Monday, 22 Apr 2008

These are the last two melts I've created. I just received the book on how to make sand molds and will soon have a molded part uploaded.


Thursday, 10 Apr 2008

I finished the blower funnel and tested it. It was a complete flop. There was actually less air coming from the nozzle then from the fan itself. I finally decided to get a hair dryer so I could do a test firing of the furnace. The first test firing of the furnace. I melted a few ounces of aluminum and now have a blob of aluminum. Now I know the furnace works. Here is a picture and a video of the action.


Wednesday, 2 Apr 2008

Added these finished pictures of the Furnace. This is what it's supposed to look like and work. I am still working on building the Blower Fan Duct, and should be done this weekend.



Monday, 24 Mar 2008

These are the most recent pictures of the furnace. I will work on the fan/blower this week, and hopefully be able to start melting this weekend.



Sunday, 16 Mar 2008

The solution still has not run through the filter. Only about 1/2 of it has. Upon further research, a regular gravity filter will not work. I must use a Buchner Funnel. This type uses a vacumn to pull the solution through the filter.

Saturday, 15 Mar 2008

Tried mixing 1 part soil, 2 parts Sodium Hydroxide, and 3 parts water. Stirred it for several minutes. The solution got so hot, I could barely hold the cup. Let it stand for about 30 minutes, then dumped the solution through a coffee filter. I let this stand overnight because it was not passing through the filter that quickly.

Friday, 14 March 2008

I received the Sodium Hydroxide I ordered last week. It came as a solid powder. I will plan on mixing up a little solution tomorrow. Then I will add some soil from my yard and see what happens. This is the first step to making aluminum. Sodium hydroxide + Water + soil = Aluminum Hydroxide + red mud. The red mud is everything other than Aluminum. This red mud will be processed for other elements, but at a later date.

The second step involves roasting the Aluminum Hydroxide at something like 1000 degrees to drive off the water and turn it into Aluminum Oxide. And the last step is to use electrolysis to obtain the pure Aluminum. This step uses a mixture of cryolite and aluminum oxide. The cryolite is an electrolyte that facilitates the electron flow.

Thursday, 13 March 2008

Today I built half of the flower pot furnace. I got as far as pouring the concrete and drilling the holes. Now I have to wait for about a week so the concrete can cure. The furnace will burn at 1900 degrees and at that temp any water in the concrete will cause cracking. I also built the crucible. All that is left to do is to get a blower. The blower will be a hair dryer set on air only, no heat.

Tuesday, 11 Mar 2008

I received the book "The Flowerpot Crucible Furnace", by Lionel Oliver II. It explains how to build a furnace to melt aluminum, brass, bronze, zinc, and lead using simple house hold items. It uses a small trash can filled with concrete and insert a clay flower pot in the top. Drill a 2 inch hole in the side of the can and pot, for blower, and a 3 inch hole in the lid for exhaust. For the fuel you use bar-b-que charcoal bricketts and a 2 inch by 5 inch steel pipe with a cap on the bottom for the crucible, to hold the aluminum while melting. Once melted, you remove the crucible full of molten aluminum and pour it into your cast to make a part. Once I build it, I'll put a picture up here.

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