Metal Casting Zone

I'm new here and thought I'd better say g'day. I read about making furnaces and casting by accident and it's really caught my attention. I'm keen to have a crack at it and see what sort of wonderful things I can come up with. As soon as I can find a supplier near enough to me, to get some suitable refractory cement, that won't send me bankrupt on delivery fees, I'm doing it and getting this thing underway. Heehar!!!

Hello & welcome,the closest on the mainland would be in Melbourne Vic.If you have no luck in Tas you may look at Darley Refractories Australia Pty Ltd.Phone 0353672300, Fax 0353672991, E: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Web www.darleyrefractories.com.au the website is worth a look & I must say they are good to work with.The photo on my profile is a woodfire brick ("PIZZA" oven using some of their firebricks.If you went down this path deliveries would probably go on the big red boat!!!!Good luck. Cheers Trev

Goodonya Bunyip! Thanks for that. I'd done a bit of searching around without much luck and now you've made it all easy for me. Many thanks

Oh yeah, forgot to add, that's a wicked looking pizza oven. I can see where you get 'bunyip' from, lol.

The beasty on top for a chimny is a hollow clay sculpture fired (earthenware) of mine; about a metre tall.Cheers

Welcome from nearly the opposite end of the earth! If you can't find commercial refractory, try pottery or masonry suppliers for fireclay or kaolin, kaolin being preferable. Or, barring that, dig up clay in your backyard and use that. Don't get too hung up on exactly what your furnace "needs" to be made out of, a hole in the ground will work in a pinch. You don't need much for aluminum and the occasional brass melt. It might not last as long as one made from commercial refractory, but it'll get you started and may be substantially cheaper.

Thanks for the welcome and the advice Odd Duck. Due to Bunyips help I reckon I should be able to get hold of some good quality refractory materials. I'm intending to go for a furnace that will melt iron. I can imagine lots of people saying "hang on a minute, take it a step at a time and do some aluminium first". But I have an urge to make a furnace that runs on waste oil and melts whatever I chuck into it. lol. I've found some stuff on the internet about how to go about doing it and will start scrounging some bits and pieces as soon as I get a bit of time. Meanwhile, I'll order some of the cement from the link that Bunyip gave me. Won't be long and I should have some molten blobs of something laying about. Then I'll start having a bash at turning those blobs into something a little less blobby and a bit more useful. (I always did like burning stuff)

Waste oil rules. That's what I use in my big furnace and it is cast iron capable easily. I use a Moya/hotshot style burner, and it works like a champ. Nearly bulletproof once you figure out the care and feeding. FWIW I went the clay route and it hasn't turned into a heap of slag yet. I used kaolin for my clay, however. As far as starting out with iron, go big or go home, but make sure you have some substantial safety gear and a good supply of crucibles. Start out with aluminum just to figure out the basic melting, molding and pouring process. It can still get exciting in a hurry.
Remember, you never have failed castings, you're just making fancy ingots. Have fun, and post pics of your progress!

I like your style OddDuck. The way you talk brings a smile to me. Thanks for the tips, advice and the encouragement. When you say 'go big', how big are you thinking?

Welcome to the forum.

The largest size you need is usually a little bigger than your set up for.
It's some kind of law or something.