Metal Casting Zone

ive been using this muller for over a year now and have been very satified with the design but ive worn it out! so i made a couple of new ones (might last me a week or two lol lol)





my old one started life the same size as my new ones.

Er ... so how does that thing work? Do you attach it to drill?

By-the-way ... I just mixed my refractory Saturday, letting it "marinate" before I pack it in the furnace and lid. How do I know when it's the right consistency? How will I know when it's dry? How do I dry it?

here is pic taken months ago ! before i thought up the aluminium stock pot idea. lol

Firestix wrote:
Er ... so how does that thing work? Do you attach it to drill?

By-the-way ... I just mixed my refractory Saturday, letting it "marinate" before I pack it in the furnace and lid. How do I know when it's the right consistency? How will I know when it's dry? How do I dry it? grab a sample of your mix and squeeze it in your hands....does it feel like clay??? will it hold its shape??? if so i would say its about right to use. ram it up nice and tight. think of it as if you were making a brick for your house. let it dry out slowly for a while ( a week or two) then you apply some low temp heat . if you see a lot of steam STOP!!!! if no steam is then increase the heat in short bursts letting it cool down in between. then you fire it!!! full temp always on the look for steam though. steam indicates excess moisture! steam in excess will crack the lining so most slowly dry it just to be sure than sorry!

Like play dough clay? Mine feels gritty ... it holds it shape but it's more gritty than sticky and pliable. In the Gingery book it says to mix it until it's consistency is like stiff mortar ... and I don't even know what regular mortar is like.
Also it warned about letting it air dry ... something about the outer layer of the refractory drying but the inside still containing moisture causing spalling/spalding.

as for making a brick for my house... clueless again I can make my own bricks and build a house with them?
Think of the $$$ I could save!

my only other suggestion is to take a sample of your mix and ram it up in a plastic bucket. just tap around the bucket lightly just to loosen the mix. if it comes out all loose and crumbly its too dry. if it doesnt come out or sticks in the bucket its too wet. if it comes out and holds its shape its just fine. if you are really worried grab a small tin and "line" with your mix (make a small model furnace)is there a way you can take a vid?? of your mix so we can see it?? take it with you punching it,squeezing it, and mulling it in your fingers. only by seeing it can i comment further.

Sounds great, I'll do the tests and the vid!
Thanks for your help.

Here's my muller. It's a bulb planter from Lowe's. Works pretty well. I got a big one from Harbor Freight, I think it's a paint mixer. I'll have to hook it up to a motor, it would burn my drill up.


Here's how I check to see if the green stregth is right. It holds it's shape and breaks cleanly.

that looks nifty jammer. i havent seen anything like it over here i have a big mixer for paint but my 1/2 inch drill isnt up the task. i tried a while back to get an old drill. the old geared headed ones that if the drill caught it would break your arm or spin you around! lol they are keenly sought after even if they are 40 yr old. (they didnt come with wheels lol)by tilers for mixing up grout. the last one i saw sold went for $450.00

re-mixing/conditioning greensand [or petrobond for that matter] used to be a really back aching job,taking the fun out of foundrywork till I tried using a plaster type mixer on a 1/2" drill it's a hexagon rod with two disks about 3" in dia with holes in them & they're handed a bit like a propellor I have them about 3" apart the bottom one swirls the sand upover & the top one swirls it downover,you just swirl it about in the sand in a bucket the sand comes up like snuff!!! no need for mullers etc & you can allways pick drills up at carboot sales cheap.