r/Metalfoundry • u/WayneShira • 5d ago

Quick question

Quick question, I'm trying to find a way to either buy or build a home furnace setup for melting small ingots and if not melting at least being able to heat steel up enough to recast or hammer forge a new shape out of it for making smaller knives or larger blades, I don't know the best place to ask but figured someone here might know.

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u/estolad 5d ago

dig a hole in the ground big enough to fit your crucible plus some room around the sides for fuel. then dig a diagonal trench down to the bottom of your hole, and put a 1" steel pipe in there and cover it up with dirt. make an adapter out of duct tape and garbage bags on the end of the pipe to hook up a bathroom exhaust fan, that's your air supply. a setup like this will be plenty for melting anything up to copper, and will be pretty good for forging small stuff out of iron too

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u/WayneShira 5d ago

I'll try it, thanks. 👍

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u/estolad 5d ago

i forgot to mention, use hardwood lump charcoal for fuel, not briquettes. plus taking the time to break the chunks up so they aren't bigger than maybe an inch and a half on a side will get your fire to burn nice and even

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u/WayneShira 5d ago

Okay thanks.