Induction heater/furnace. Are they useless?
I am not a blacksmith - have only swung a hammer against hot metal a few times :roll:
I have a customer job to create many small steel buttons, rustic door studs. Was planning to bash mild steel rod slugs - 12mm round, about 18mm long - into a die. Some of the buttons need a pattern, so the die will have machined and the slugs will have to be quite hot.
Probably yellow hot, maybe closer to white?
Butane or propane won't do it. Maybe MAP or Oxy Acetylene?
I was thinking about building one of those little induction heating gizmos with the water-cooled coils, that they claim can heat steel to red hot in seconds, can melt small amounts of Gold in a crucible, et c.
From what I understand of the physics, it is a magnetic effect that causes the heating. Which would stop at red hot (Curie point)?
Has anyone used one of these with steel?
Finally found some useful info
https://spaco.org/Blacksmithing/ZVSI...eaterNotes.htm
Basically, his conclusion is that they are no good for forging steel.
Also found some good forums that talk about melting alloys for casting, and annealing bullet casings:
https://highvoltageforum.net/index.php?topic=530.80
https://forum.accurateshooter.com/th...3908353/page-2