Foundry Project Page 4

Looks like a good fit. OK now where's that lid.

Cutting this bugger was a pain. I used a utility knife and kept moving 1 blade length at a time. Plunging it in for the entire circumference.

I put some wires in for stability and used a soda can for the center. I was going to poke right into the can, but decided not to do that. That's why the top was cut off. Instead I'm just going to use a full can and remove it after a bit of time, or drain it and then just let the heat melt it out if I can't remove it.

Be sure all the soda is gone if you do the "melt it out" method!

Ahhh the great outdoors. Or Garage Doors ...anyway, here we are getting ready to play in the dirt, or so my little helper thought.

I never mixed this stuff before, so I hope I got the right stuff and I do it properly.

I went to Home Depot and bought an 80 pound bag of QuickCreet Top sand mix. It is supposed to be just sand and cement. From what I hear, this is all that refractory is.

I sure hope so, because it was only $3.79 and refractory is like 80 bucks. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

I understand that you do NOT want any rocks in the mix as they will heat up and explode... of course killing me when they do, since I have fairly poor luck.

Note to self: when heating this thing the first few times, be sure to do it far from houses, or myself :) I'd like to live to try the next few projects I have planned.

The garbage bags protect against the mess I'm about to make.

Damn this stuff is heavy. Whoo I'm getting sweaty. 4 quarts of water per 80 lb bag my ASS!!! I had to use the max that they recommend. 6 full quarts.

In hind sight I could have probably used 5 or 5.5, but it got to be a pain adding little by little.

This part sucked badly. It was worse than cutting that damn pipe!

Work until mix is "plastic like" eh? Hmmm I suppose it finally did start to act a bit plastic like, but that was only after a lot of hard mixing.

God I hope this stuff works! I will hate to do this again in a week if it doesn't?