This is not a “How to” site!  My sole intention is to present a narrative of a project that I undertook.  I make no
claims or guarantees that anyone else can do it or that they should ever attempt to reproduce or duplicate, either
entirely or in part, anything pictured, written or alluded to on this site.

Certain aspects of metalworking can be very dangerous or potentially even fatal if adequate precautions are not
taken.  I make no attempt to list any hazards connected with metalworking on this site.  Even with adequate safety
precautions, metalworking can still be hazardous!

                                                         *****
My garage was a mess with very little room to work.  Most of my tools were old and in need of repair.  When I decided
to explore metalcasting I knew I would have to do something about my work and tool situation.  Didn't have a lot of
money to remodel the garage and buy tools but decided to do what I could.  If I couldn't afford to do it right.....then I
could at least afford to make it a little better.  I scrounged up some very nice cabinets that were taken out of an office
that was being remodeled.  Actually they gave them to me to get rid of them.

           Before                                                                                                                  After
                                                                                                                            






Even though I put up an "after" picture, the garage project is not completed and probably actually never
will be but it is now a space I can work in.

                                                         *****
Beginnings
I became interested in metal casting in a roundabout way.  I sporadically collect a few coins and am curious about how
the first coins were produced (cast) about 2600 years ago in Lydia, Asia Minor (current-day Turkey).  I decided to see
if I could do that; cast coin planchets and coins and maybe make some primitive dies.  I know very little about
metalworking but was confident that I could do it.  After all, if the primitive dweebs of 600 BCE could do it surely a
sophisticated 21st century person like I will have no problems! Right? ;-)

In practice it turned out to be a little more difficult than I first imagined, especially since I have very few metalworking
tools and even less knowledge.  So much for my 21st century superiority!

So I began to explore the internet, found Lionel Oliver's Backyard Metalcasting pages, ordered some of his literature,
and decided to build a furnace.  I read a lot of information from the Internet (followed all of Lionel’s links and their links
and their links, etc.) and checked out books from the public library about metal casting and mold making, as well as a
few about clays and pottery while I was at it.  

Somewhere along the way I lost interest in the coin project (postponed indefinitely) but became fascinated with the
concept of fabricating my own stuff out of metal.  You can never have too much stuff!  Considering the many
possibilities in hobby metal casting, I think it is an activity that may be right up my alley!



Furnace’s origin
At work we had an air compressor break (it was quite old).  It seized; the spline holding the pulley on the compressor
shaft broke and took a good part of the shaft with it.  We bought a new air compressor and the old one sat in the
shop for a couple of years.  Later, during one of the shop's infrequent cleanings; it was given to me to get rid of or do
with as I please.

I never did get around to repairing it and after a couple of years of it taking up space in my already over-crowded
garage (two car garage but only one will fit), I decided that I didn't really have much use for an air compressor (I want
one of those neat little “pancake” compressors anyway).  So what to do with it?  I really hate to throw away such good
junk!  I think it will make a great furnace for melting metal and the compressor head and pistons will supply a little bit
of raw material too.
Hobby Metalcasting
Put that bad boy to work!
SS Crucible, not the
best solution but
cheap!
Lid
Compressor parts
Re-Assembled
Inside form and
blower/burner hole
A pour in a
greendsand mold.

Weights to hold the
flasks in position, a
plexiglas splash guard
and no concrete.
Using charcoal as
fuel and a shop vac
as a blower.
A little installation, a little fabrication, a
little tape and bedding, a little paint, a
little rearrangement, a little southern
ingenuity and a lot of sweat.
1.  The furnace and flasks are on a concrete
sidewalk; in the case of spills, concrete and
molten metal don't mix; they sort of explode.  
Even though I spread some sand around, it
wasn't adequate!

2.  The site is far too cluttered posing a very
real tripping hazard!  Stumbling around with a
crucible full of molten metal is a big no-no.

3.  Please learn the 7 p's.  Proper Prior
Planning Prevents P**s Poor Performance.
Refractory