Metal Casting Zone

Just wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone. I will be browsing the forums quite a bit over the next few weeks. I have just recently been interested in metal casting and have never done it before. I'm still looking for the best way to start out. There are quite a few variables to consider, so anyone who wants to shout out a tip or two feel free. I'd like to start out with something cheap and simple and perfect it before moving on.

Welcome to the forum! For cheap and easy, the two quickest routes are probably a charcoal furnace and lost foam casting. Both involve a minimum of equipment and expertise, and a good scrounger can do both dirt cheap. It all depends on what you are trying to do, if you are just making ingots or you have a contract with NASA for space shuttle spare parts . The best advice I can give you to start out is find your crucible first and build the furnace to suit, and don't get hung up on making it perfect. Aluminum and pot metal are easy to melt, and it doesn't take much of a setup to have good results. Not as specific advice as you would probably want, but I hope it helps. Good luck, think safety first, and post pics of your progress.

Thanks, yeah for now its just going to be melting to ingots at least till I get the hang of it. I like the idea of charcoal for its simplicity, I did not think at first it could get the heat high enough to melt. I have looked at crucibles and thought about a graphite one which is about 3 and 1/8" x 3 and 1/8". Thanks for the input and I will try to put photos up as I build it and try it.

welcome to the forum.. you got some sound advice from odd duck i think you will be surprised just how easy it is. my latest surprise is find out how easy it is to make a ceramic crucible. you will need to master your furnace and burner first and have plenty of practise at ramming up sand .....and you may have to cast yourself a lathe so you can machine out the mold for a crucible!!! its all possible ... ive done it and i cant see any reason why others cant. you have to start somewhere! i started with just melting down drink cans.

I thought about starting out with something simple like that, I hear though that they contain vinyl or some coating on the interior of the can that could be toxic if exposed for long periods.

Welcome to the forum. Cans have a lot of waste but they are plentiful. Charcoal will melt Aluminum and Brass with a blower like an old vacuum exhaust or blow dryer.

Welcome to the forum...
This is a good place to sound out ideas and get advice from a lot of experienced hobby casters. Starting out on the cheap is always a good idea I think,in fact it's my guiding principle...
If you want to read about a years worth of trial and error attempts before finding the forum,check out my web site.
www.blindpigetc.com
Good luck building and casting.........

Hello, guess its time for my 2 cents worth want really cheap just build a fire add some draft and get melting. Basically you can dig a hole in the ground add a pipe and a small blower (hair dryer) for draft and then all you need is something to melt metal in. Cans arent very good but they do work as long as you dont mind about 50% of the weight being wasted.
So what is it that you want to build that got you interested in metal casting?