r/Metalfoundry

Sorry if this wasn't the place to get this identified but Idk where else to post it to get it identified.

Hi everyone,

I’ve never in my life used a kiln before and I would really appreciate some help.

My neighbor gave this to me for my refining endeavor. I got 2x 4 KG graphite crucibles off Amazon, rewired the kiln because the wiring was subpar and added a type N probe with a digital PID.

I set the kiln to 500 C and put the crucibles in for about half an hour. The next day I set it to 1100 C and melted about half a kilo in each crucible and poured it into shot. A lot of slag was left over and when I tried to peel it, it took some of the crucible with it.

How did I possibly destroy these crucibles from one melt?

Are they too close to the elements? Did I set it too high?

I tried stirring with a graphite rod, hoping to get rid of the slag before I poured, but very little stuck to the rod. It seems that no slag got into the shot anyways so that’s nice. But the crucibles were bubbling and making a little bit of noise when they got hot enough. Oxidizing? The slag is very light compared to the same volume of silver.

Thanks!!!

Hi there! New to this. My foundry is kinda loud and I’ve read it’s supposed to be loud but once it get cherry red inside it makes different hissing sound. And the paint where my gas is hooked up to starts burning. Is it alright or am I doing something wrong.

I had a lot of time to work on my copper this weekend. I managed to melt and pour about 20 pounds wort of new ingots, a few different sizes this time. I think I have a good system for pouring the copper now, and a more level surface. They are coming out more even. After cleaning them up, I put the laser to work around the clock! The bigger ones took about 20 hours each to engrave and the smaller ones about 10 hours. My phone's camera is really crappy, they look much better in person. One of these days I'll get a new one. What do you all think of these ones?

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These are the results of my first aluminum melt! 2 100oz bats. I'm excited to get into casting. I bought a used single burner furnace from a yard sale for 20 bucks along with 2 crucubles. One was filled with crap that didn't melt even when the crucible was nearly white hot. After it cooled there's some red crystals forming along the edges. I think that crucible is a lost cause for now. Luckily the bigger one was mostly clean and I was able to use it!