Vinegar and Lye for testing magnesium zinc and aluminum

 ChirpyToday at 2:21 PM

the lye is used to test if it's zinc alloy or aluminum

[2:21 PM]

lye doesnt do much to zinc, but it reacts pretty agressively towards aluminum

Dusty Dan HToday at 2:21 PM

Oh I was thinking it bubbled on magnesium

ChirpyToday at 2:21 PM

vinegar bubbles on magnesium, lol

A Small Blower

 

This blower setup is a blow dryer powered by an refurbished slot car power pack from the mid 60s.   With the blower running the pack is delivering 13V.   On the bench supply the blower used 1A at 12V and 1.3A at 14V.

The original selenium rectifier	Replaced with 2 1N4007 diodes

The power pack was equipped with a selenium rectifier that was past it best used by date.  It was replaced with two 1N4007 diodes 1A diodes.  

, 

Given how simple this is I expect it will work well with the Dremel speed control which is a phase angle control.  Need to find or build a storage box. 

Larger Furnace Build

The build has been progressing and I have not been updating the blog.  My bad.   The plastic wheels were switched out in favor of these wire wheels.  

Welded tank to frame and made the fender	Moved burner up.   Patched over plumbing holes.

I originally installed the burner in the hole which originally held the natural gas control unit.  To get it above the drain I moved it up 2 inches and patched over that hole and the one which held the water tap.  Luckily I had welded the tyure to a bit of the left over tank so I could easily move it.  It will get 4 screws.

This takes me up to today.  Installing the ceramic wool.   The hope is to have enough left over for a new version of the test furnace, or maybe an electric burnout oven.  So I will try to conserve it where possible.

Cutting the ceramic wool.  Itchy crap!	First layer.

Second Layer	Perlite to level the bottom

I was thinking the perlite shift might be a problem but I don't see that happening especially after the satanite is applied to the bottom.  The perlite ranges from near zero at the plint to maybe 1 1/2 inches at the furnace wall.

Perlite in place	Jig to cut pattern for bottom insulation

I get a surprising amount of use out of this simple jig.  It was just something I cobbled together a while back but have not seen any need to improve on it.  The micro adjustable table saw fence it clamps to makes it very precise.

First the outside circle is cut	Then the inside

I made the pattern from a scrap of old wall paneling.   It was not quite 14 inches wide but rotating the pattern once while cutting creates the missing edges.

Top layer is cut as on piece	Bottom layer is pieced together

Top layer is cut as on piece	Bottom layer is pieced together

This completes the wool installation on everything but the lid.  Next I plan cut in the burner tube and coat the tank with satanite. When the satanite is heated it will also burn any coating off the tank lid.   If I don't do that I doubt I can get the sodium silicate to stick to it.

I could have made the inside layer a little bit longer but I think it will be OK.

Then I will need to clean up the lid and grind in a bit of tooth for the SS to bind to.  After that I will be applying the wool to the lid.  Most apt to be Chripy style.

I have a fair bit of wool left.   With luck I can use a lot of scrap on the cover but scraps will not cover it all.

The furnace ID is 14".

Should mention.  The flue stub will be supporting a capped pipe covered with wool and satanite.   Kind of like an upside down pipe crucible.   Different length pipes will result in different vertical crucible positions.  Yeah it's kind of experimental LOL 

Next came two coats of satanite after trimming a bit of the top edge with a serrated bread knife where on layer was a bit proud.

Mixing Satanite	Still Wet

Needed a non angled cut off to cut the flue out of the water heater during the foundry furnace build.  Rather than buy one I turned down a bolt and made an arbor that fit the Makita die grinder.  It can only be used at a reduced speed as the die grinder runs too fast.  Forgot and plugged the die grinder directly into the outlet and bent the mandrel.   If I ever need one again they are easy enough to make maybe use a grade 8 bolt next time.

 

Mobile Crane Update

 

5 lbs bees wax

 

head stock chuck

 

More organizers

 Started on mini shelves.  This version holds cardboard pie boxes from dollar general.  This is a 5 bay unit holding 20 boxes.  Four bays are complete in this photo   Materials are mostly salvaged.

A few days ago I made a collar to connect the 8” to twin 4“ hose transition on the dust collector.   Used the circle jig on the router.

Regarding greensand clay

 

Regarding greensand clay


Should have included the source for the above.

take a pvc pipe or whatever you use to cut feeders/risers with, and pack around 25mm of sand in the bottom loosely, then try blowing through it

that'll tell you if your sand can breathe

Larger furnace build

I have opted to use the 1.5HP TEFC motor on the muller.   The drive bits from the spa beds are too weak.  So I either have to make a stronger drive system or use the worm drive.

I already purchased 1" bearing and pillow blocks.  So I am headed in that direction.

Did the Amarillo trip and did not get sand or gutters.  Just too much to do in a day.

Wore us both out.  2 days to recover.

Aug 30 or there about LOL

Cut into the water tank.  The Diablo  blades are great.

Need to figure out the height. 

inches

5 to top of bottom, its curved
2 for wool

1/2 for satanite

3/4 for drain

2 for tyre  (this is generous)

2 more to keep flame off crucible

11 for Salamander A20 Cruciable + 3/4 top clearance

23 inches

Going for an oil burner with propane preheat

Thinking of a stainless exhaust pipe for the burner tube

Shop crane

The first attempt was to patch up what was already there.   A snatch block and a thicker cable were used.  Unfortunately the existing mast that held the rear pulley was weak and collapsed during testing.

Hub City gear box uses Mobil 600W

Gear box 0220-26661-2601

Model 2601

Ratio 150:1
Style LA-R

• MOBIL 600W SUPER CYLINDER OIL is an extra high performance high viscosity oil.
• Designed for use in enclosed worm gears operating at moderate to high speeds and temperatures.
• Recommended where heavy loads, slow speeds or high temperatures demand high viscosity oils.

Have not blogged in a while.  Setup for turning on centers.  Drive plate came with the dividing head.  Dog is a chunk of steel.  Pulley blank is glued on with locktite

The fan went on out the Linde AC stick welder.  Using a room fan with the case off for now.

Visited Harbor Freight and a portable band saw followed me home.  Also picked up a set of parallels and another angle grinder.