You have made a number of mistakes here, I don't want to sound condescending because that is not my intention. But, if I can help other who try this it can only be a good thing. Okay, to start, as you have found out, you did not fire this properly to remove the moisture content, and allowing it to cure. I would never suggest that you use plaster of Paris (aka pop) in the first place, but if you choose to you should at least use a 50/50 mix of kiddies play sand and pop, when you make a kiln this way use as little water as humanly possible and ram it in to your mold as to avoid any air bubbles, even if this means making many small batches, because it will require this. Air bubbles are a disaster waiting to happen, if you make a very wet mix, yes it is quicker to pour, however, curing can take weeks! no joke. I have a lot of experience in this field, I melt copper and tin together regularly to make bronze reenactment swords. A mix that is going to be a little more expensive than the pop is this: 1/3 silica sand (kiddies play sand), 1/3 perlite (crushed into a fine powder) and 1/3 fire clay.....now, I know fire clay is a little bit more expensive than pop, but honestly if you need a kiln to run high temperatures for extended periods of time and you want to use it on a regular basis without problems, well.....This is the most affordable way to do it. Not to mention that pop when used at temps over 1300°c will degrade and release sulfur trioxide gas, which you do not want to be breathing in......unless you want to die, which I am going to take a stab in the dark and guess that's not what you are looking for ;-) Anyway, if you take my advice, you are still going to need to ram it (it's not a hard process), it's easy because the materials you will use take a good amount of time to "go off"/dry and cure. And you can do this simply by using the flat end of a shortened broom handle and basically bashing it into the mold, unless you have a press like me which makes it a whole lot easier. Once made, it needs to air dry, I like to leave mine for at least 3 days before transferring into my gas oven and leave it in their for 4 hours at 100°c, after this allow to cool naturally in oven. After it has cooled it is time for the first gas firing, and this is also done with the lowest flame on your burner, graduated heating, very slowly over a few hours to bring it up to temperature. I hope that this is at least a little helpful. I would make a video, but I do not own a camera, sorry about that :-/ If I have missed anything, which I may have done I am sorry, I am tired. But, if you are in need of help I would be glad to advise you. my email is oneillshosho@hotmail.com don't be shy, if you need help, I will do my best to accommodate you. Best wishes Pete ;-)
Never been a fan of perlite because I never used it for my cacti and succulents. But I always had good results growing desert plants using vermiculite. Always had some on hand. Then to my surprise I learn of its refractory properties and my first little bucket incinerator was made with 1/3 vermiculite 1/3 sand 1/3 clay I dug after the rains. Packed in tightly. It’s held up to some insane fires. What do you think would make a better slip recipe for casting refractory materials? (Using the above mentioned ingredients as a start). Was thinking some thin set mortar which I believe is cement and sand. Or plaster of Paris. I’m interested in what you think?
@@kingofthejungle3833 this guy got lucky i remember a dude who used plaster of paris for a furnace base made every mistake possible his lid literally emploded and the rest cracked and exploded basically this is the reason i took the time to go get some firebricks clay and fire resistent cement rated for 1900 degree in worst case scenario so i don't have to be to worried if stuff goes south
@@babylordmetal2669 Its going to crack after 2 or 3 times of use but is ok , the first time everithing is a mess , happened to me , so the last that I built was made with refractory briks and refractory mortar in a steel bucket.
@@girar813 I really dont know but if you want to start is ok to make it with construction sand and plaster , dont invest too much and melt aluminium and get experience , then if you like it and want to go further with copper or other metals then is time to make something more expensive.
straight plaster wont work well, it needs something (i heard it referred to as grog) to prevent it from cracking which kind of forms a chain reaction to failure. Most often sand is used.
You should of used an aggregate like silica sand in conjunction with the calcium sulphate. also pre fitting a coiled wire in the lid before casting it will add structural integrity. It also looks as if there are many air bubbles and inconsistencies in your plaster mix, be sure to either Stoke or vibrate this mixture once you have cast it and before it dries, to avoid gas expansion within the furnace to avoid structural failure. Good luck
Remember, every failure is a learning experience. I know it wouldn't hold up, but your video gave me a way to see what would happen. Sometimes those "won't work" ideas actually do work, so it's still good to try. Well, someone tries. I'd like to avoid failures as long as possible. :)
Jimmy,As you probably know by now, just making it from Plaster of Paris won't work. By mixing the plaster with equal parts of Play Sand allows the mixture to withstand the intense heat. And by placing or installing it inside a bucket or an old propane tank properly cleaned out, gives the forge integrity and structure. Today, I just made the one from Grant Thompson's You Tube channel "The King of Random", but I modified it slightly to accept a propane torch head from Harbor Freight instead of the blowdryer tube.
Hi did you reinforce with a bird mesh? Like a heavy gauge chicken wire? More sand is needed to make it stronger. One guy says 50/50 ratio. I was going to make one out of high strength mortar and fibreglass matting ( heavy stuff. )
I would have left the support structure around the plaster furnace. a metal pot or something. not sure what would have worked for the lid though. atleast we all learned something
G Thompson guide isn't the best option, it's only for on demand for a few time use. Even he admited the furnace crumble cracked after first use. Still people follow his guide as bible and spread the word, making way harder to look for reliable guide.
Got the idea from someone else's video...didn't work..so I'm going to build another one from perlite, fireclay & portland cement mixed together...Also going to use wood/charcoal to fuel it instead of propane...anticipating more success.
It was straight plaster of paris. I slowly raised the temperature of the plaster of paris to 500 degrees in my oven to make sure it was fully dried out before attempting to fire.... using a steel bucket inside & out probably would have worked better...but I'm going with a higher end refractory for my next attempt.
Did you let it cure slowly? plaster of paris contains a lot of water and if you didn't cure it slowly and just fired it up after say 45 minutes to furnace heat I believe that would make it crack.
mix it plaster and sand 50/50 then use a 7 plaster to 5 water ratio and mix it together. also use a steel bucket for the outside just in case. the day after I poured my plaster, while it was still wet, I fired mine up immediately and it melted some aluminum and didn't crack.
Thank you daniel hudson !! Exactly the answer I was looking for ! I've made the Grant Thompson model (with a much quieter blower) a few days ago and was wondering if I needed to let the thing dry before firing it up. Thanks Again !!
+daniel hudson Did a first burn today for a solid 2 hours. My lid cracked as I fully expected it to. I can make it hold for a while by circling it with long hose clamps. =) The next one I cast will be reinforced with a spiral of wire as a saw suggested in the comments on a different foundry vid. It worked like a champ, melted down a bunch of cans and came out with 2 nice Ingots. Gonna band the lid and fire it up again tomorrow !
+Numisaccent It works, it doesn't last long though. After heat curing, it becomes stiff, but still soft, sort of like chalk. It can be used maybe 5-10 times before it starts to break.
U didn't mention your recipe at all for this... That makes ur video completely useless... If u only used plaster of Paris by itself, of course its gonna crack under heat like this. U have to add sand to the mixture.
You have made a number of mistakes here, I don't want to sound condescending because that is not my intention. But, if I can help other who try this it can only be a good thing. Okay, to start, as you have found out, you did not fire this properly to remove the moisture content, and allowing it to cure. I would never suggest that you use plaster of Paris (aka pop) in the first place, but if you choose to you should at least use a 50/50 mix of kiddies play sand and pop, when you make a kiln this way use as little water as humanly possible and ram it in to your mold as to avoid any air bubbles, even if this means making many small batches, because it will require this. Air bubbles are a disaster waiting to happen, if you make a very wet mix, yes it is quicker to pour, however, curing can take weeks! no joke. I have a lot of experience in this field, I melt copper and tin together regularly to make bronze reenactment swords.
A mix that is going to be a little more expensive than the pop is this: 1/3 silica sand (kiddies play sand), 1/3 perlite (crushed into a fine powder) and 1/3 fire clay.....now, I know fire clay is a little bit more expensive than pop, but honestly if you need a kiln to run high temperatures for extended periods of time and you want to use it on a regular basis without problems, well.....This is the most affordable way to do it.
Not to mention that pop when used at temps over 1300°c will degrade and release sulfur trioxide gas, which you do not want to be breathing in......unless you want to die, which I am going to take a stab in the dark and guess that's not what you are looking for ;-)
Anyway, if you take my advice, you are still going to need to ram it (it's not a hard process), it's easy because the materials you will use take a good amount of time to "go off"/dry and cure. And you can do this simply by using the flat end of a shortened broom handle and basically bashing it into the mold, unless you have a press like me which makes it a whole lot easier.
Once made, it needs to air dry, I like to leave mine for at least 3 days before transferring into my gas oven and leave it in their for 4 hours at 100°c, after this allow to cool naturally in oven.
After it has cooled it is time for the first gas firing, and this is also done with the lowest flame on your burner, graduated heating, very slowly over a few hours to bring it up to temperature.
I hope that this is at least a little helpful. I would make a video, but I do not own a camera, sorry about that :-/
If I have missed anything, which I may have done I am sorry, I am tired. But, if you are in need of help I would be glad to advise you. my email is oneillshosho@hotmail.com don't be shy, if you need help, I will do my best to accommodate you.
Best wishes
Pete ;-)
Great, Well explain
The first thing I noticed were his air bubbles, air bubbles are the death of anything when it comes to casting, and I'm an amitur
Never been a fan of perlite because I never used it for my cacti and succulents. But I always had good results growing desert plants using vermiculite. Always had some on hand. Then to my surprise I learn of its refractory properties and my first little bucket incinerator was made with 1/3 vermiculite 1/3 sand 1/3 clay I dug after the rains. Packed in tightly. It’s held up to some insane fires. What do you think would make a better slip recipe for casting refractory materials? (Using the above mentioned ingredients as a start). Was thinking some thin set mortar which I believe is cement and sand. Or plaster of Paris. I’m interested in what you think?
@@kingofthejungle3833 this guy got lucky i remember a dude who used plaster of paris for a furnace base made every mistake possible his lid literally emploded and the rest cracked and exploded basically this is the reason i took the time to go get some firebricks clay and fire resistent cement rated for 1900 degree in worst case scenario so i don't have to be to worried if stuff goes south
add some sand to it guy
50 % sand , 50% plaster of paris , next time.
+multimossad Play sand, not silica sand, too :)
What if i use ordinary backyard sand brother?
@@babylordmetal2669 Its going to crack after 2 or 3 times of use but is ok , the first time everithing is a mess , happened to me , so the last that I built was made with refractory briks and refractory mortar in a steel bucket.
@@multimossad what if i use sand which we use for making like jar or kitchen instruments
@@girar813 I really dont know but if you want to start is ok to make it with construction sand and plaster , dont invest too much and melt aluminium and get experience , then if you like it and want to go further with copper or other metals then is time to make something more expensive.
I'm making one now with send 50/50 mix and I'm keeping it in a steel bucket. It's been about 2 days for dry time.
How did it turn out?
I made so many soldering irons but my insulators are fiberglass sleeves. I would love to make new ones with ceramics as insulators.
straight plaster wont work well, it needs something (i heard it referred to as grog) to prevent it from cracking which kind of forms a chain reaction to failure. Most often sand is used.
mix with sand 1 to 1 ratio I have had a forge made out of it for years still works great
Are you saying normal sand?? Or combining with cement or other things?
Plaster its self can't hold together but it can withstand the heat
You should of used an aggregate like silica sand in conjunction with the calcium sulphate. also pre fitting a coiled wire in the lid before casting it will add structural integrity. It also looks as if there are many air bubbles and inconsistencies in your plaster mix, be sure to either Stoke or vibrate this mixture once you have cast it and before it dries, to avoid gas expansion within the furnace to avoid structural failure. Good luck
Remember, every failure is a learning experience. I know it wouldn't hold up, but your video gave me a way to see what would happen.
Sometimes those "won't work" ideas actually do work, so it's still good to try. Well, someone tries. I'd like to avoid failures as long as possible. :)
Jimmy,As you probably know by now, just making it from Plaster of Paris won't work. By mixing the plaster with equal parts of Play Sand allows the mixture to withstand the intense heat. And by placing or installing it inside a bucket or an old propane tank properly cleaned out, gives the forge integrity and structure. Today, I just made the one from Grant Thompson's You Tube channel "The King of Random", but I modified it slightly to accept a propane torch head from Harbor Freight instead of the blowdryer tube.
Hi did you reinforce with a bird mesh? Like a heavy gauge chicken wire? More sand is needed to make it stronger. One guy says 50/50 ratio. I was going to make one out of high strength mortar and fibreglass matting ( heavy stuff. )
So you used ONLY plaster of Paris?
I'd have thought that you'd something with the pop to make less brittle
You should try mixing play sand with the plaster. After that, line it with foundry cement.
did you use the sand too?
I would have left the support structure around the plaster furnace. a metal pot or something. not sure what would have worked for the lid though. atleast we all learned something
fuck the lid I just use a steel lid with a handle and a hole in the middle
Also I have seen people melt aluminum with plaster of paris and according to the videeo not one crack appeared.
G Thompson guide isn't the best option, it's only for on demand for a few time use. Even he admited the furnace crumble cracked after first use. Still people follow his guide as bible and spread the word, making way harder to look for reliable guide.
The ones i saw had a hairdryer and bouquets not a propain blow torch
Got the idea from someone else's video...didn't work..so I'm going to build another one from perlite, fireclay & portland cement mixed together...Also going to use wood/charcoal to fuel it instead of propane...anticipating more success.
Could you please share if the plaster of paris was mixed with anyting ( sand for example ) and the ratios that you used? Thanks.
cubaniton74 Straight Plaster of Paris...won't do that again..fun, but didn't work
thats why..you cant just use straight plaster paris
Jimmy Yurko Ok, thanks.
Richard gross That's what I was thinking. Thanks.
It was straight plaster of paris.
I slowly raised the temperature of the plaster of paris to 500 degrees in my oven to make sure it was fully dried out before attempting to fire....
using a steel bucket inside & out probably would have worked better...but I'm going with a higher end refractory for my next attempt.
Should have done a plaster and sand mix of 50/50
Did you let it cure slowly? plaster of paris contains a lot of water and if you didn't cure it slowly and just fired it up after say 45 minutes to furnace heat I believe that would make it crack.
Micscience slowly cured over a couple days...raised to over 500 degrees in the oven before the first fire..
how do we know it didnt actually not work and he just hit it with a hammer before he shot the video?!?!??
mix it plaster and sand 50/50 then use a 7 plaster to 5 water ratio and mix it together. also use a steel bucket for the outside just in case. the day after I poured my plaster, while it was still wet, I fired mine up immediately and it melted some aluminum and didn't crack.
Thank you daniel hudson !!
Exactly the answer I was looking for !
I've made the Grant Thompson model (with a much quieter blower) a few days ago and was wondering if I needed to let the thing dry before firing it up.
Thanks Again !!
+Dave B I'm making a new one soon with concrete/mortar. should work better
+daniel hudson Did a first burn today for a solid 2 hours.
My lid cracked as I fully expected it to.
I can make it hold for a while by circling it with long hose clamps. =)
The next one I cast will be reinforced with a spiral of wire as a saw suggested in the comments on a different foundry vid.
It worked like a champ, melted down a bunch of cans and came out with 2 nice Ingots.
Gonna band the lid and fire it up again tomorrow !
quartz powder + plaster of paris woks too.
Used with sand in a 15 gal propane tank plaster of paris will work ive melted copper with mine
Half play sand and half plaster of Paris. My forge has lasted more times than I can count on both hands, melting aluminum and brass.
Is it normal sand we use for building?
@@girar813 I just used some play sand from the local building supply store
@@armychris8909 play sand?? It is new word for me. Does it have other name? Or is it cement?
@@girar813 sand that you find at the beach, that is in a bag.
@@armychris8909 thank you,!! I hope it will be good
I found that mixing sand with the plaster of Paris, doesn't work either.
+Numisaccent
It works, it doesn't last long though. After heat curing, it becomes stiff, but still soft, sort of like chalk. It can be used maybe 5-10 times before it starts to break.
if you would have mix that with sand in a steel bucket yes it will work i have one
it can work with plaster of paris you juste need to mix playsand with it i did it and i can even melt copper in it !
What ratios did you use for the mixture and how long did you wait for it to dry before its first use (melting copper, aluminum, etc)?
1/2 plaster of paris 1/2 sand plus water dont use more than half of sand because the forge will desintegrate
Okay, thanks for the reply :)
no probs
I assume you used Grant's design, how long did you wait to use the furnace? Do you think waiting 24 hours will be enough?
sand & plaster of paris work fine. this is one dodgy lookin make
Mix wood ash , clay , and plaster paris should be better
I can't believe a UA-cam star is my teacher
Shakes head.
PoP and play sand make a better one
Hi hannah
Grace Garren What about me? ;-;
+Nagisa Momoe (Charlotte) love u collin
U didn't mention your recipe at all for this... That makes ur video completely useless...
If u only used plaster of Paris by itself, of course its gonna crack under heat like this.
U have to add sand to the mixture.