The "2 bucks" furnace

08-15-2012 • http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com,

The form to leave the inner core of the furnace is rolled from several pieces of cardboard taped together. The inner core will be 6 1/2 inches diameter which will hold my 4" crucible nicely. The forms are rolled over 6" coffee cans.

This is the burner support pipe. I used a method called "parallel line development" to make the paper template which tells me where to cut the pipe so it will contour with the inside of the refractory.

Here I am cutting the contour on the pipe with a small handheld grinder and cutting wheel. It's a cheap imported "no-name" brand but works very well. I bought it for $13.00 at a flea market. If I waited 'til I got to a booth 20 feet away I'd have gotten it for $10.00!

The cutting wheel is a name brand wheel however.

At last both buckets are prepped and ready for refractory. Notice how the "burner support pipe" contours to the inside form.

These buckets are galvanized and I recommend non-galvanized if you can find them. But from my experience the outside of the furnace doesn’t get hot enough to vaporize the zinc and release toxic fumes.