Well, today I poured my first aluminum casting! It went really well, with the only problem being that it was kind of tough getting the burner tuned up well. I was having trouble with it sputtering, and realized it was because I had the burner tube pushed too far inside of the furnace.

Once I got that figured out, it took about eight to ten more minutes before we had melted aluminum! Wow, what a rush to pour what looks like silver paint into a mold! I am waiting on the mold and casting to cool right now, while I write this. I didn’t melt enough aluminum to fill the mold, but I should have a better idea of this whole process works once I do a few of these castings.

Here are some photos of me waiting (not so patiently) for the aluminum to melt, and a video of the aftermath.

I did the first heating and drying cycle in the furnace. As I understand it, it’s best to slowly heat and cool the furnace a few times to fully dry the refractory lining, so it doesn’t crack. I started on this today by burning some newspaper and wood, then adding some charcoal. It’s been burning for about three hours now, but mostly just simmering in ash.

Here’s a video of right after I got the fire going…

I fired the burner for the first time tonite… I am hoping to get my fireclay this weekend, then I can put my furnace together. Here is a video of the firing… the camera didn’t adapt to the darkness outside, and bright flame too well… Oh well.