy puddle, add flux. keep heating until THIN liquid consistency (good latex paint thickness). stir, skim, keep heating til you get carbon dancing out, skim again, pull, skim, pour. you're at least 500 degrees too cold (candy consistency). until the carbon begins to burn, you are too cold to pour.
Do you think it would be possible to get to the temperature you're talking about with a waste oil furnace set up well?
of course... oil was used in plenty of smelting ops. springfield arsenal used oil muffles to forge out 1903 rifles until the 20s (when they switched to gas furnaces). the real "secret" is preheating the feed air for the burner. that saves plenty of BTUs otherwise wasted, increases efficiency of atomization, and efficiency of burn. that set-up in the vid just needs pre-heating of the combustion intake, and he'd get a hot enough pour.
look at cupola smelter designs, the tuyers (sp?) that feed combustion air to the melt get a few stages of pre-heating. granted a cupola uses coal usually, but they have poured iron off charcoal as well, which has far lower heat density than diesel.
if you use a centrifugal "trash pump" volute and impeller blower, then just hinge an intake tube of stainless at the blower inlet, so it overhangs the furnace exhaust in the lid. if you use a shop-vac type set-up (where the motor is actually exposed to the feed air), then you place a loop over the lid AFTER the blower. the only caveat is to make sure you get CLEAN air (not flue gasses), and to make sure your volume is high enough to run just a little lean (surplus oxygen).
you could also go exotic, and run nitrous oxide (twice as much oxygen per unit volume as air), or even oxygen, or even spray some hydrogen peroxide (not the first aid variety, lol) to increase temps, but that's a bit much for a home rig. surplus blower volume and pre-heating feed air should get you hot enough for a good pour. bear in mind, REAL iron (not his steel pour) runs about 500 degrees hotter still, so requires even more effort to get up to pour temps.
The metal pipe heated up and fed with oxigen is allso known as.a thermal lance you once its running you can cut through steel with it
add potassium nitrate or another oxidizer to cast iron to make rod iron and then mix rod and cast iron to make steel or just cast the rod iron because it is much less brittle
I've never seen anyone put themselves so often in peril. Mess on your workplace. No blockingsystem on your crusible, and your hit your crusible on the floor. thats very dangerous. With such temperatures you can not play. one mistake and you now eat with your elbow from your nose. Work safely and ensure a clean workplace with this beautiful hobby. Regards from Holland
The crucible tool works pretty well, haven't had issues with it yet. It deforms slightly when lifted so it holds pretty good through the pour, it even holds it upside-down. When pouring it never needs to go past the center of gravity either, so its not going to fall out when full of metal as long as I pour slow enough.
The crucible was full of aerated carbon/ glass coating from some of the scrap metal I melted and would not come out or melt. There was still a lot left in there after that.
Nice!
The hardest part with a fired furnace is simply to get up to temperature (although, blowing in oxygen solved that problem).
With an electric one (like I have) it's easy to get up to temperature - but the hard part is to not have the heating elements melting.
great work Ben N
Wow you reinvented the Bessemer furnace!
you are the man Ben , kicked its ass if i do say so myself
It was a good video. Your content is good, please don't think you need to cut it short. Good things don't always need to be quick.
Impressive furnace. I think you might like it better if you added handles to your lid.
yes lol
Ohh also you need to use talcum powder so the metal won't stick to the sand.
Silicon gives fluidity to metal, particularly Iron.
Thanks good video first you tuber that did home iron casting vs all aluminum boys.
Thanks! I gotta say that Luckygen1001 was casting iron before me on YT and has better videos than I
it is called an oxygen lance. and yes, that is how the pros do it
Get you some borax to help you with the dross!
For steel you don't use borax you use slag
I have seen someny Ideas about furnus this will be useful to improve my knowledge and skills
thanks! i dont know why i didnt think about it before
Is it really can melt IRON ?
Can getting 1500celcuis and more ?
2021... Still an awesome upload. 🤜🏼🤛🏼🇦🇺🍀🍀🍀😎
Make a video showing how to make your burner... that puts out some serious heat!
its in my aluminum foundry video
I like the content. It’s insane, I would never consider casting iron.
thanks for showing us how a drill works! Der.
You can buy ceramic filters for slag
You put a paper towel around a cylinder object for your lid.. it looked like duct tape rolls.. Did you use that as a mold/form for the lid's hole and remove it once the refractory cement cured, or did you keep it there? I noticed you were placing the lid on your foundry very carefully as if you were lining up an extruded part of the lid to insert into the center of the foundry opening.. Am I assuming correctly that you kept that roll of tape object in your lid as an extrusion so the lid can "lock in" into the foundry and seal the gaps? If so, that was a great idea that I havent seen anyone else use in their foundry-making videos. A big problem guys are having is they cant get their lid refractory perfectly level with the foundry's refractory top walls to create a great seal... The extruded refractory area in the lid would help combat leakage.
Get some boots and boot shields and a high temp cloths. one spill and your done, burn ya to the bone I've seen it happen!!
you can try putting lime it it aswell to act as flux on the top
I would probably get one of those heavy aprons blacksmiths wear.
I have a welder for melting metal with graphite Rods it
Get's 4500 to 5000 degrees Fahrenheit
Nice video! I would like to see more details of your burner and also what kind of crucible you are using. I've made the mistake of using a graphite crucible before and it ended up dissolving in the iron.
Great vid, liked and subscribed. And as others have said the video is nowhere near long
Looks good, but I see there is a problem about getting it hot enough for melting steel/iron. You could try and make a waste oil burner for it. With the right dimensions, I guarantee it will get hot enough to melt steel in. Pleasant side effect...it's much cheaper than propane. Also, you should get some flux material, or the metal will oxidize very quick. That's especially true on cast iron, which is a bitch when it comes to air.
However, for soft materials like Aluminium and Copper, your setup is quite sufficient.
I start it on propane then switch to diesel. I made the burner in my aluminum forge video
Aren't you supposed to use borax to prevent oxidation?
I don't know because obviously iron rusts when oxidized, but it seems like the rust would melt and turn back into iron, I'm not too smart with this stuff, so either I answered with a wrong answer, or I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective.
Joseph McClung did stainless steel lose its ability to not get rusty after you melt it?
Worked in a foundry in Bham. In order to pull impurities out we used limestone, the same stuff used on driveways. I found that when molten steel came in contact with water it would explode like tnt, when coming in contact with concrete the concrete would burn leaving large holes. We had to use steel toe boots with steel flaps covering the strings. Welders goggles to prevent permanent white spots in our vision. Our pour temps were in excess of 2500 degrees faren. This is something that you should work up to starting with alum, then copper and brass. Please be careful and be prepared for the worst !
@@g_cassiopeiae3965 Hey sry I'm a bit late but stainless steel is basically steel alloyed with chrome (13% minimum for stainless qualification) and brome i believe. So, if you don't extract these materials from the steel, it should stay stainless
use a palm sander to vibrate the cement
"can't really see much past that fire tornado"
Have you done any more steel melts since this vid?
Looks awesome! great build!
Lots! it works great
Epic. You should cast a frying pan
Please , why heating fresh refractory cement with torche or diesel ? Can I leave it to dry without using fuel ?
Impressive my great wonderful new friend !! 😁 massive props bro with your ingenuity on your 3k foundry build man !!!
I've never actually even heard of that 'Cast-O-Lite' material which you used to build your sidewall insulating layer dude; having said that, hot damn I'm *as luck/fortune/misfortune/shitty rotten bullshit has it* after allowing a friend 'BORROW' my forge/foundry to create some gold & silver cluster fuck for a surprise meant for his girlfriend, um...suffice it to say that I now simply have myself a whole new project to do: BUILD MYSELF ANOTHER FORGE / FOUNDRY
Thanks so so very damn much for showing that outstanding information kind sir, equally too your introduction of that new building material !! I highly appreciate it !!
anything like this >>>>cat videos.
Cool video, you need some of that shiny tinfoil looking fire gear that covers your entire body including your feet so you don't ever get splashed. Anyway good work.
Workin Alday Shit's expensive.
Roonasaur Yea I imagine it would be, but with all the DIY videos on this thing I would think that someone would have already managed to make some of that stuff on their own. Could probably get some on the cheap if you look around.
Workin Alday The Shiny fire suits are actually designed for protection against thermal radiation, like when a person is near something very hot. For protection against hot stuff contacting your clothing (like a splash) as long as your gear is an insulator and won't combust you'll be just as safe (As long as its thick enough and covers everything)
+Roonasaur So is getting a prosthetic limb.
Roonasaur so are hospital visits
COOL! Ceramic blanket? that is news...not to iron, but i will give a shot to copper:)
Would it make sense to dip those casted iron parts in oil like the people do who make swords and stuff? Would that make that iron more elastic and harder to bridle because more carbon would bind to the surface of the cast? Just wondering is it smart to cool the parts with water...
Quenching is used to harden metal yes, but swords and the like are steel not iron and are forged not cast. Quenching cast iron is a no no it can crack or worse shatter and if done in oil = flaming oil/hot metal eruption.
Great video thanks. I understand the butane torch but at1:34, you said "Diesel for another 2h" how do you heat it up with diesel?
Why did you use mizzou plus? How many bags of cast-o-lite did you use? And can I use cast-0-lite to make a crucible?
This is impressive. Do you plan to do more videos like this?
Are you planing on making wootz or bulat, or any other kind of high carbon crucible steel, such as beer botle caps, and some maple leaves
did you use extra oxygen gas in this system?