DIY refractory coating experiment fired from Process Peek 20

Traded an air compressor for this finger press brake

A new tool for the shop.   I am not sure if this is a factory, cobbled together, or fully shop built unit.  It looks like what one might build with a plasma cutter.

It has twin rams on the main brake.  The secondary setup on the right looks to be more of a press but has a set of dies resting on a length of pipe.

Two years ago we bent up a rectangular cruciable with this too.  The cylinders need rebuilding.  Leaks.

What am I going to do with it.   Maybe its a tool looking for a purpose in my shop but I am expecting that it will.   If memory serves the corners on the cruciable had a decent radius for sheet metal work.  Thinking about a new electric burn out / tempering  / casting oven.

I arrived early.

And while moving things to make room for it I toppled my drill press and broke the table arm.







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First real cast

First cast is a set of smaller. 4 inch, poly-v pulleys for the master mill.  1 to 1 ratios should give me usable milling speeds.

The front one was cast in a shorter flask which may have been a mistake.   There maybe flaws in the hub.   But there is lots of meat there at may it can be machined off.

Small very light weight foundry using ceramic blanket and statanite

The lid is always the hardest.   Found an old galvanized steel feed pan.

The body is from an old shop vac.  Apparently some where in its life water has frozen and bulged out the bottom. 

The burner hole was cut with a hole saw.  Maybe not a good idea in that it grabbed because it breaks the 3 tooth in the work rule.  Have yet to check the saw for damaged teeth.  Did bend the pilot bit.

Attached the base with standoff's cut from old iron natural gas pipe.  The base is from a convection oven.

Roughly laid out three holes with the divider.

May need to tweak level a bit but it will work and that's what counts.

Added hooks to the lid.


















Replaced the blanked in the body and cut the burner hole in the blanket.  Sharpened the pipe end and used it to cut through the blanket using a twisting motion.  Easy!

Still need to put the hooks on.

Ready for first firing.   Maybe its best to coat the bottom of the furnace first.  Its the hardest to coat and requires the thinnest satanite.  I think I may have had it too stiff on the lid.  Ran over the lid with a wet brush, maybe that helped bond it.

Used the 3/4" naturally aspirated burner from the test furnace.

After firing.   The outside of the lid and top of cylinder did not get hot enough.  Will try it with stand offs.

Click twice to see the videos.

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Melted some aluminum scrap to test the furnace.  First muffins.