Ha, well thank you Grant. Your tutorial was spot on and made diving into this very easy. If you are ever in Texas, let me know. You can stop in and we can make something cool.
April Wilkerson - re the cement you used look for rapid set (quick setting) cement its the same stuff as the fire rated stuff you ordered and normally costs less.
Grant Thompson - "The King of Random" I've made a cast aluminum skillet from using The Foundry that you should have to make a long time ago sadly aluminum was not the best choice for a skillet cuz it's all dented now
her april i just wana say im a 12 year old i have got into wood working and you motivate me and keep my thru my depression and chear me up i like you and your vids keep up the good work! :D
Loved it April. I'm afraid to say you gave me a project I've thought about doing for a long time and now you given me that final push. I'm a locksmith and I've accumulated a lot of Brass over the years. I try to reclaim and resell a lot of the old stuff because I appreciate the feel and quality of the old hardware. You'll be surprised what a good wire brushing can do to an old solid brass piece. But junk like old keys, pins, cylinders and other scrap brass adds up and it's time for it to return to its original state. Thanks for the great video.
You provide so much enthusiasm and information, in such an entertaining way, that I hesitate to offer this critical observation. I have been involved in the foundry industry for over 50 years. The word foundry, as defined in many sources, is a noun identifying a place where castings are made. For many years, I operated a pattern company, where we built the pattern tooling for foundries. Most foundries use patterns to make expendable sand molds. Castings are made when molten metal is poured into the molds. Some foundries use gas furnaces to melt their metal. You have demonstrated a simple way to build a gas furnace for melting metal. The furnace is only one component of a foundry. Others, as you know, include sand handling, molding, core making, testing and cleaning. For several years, I was an engineer at a foundry about 90 miles south of Ft. Worth. If you are still in the area, I could arrange for a plant tour that would detail how complicated and impressive a commercial foundry can be. As for the home hobbyist, I salute the initiative and determination shown on UA-cam. Be careful of erroneous information on the Internet. It can lead to misconceptions. You have entered the fascinating world of foundry practice-an important part of manufacturing that still provides parts for numerous segments of society. I congratulate you on your presentation of building a gas furnace for melting metal. After you assemble the rest of the necessary equipment, you will have a foundry.
: ) please do not hesitate, I appreciate the information! It is how I learn. There is no way I can learn everything about a specialty such as casting in six days (which is the timeline I have to get a project done) so often times I learn just the surface level stuff to get going then learn double the amount from the comments left by those who have more experience. I really wish I was still close to Fort Worth so I could take you up on your tour offer! That would be awesome. Thankfully, through researching and buying material (like green sand) for this project, I've met several locals who are deep into the craft and are more than willing to share information.
Glad to see you back up and running. Sand casting is amazing, I did it many years ago, you need alignment pins on your drag and cope I did small things, jewelry and ornamental ,
Another awesome video / tutorial April. I really appreciate all of your effort and always enjoy watching and learning from your videos. Keep up the great work!! I also appreciate how you properly respond to comments, etc. You receive constructive criticism (when presently properly) with grace and you lay down the law when necessary.
If you are still living in Texas, have you ever considered using good ol' Black Land Prairie mud or Texas Gumbo mixed 50-50 with clean bank sand for your refractory? Use a minimum of water to keep it from shrinking and cracking much as it dries, which takes several days depending on thickness. Ram or pack it with the end of a hammer handle as a green sand mold is done. Build a small wood fire in it to finish curing after air drying. I've used it to make a blacksmith forge for burning coal, and though it does crumble away eventually - faster at welding heats - it does work better than one might think.
Glad you got into casting. I have been casting lead bullets for a long time and its a lot of fun. There is a big bucket of over used brass sitting around that I would love to melt down and cast something. I might have to build a a furnace and give it a try.
The King Of Random is not the only source for backyard foundry designs. for old people like me who still read print there is 'the Charcoal Foundry' by Dave Gingery which is similar to these but as the title suggests uses charcoal and also for the serious amateur there is 'The Backyard Foundry' by B. Terry Aspin. Aspin shows how to build a brick built solid fuel foundry with forced draught and how to cast ferrous components. he also covers casting and pattern making with some ingeneous double sided patterns for quicker repeat working. I hope that this is of some help to those who may be considering amateur foundry work.
I had the same problem finding fittings for the burner, even online, so I remade most of them in 1/2 inch and everything works fine :) If You replace 0,6 mm nozzle with 0,8 mm You don't even have to add this air regulating piece. To all of that I added a flame arrestor after the propane regulator to make everything safer. I use my burner in forge and it works great!
April, so glad to see a new video. I can't wait to see your process of designing then building a new shop since it will be yours from the ground up. Will your husband also have space in the shop or one of his own? Thanks for all you do! We all love your channel and glimpses into your life!
I went thru a couple pages of comments to see if anyone said anything about drying the refractory / cement. I didn't see anything nor did you mention this. The kiln must be heated the first few times carefully raising the temperature each heat to prevent any left over moisture from blowing it up. Keith Rucker has an excellent series on building his much larger kiln and the steps to remove any moisture. ;}
This is UA-cam, her video is entertainment not instructional. Yes the so called Refactory cement is mixed with water and should be slowly dried and cured. True Refactory materials like bricks, and cement or mortars don't use water because it expands so much, "blow up" Her foundry won't last 10 years but who cares, She is learning as she goes.
I've done quite a few of her projects by watching her instructional project videos and if I need a more detailed instruction, then I go to her written tutorial with the step by step instructions plus the cut list, plans, etc. So I feel it's not merely entertainment.
Great video. Love watching you have fun. Working in a dental lab for 30 years, the casting of gold & chrome was a lot of fun (retired, now). May I respectfully suggest getting a good respirator if you plan on doing very much casting. Same goes for welding. That way, you'll live to a ripe old age. Look forward to all of your videos.
"The King of Random" is one of my favorite UA-cam Channels as well, and it made me happy to hear his name in this video. Then I saw his comment in the comments and that was even better. Looking forward to a "King of Random" and April Wilkerson collaboration video!
Hi April, Great job. I've watched several videos on making a foundry and your's was the easiest. I think metal casting is another skill that's right down your alley. Have fun. :-)
Cool! Looking forward to seeing how your castings turn out. I have made the same furnace but after two 55 gal drums full of aluminum cans run through it the makeshift crucible failed. I'm going to order a legitimate crucible and then try some small parts castings.
Great Video! Something I have planned to do. Hopefully this fall. Since I work for Big Box in Vermont, the insanity of spring is approaching not a great time for me to start projects. Shop Org will be my ongoing summer project.
Thanks for sharing how you made this Foundry! I'm going to make one to melt down metal and make fishing weights because 8 ounce weights get expensive and we lose them often.
Very nice build. I think technically what you have built is a furnace. A foundry is "factory" that makes castings. That said, I can't wait for the next video. Maybe you can make a sawdust powered furnace for melting metal! That would truly be awesome!
Nice job, I give you credit for, I was going to say " trying this" but " doing " fits much better. Lots of these pooffy pants guys would rather sit back and criticize than give credit where credit is due. You keep up the great work. Can't wait for the next video.
Check with masonry and tile supply stores locally for the cement. I've been able to get refractory cement from them easily including fire brick. If they sell tile and chimney supplies, chances are good they will have some in stock.
April, you are amazing! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. Seeing you doing it may give me the jump start I needed. Thank you! P.S. I think you will do more casting videos in the future...It will be exciting to see what you'll come up with.
: ) Ha, maybe. It is a pretty fun process to be honest! It's just yet another medium where you can make anything. Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video.
That's a nice little foundry but from years of pouring copper, nickel and brass alloys I recommend you wear a respirator when working around those fumes. There is several tramp elements found in the different alloys and some are very dangerous for your lungs.
This is actually a super easy process! You can build one in just a day and Grant's videos make it very easy to go purchase everything and build very smoothly.
Great video/tutorial April. I thoroughly enjoy watching all your videos. Such well planned and interesting. I am an avid woodworker/diy/hydrographic dipper. I am also an avid atv racer, I notice your husband and you like to ride quads. Is that a hobby that both of you enjoy often?
Fun with flames April. I recently got a bucket of brass door fittings for $5 . One of these days I'll get round to doing the same. Cheers and good luck with the house move.
Nice video, bang on for how far you took it, but as per the comments, refractory cement needs to be heated slowly and gradually until max temp period. I got anxious on one of my larger projects and took short cuts which lead to short refectory life. Research.
Thanks Chris. I doubt I'll do too much more casting now that I've accomplished what I set out to make but it was an extremely interesting process. You can get a foundry done up in just a single day though, so have fun with it and good luck!
Brass was used on door handles because of it's antibacterial properties. Probably not as relevant today but nice to know when shopping for new door hardware. Maybe you could have installed the old hardware on your new shop as a retro keepsake.
One of the best tutorials I've ever seen! Nice job. Can't tell you how cool it is to see you using one of my projects for good.
Ha, well thank you Grant. Your tutorial was spot on and made diving into this very easy. If you are ever in Texas, let me know. You can stop in and we can make something cool.
Grant Thompson - "The King of Random" hey grant I been watching u for years with my dad and when I saw April make this I new she saw your video
April Wilkerson - re the cement you used look for rapid set (quick setting) cement its the same stuff as the fire rated stuff you ordered and normally costs less.
Grant Thompson - "The King of Random" I've made a cast aluminum skillet from using The Foundry that you should have to make a long time ago sadly aluminum was not the best choice for a skillet cuz it's all dented now
April Wilkerson - Or rather, something hot! :)
her april i just wana say im a 12 year old i have got into wood working and you motivate me and keep my thru my depression and chear me up i like you and your vids keep up the good work! :D
DankJustin I'm 11 and I love woodworking too!
Loved it April. I'm afraid to say you gave me a project I've thought about doing for a long time and now you given me that final push. I'm a locksmith and I've accumulated a lot of Brass over the years. I try to reclaim and resell a lot of the old stuff because I appreciate the feel and quality of the old hardware. You'll be surprised what a good wire brushing can do to an old solid brass piece. But junk like old keys, pins, cylinders and other scrap brass adds up and it's time for it to return to its original state. Thanks for the great video.
You provide so much enthusiasm and information, in such an entertaining way, that I hesitate to offer this critical observation. I have been involved in the foundry industry for over 50 years. The word foundry, as defined in many sources, is a noun identifying a place where castings are made. For many years, I operated a pattern company, where we built the pattern tooling for foundries. Most foundries use patterns to make expendable sand molds. Castings are made when molten metal is poured into the molds. Some foundries use gas furnaces to melt their metal. You have demonstrated a simple way to build a gas furnace for melting metal. The furnace is only one component of a foundry. Others, as you know, include sand handling, molding, core making, testing and cleaning.
For several years, I was an engineer at a foundry about 90 miles south of Ft. Worth. If you are still in the area, I could arrange for a plant tour that would detail how complicated and impressive a commercial foundry can be. As for the home hobbyist, I salute the initiative and determination shown on UA-cam. Be careful of erroneous information on the Internet. It can lead to misconceptions. You have entered the fascinating world of foundry practice-an important part of manufacturing that still provides parts for numerous segments of society. I congratulate you on your presentation of building a gas furnace for melting metal. After you assemble the rest of the necessary equipment, you will have a foundry.
: ) please do not hesitate, I appreciate the information! It is how I learn. There is no way I can learn everything about a specialty such as casting in six days (which is the timeline I have to get a project done) so often times I learn just the surface level stuff to get going then learn double the amount from the comments left by those who have more experience. I really wish I was still close to Fort Worth so I could take you up on your tour offer! That would be awesome. Thankfully, through researching and buying material (like green sand) for this project, I've met several locals who are deep into the craft and are more than willing to share information.
Glad to see you back up and running. Sand casting is amazing, I did it many years ago, you need alignment pins on your drag and cope I did small things, jewelry and ornamental ,
Another awesome video / tutorial April. I really appreciate all of your effort and always enjoy watching and learning from your videos. Keep up the great work!!
I also appreciate how you properly respond to comments, etc. You receive constructive criticism (when presently properly) with grace and you lay down the law when necessary.
Haha thank you . ; )
Dear April I'm almost 75Yo and love your work as it is wonderful to see. Arthur
If you are still living in Texas, have you ever considered using good ol' Black Land Prairie mud or Texas Gumbo mixed 50-50 with clean bank sand for your refractory? Use a minimum of water to keep it from shrinking and cracking much as it dries, which takes several days depending on thickness. Ram or pack it with the end of a hammer handle as a green sand mold is done. Build a small wood fire in it to finish curing after air drying. I've used it to make a blacksmith forge for burning coal, and though it does crumble away eventually - faster at welding heats - it does work better than one might think.
Glad you got into casting. I have been casting lead bullets for a long time and its a lot of fun. There is a big bucket of over used brass sitting around that I would love to melt down and cast something. I might have to build a a furnace and give it a try.
Great video and with a much appreciated touch: a preview of what's to come. Fantastic way to hook your viewers and keep them coming back.
Girl, it's amazing.....your youtube channel is getting near 500, 000 subs. Keep going with these DIY vids....variety is the spice of life.
The King Of Random is not the only source for backyard foundry designs.
for old people like me who still read print there is 'the Charcoal Foundry' by Dave Gingery which is similar to these but as the title suggests uses charcoal and also for the serious amateur there is 'The Backyard Foundry' by B. Terry Aspin.
Aspin shows how to build a brick built solid fuel foundry with forced draught and how to cast ferrous components. he also covers casting and pattern making with some ingeneous double sided patterns for quicker repeat working.
I hope that this is of some help to those who may be considering amateur foundry work.
I had the same problem finding fittings for the burner, even online, so I remade most of them in 1/2 inch and everything works fine :) If You replace 0,6 mm nozzle with 0,8 mm You don't even have to add this air regulating piece. To all of that I added a flame arrestor after the propane regulator to make everything safer. I use my burner in forge and it works great!
Having fun at mon and dad's!!!! I bed they love having you around!!!
April, so glad to see a new video. I can't wait to see your process of designing then building a new shop since it will be yours from the ground up. Will your husband also have space in the shop or one of his own?
Thanks for all you do! We all love your channel and glimpses into your life!
I went thru a couple pages of comments to see if anyone said anything about drying the refractory / cement. I didn't see anything nor did you mention this. The kiln must be heated the first few times carefully raising the temperature each heat to prevent any left over moisture from blowing it up. Keith Rucker has an excellent series on building his much larger kiln and the steps to remove any moisture. ;}
dejanira2 may be in next vid.
This is UA-cam, her video is entertainment not instructional. Yes the so called Refactory cement is mixed with water and should be slowly dried and cured. True Refactory materials like bricks, and cement or mortars don't use water because it expands so much, "blow up" Her foundry won't last 10 years but who cares, She is learning as she goes.
I agree. However, I have built two using the sand and plaster as a refractory, and doing an initial burn in didn't seem to be necessary..
I've done quite a few of her projects by watching her instructional project videos and if I need a more detailed instruction, then I go to her written tutorial with the step by step instructions plus the cut list, plans, etc. So I feel it's not merely entertainment.
I spent hours watching Grant's videos one day. Highly addictive.
Great video. Love watching you have fun. Working in a dental lab for 30 years, the casting of gold & chrome was a lot of fun (retired, now). May I respectfully suggest getting a good respirator if you plan on doing very much casting. Same goes for welding. That way, you'll live to a ripe old age. Look forward to all of your videos.
Grants videos are awesome as well as your own. it's nice to see a video from you while your moving.
Look at Mom and Dad gettin' in on the work! :) Great Job Girl!
"The King of Random" is one of my favorite UA-cam Channels as well, and it made me happy to hear his name in this video. Then I saw his comment in the comments and that was even better. Looking forward to a "King of Random" and April Wilkerson collaboration video!
Hi April,
Great job. I've watched several videos on making a foundry and your's was the easiest. I think metal casting is another skill that's right down your alley. Have fun. :-)
Cool! Looking forward to seeing how your castings turn out. I have made the same furnace but after two 55 gal drums full of aluminum cans run through it the makeshift crucible failed. I'm going to order a legitimate crucible and then try some small parts castings.
Great to see you back. Liked the video how to. Take care and as always be safe and have fun.
From my experience, sand casting is a royal PITA. It's very easy to make a mold out of air drying clay that can be reused.
Very nice!! Looking forward to your next video. Awesome way of taking a souvenir from your old house.
Great Video! Something I have planned to do. Hopefully this fall. Since I work for Big Box in Vermont, the insanity of spring is approaching not a great time for me to start projects. Shop Org will be my ongoing summer project.
Great video, April! It's good to see you get out of your comfort zone and try something new!
watching this in 2019. RIP grant you'll be missed. great video April
nice tutorial, good to see you back. Can't wait to see you back in your shop
good to see ur back again on videos.. i really enjoy watching ur videos.
Grande progetto April, sei un vulcano di idee.
Excellent video, #AprilWilkerson ! Expanding your horizons once again. #KeepTheChipsFlying!
Thanks for sharing how you made this Foundry! I'm going to make one to melt down metal and make fishing weights because 8 ounce weights get expensive and we lose them often.
Another great project! I can't wait to see the casting process after seeing your instagram shots of the mini axes.
going to have to use this in a couple years when I get the money around to rebuild my shop so thanks for the great video!
Very nice build. I think technically what you have built is a furnace. A foundry is "factory" that makes castings.
That said, I can't wait for the next video.
Maybe you can make a sawdust powered furnace for melting metal! That would truly be awesome!
I can't wait to see how both of them hold up. I've watched grants and your video on how to make it now.
Can't wait for the test!
That is a nice looking old truck you have there, very cool.
How fun! You could use that to melt scrap copper to make ingots and garbage firearm brass too.
Hi April,Thanks for the list of parts and where you got them, I intend to make a chamber and this will make it easier to source parts so thanks again.
Arabs say that the strong man looking for strong women to strengthen them well done lady April job well done I am one of your followers in Lebanon
they do know how strong women are .. why do u think they r terrified of them?
Nice job, I give you credit for, I was going to say " trying this" but " doing " fits much better. Lots of these pooffy pants guys would rather sit back and criticize than give credit where credit is due. You keep up the great work. Can't wait for the next video.
Very interesting! Thanks for posting. Looking forward to the casting.
Check with masonry and tile supply stores locally for the cement. I've been able to get refractory cement from them easily including fire brick. If they sell tile and chimney supplies, chances are good they will have some in stock.
very cool. I have never tried brass. I am eagerly waiting to see what you cast.
I love you April, and I love all yours videos.
Regards from Costa Rica.
April, you are amazing! This is something I've been wanting to do for a while now. Seeing you doing it may give me the jump start I needed. Thank you! P.S. I think you will do more casting videos in the future...It will be exciting to see what you'll come up with.
: ) Ha, maybe. It is a pretty fun process to be honest! It's just yet another medium where you can make anything. Thanks, I'm glad you liked the video.
Good Job, I like that you give Grant his due respect. Another great video!
Great to see you branching out and learning new skills :)
Awesome !!! The idea, the way you do it, the way you show it... everything is awesome. I'll make one juste for the fun to make it :)
That's a nice little foundry but from years of pouring copper, nickel and brass alloys I recommend you wear a respirator when working around those fumes. There is several tramp elements found in the different alloys and some are very dangerous for your lungs.
like the truck in the background. I have a 68 c10 longbed.
You make the absolute best videos! You need a tv show
Wow from woodworking to melting metal, awesome job. My wife doesn't even know how to change the vacuum filter.
Nice project it's looking like a volcano.. Good job.. 👍
Great work, thanks for taking the time and sharing!!!
Thank you April. I have been thinking about this.
this is amazing. you make the process look so easy keep up the good work and keep the videos coming i love them
This is actually a super easy process! You can build one in just a day and Grant's videos make it very easy to go purchase everything and build very smoothly.
nice job
cant wait to see your new wood shop
Great idea! Thanks April.
YESSSSS :D can't have a shop without a foundry!
Cant wait to see how your move goes on out to the new place
Very much looking forward to the next video and see what you make!
Texas foundry gal. Yeeha !
Thanks for the inspiration...
Keep on trucking (from France) !
I love where this is headed can't wait to see your castings!
Awesome job April!
Great video/tutorial April. I thoroughly enjoy watching all your videos. Such well planned and interesting. I am an avid woodworker/diy/hydrographic dipper. I am also an avid atv racer, I notice your husband and you like to ride quads. Is that a hobby that both of you enjoy often?
That's so cool and such a good idea to keep something with you from your previous house.
: ) Thanks, yeah it will be awesome to always have something from it.
Fun with flames April. I recently got a bucket of brass door fittings for $5 . One of these days I'll get round to doing the same. Cheers and good luck with the house move.
$5 is a great price for a bucket of brass! Will you be melting it down?
Eventually April. New shed is nearly finished , probably take a while to get round to it tho.
awesome April!! I have been wanting to make one of these for quite a while! Looking forward to your progress!
This seems just the sort of thing you would do Wes. You could make a brass Thump! Or maybe even Bullet Bill. That would be cool.
April Wilkerson Challenge accepted!!;) Damn you in the best possible way for giving me another project!
Nice job. Looking forward to part two.
A foundry??? Really?? RESPECT! Love your videos and your projects!
NOW THAT'S AWESOME!!! Can't wait to see the next video
Very cool! Would like to try that myself but will wait to see how yours turns out. What about the other mixture?
if you have to remake this foundry in the future
i would recommend lowering the inlet hole for the burner
Love the truck behind you! ...the video too.
I'm looking forward to seeing how you lift the red hot crucible out of the furnace.
Nice video, bang on for how far you took it, but as per the comments, refractory cement needs to be heated slowly and gradually until max temp period. I got anxious on one of my larger projects and took short cuts which lead to short refectory life. Research.
Great Job April!!
Great job April
Great job April! I really want to get into metal casting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Chris. I doubt I'll do too much more casting now that I've accomplished what I set out to make but it was an extremely interesting process. You can get a foundry done up in just a single day though, so have fun with it and good luck!
On SV Seeker they just used a weed burning torch for the furnace burner.
Great video April, looking forward to the next instalment already 👍🏼😊
This is going to be cool! Go April!
definitely on my list of things to make. thanks for sharing
Can't wait for part 2!
Awesome way to make a keepsake!
Love your truck, I always wanted one like that
A propane or welding supply place in an industrial park should have pipe fittings, hose and regulator for this.
At least now the next owners of your old house will know what happened to the "old" door knobs... lol. Great project April.
Perfect idea. Hope the moves going ok.
: ) Moving is always crazy.
Brass was used on door handles because of it's antibacterial properties. Probably not as relevant today but nice to know when shopping for new door hardware. Maybe you could have installed the old hardware on your new shop as a retro keepsake.
Nice work April!
Nice job April
I'm from Iraq was very impressed with your work
As always great tutorial and video, thanks for sharing.
i love you April and your work
Nice! Looking forward to seeing the next one.
OBA VOLTOU JÁ SE MUDOU ,,, E COMO TA A MORADIA ESTÁVAMOS COM SAUDADES DE SEUS VIDEOS UM FORTE ABRAÇO