The Armour Archive

Anyone here successfully use this "flower pot furnace" to melt brass? (or any other metal?) its SOUNDS easy enough, which makes me rather skeptical.
http://www.hotroddisorder.com/p/casting ... r-pot.html
In this article he talks about making the furnace to melt alum. but in other articles claims to have melted brass for casting as well.
SO if it does work, how might it be improved? Could I use something besides charcoal? Perhaps propane? Maybe a couple of them weed burners from harbor freight? Suggestions? (That don't involve scrapping the whole idea and getting drunk, I already thought of that one)

I see absolutely no reason why that wouldn't work. The 'real' foundry I use myself is a homebuilt furnace made from a garbage can and refractory made from good fireclay and sand. I have found brass to be a giant pain to cast with. But this the limitations of what I use to fire my foundry (charcoal) and what I use to melt metal in (stainless steel). I have still achieved good melts, just not nearly as easily as with aluminum.
Due to some surprising accidental results recently, I just completed an experiment where I intentionally used no equipment to see how little was required to cast aluminum. It wasn't a fast process, but it worked.
This video was the results my casting with nothing experiment:

Im going to have a try at it, though Im going to purchase a graphite crucible and a few other odds and ends to hopefully make the whole process a little easier.

Same principle and pretty cool. Making a propane forge is not hard at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBVa2bw3 ... ata_player

Hie the to the backyard metal casting forums and learn from folks that specialize in casting!
backyardmetalcasting.com would be a good place to *start*.

What are you planing to cast?

Nasal pieces for my spangens, perhaps small tiles to rivet around the brow line, other odds and ends to pretty up some of my helms.

You know I have not been thinking this all the way through. I HAVE a heat source. I have a infrared flash unit capable of reaching 3000 degrees, which already has digital temperature control. I think I need some firebrick......

That sounds like a very useful kiln.
When are you arriving at pennsic?

You can find a lot of useful information for flowerpot furnaces and other smallish homebuilt casting furnaces at http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com

infrared panel not going to work, looking at pulling the heads off a pair of weed burners.

It does work, and its not hard. I made my furnace a little more intense using a clay chimney pipe and metal bucket with a Ron Peil style propane burner, turkey frier regulator and home made refractory for under $200. I have a friend who's trying to sell some firebricks, refractory, a regulator, kaowool, etc... If you PM me your email I'll give it to him

http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showthrea ... -of-course.

I've melted brass by accident with a setup using components Maximus listed. I suggest you cast with bronze instead of brass. The castings are crisp, and there's less risk of zinc fume poisoning. Be sure to ventilate very well.