Thread: Homemade 9" cupola

If anyone has access to coke or char then a novel way to melt cast iron is using a cupola. This was the way iron foundries melted their cast iron before induction furnaces took over. My cupola furnace melts about 200kg an hour. Check out the video. Melting cast iron with a cupola - YouTube

Impressive, thanks for the vids, did not know anyone in Australia was really doing this sort of stuff...

Thankyou for watching the video. Before the internet was around there were many hobby casters in my area. With youtube and forums I now realize there are so many more Australia wide.

I really want to get into this one day. Too much on at the moment but setting up a home foundry is definitely on the bucket list. Know anyone in South West Sydney casting at home?

there is not much too it , a hole in the ground , a 2 inch pipe to the bottom , a hair dryer for " forced air " , and a bag of BBQ beads , steel sheet with a hole in it as a lid and melt aluminium in a empty tin can ( i can per melt )

over 5000 years ago , humans made a copper frog , its not rocket science
green sand casting , uses kitty litter ( Bentonite clay ) , sand , and a small amount of water , pack it into a box with an object , then pore in the molten aluminium .,
there is plenty of info on the net

a word of advice , get decent safety gear first up , a face shield , long leather gloves , long leather apron , leather boots , cotton long sleeve shirt , and old jeans

molten metal can spit at you , dont cut corners on your safety gear