Here's a tip to prevent sticking of crucibles & the base. BigstackD uses a square of non-corrugated cardboard on the underside of his crucibles, to prevent sticking of the crucible and any type of base below it. I've tried it, and it really seems to work. Creates a layer of ash between the surfaces, and no sticking. Really enjoyed the sharing of your vast experiences, Thank You & stay well!
If you lay about 5 or 6 sheets of news paper between your crucible and the base of your furnace every time it will not stick. It will burn leaving ash between them, which allows them to pull apart fairly easy.
Darkstar, thank you, we are so thankful to have you and wonderful support from outstanding folks like you 😊. We both have not been doing well, I really really want to express to you truly that your kindness is more to us than mere words, you have given us personal power to continue. God speed to you our friend, you just never know how you effect others. Thank you so very much! We are here for you also! Casey & MariSue
Casey, good video on the crucibles. Was thinking, if you cut a piece of cardboard the size of the plinth and set it between the plinth and crucible, maybe the carbon from the burned cardboard would help prevent sticking. So you make your own petrobond sand. That's cool. I am looking forward to that. I don't know where to get the petrobond powder and catylist. Thanks for sharing! Joe
Hold tough Joe video on petro bond on the way. We also will be sending on out to just you about the sticking plinths. Truly thank you. BTW when were you and the misses thinking maybe heading this way?
Casey, looking forward to your petrobond video and others. My wife is trying to finish up her certification and is currently training new employees so we don't have any dates right now for travel. But we would love to come out that way! Joe
OMG - this is me and my crucible experience. You even have the same blue pliers and fireplace scraper. I'm getting ready to order some crucibles from Legend Mining Supply because Mt. Baker Mining orders their crucibles from them. Lot's to choose from and good prices. This isn't an ad, BTW, I'm an amateur prospector. Tip: I learned off of Mt Baker Mining's videos that you don't have to smelt for twenty to thirty minutes. You get the same results after your mixture becomes molten and waiting for FIVE minutes. They have a video on this. Sounds like it'll save your crucibles, also. Question: Has anyone had their graphite crucible begin to disintegrate, as in the walls just start shedding and graphite is coming out in the smelt?
Dude yall are awesome. I just started getting into casting (aluminum) and this vid really helped me out with deciding a new crucible along with treatment for it and cleaning.
Thank you Austin, we have read a lot, with a lot of trial and error for years now. You are the reason we share what we have learned. You are appreciated and if you ever have any questions please let us know. Thank you again 😊 Blessings to you and your family! Casey & MariSue
Good to know your crucible can last a long time if properly cared for. I have been watching videos and reading comments. Some people get 12 to 30 uses. I wonder if they have not treated it first.
They may have though we retreat if it haz been longer than 30 days or rain. We have had best results from a silicon/graphite type as well. Blessings to you and your family, Casey & MariSue.
Boris, thank you for the support. We couldn't find much information about this subject, so we decided to put what we have learned together. Blessings to you and your family! Thank you so much!
Finally, someone giving some useful advice and info on crucibles! Do you do the borax treatment when you season your crucibles the first time as well or just the two bakes you described?
Thank you! It goes strait from the box to the oven, nothing added ! However that may be something to try, as it may prolong the life of the crucible even more. We appreciate your comment, thank you for watching! Blessings to you and your family! Casey & MariSue
Thank you, really good information in here! Finally some straight stuff about different crucibles. Is that new amazon crucible 100% graphite? If so will there be a necessity to chemically treat it with Borax before the first melt?
Guillenaish, we appreciate you! Thank you when we made this video, we also could not find any information on maintenance on crucibles either. All the information is our trial and errors 😊. The crucible is graphite/silicone, we only heated for an hour at 400 in the oven and slow cooled it prior to use. Thank you again and if any other concerns or questions, please let us know 😊 Blessings to you and your family! Enjoy your venture! Casey & MariSue
5 TONS W/GUNS B Thank You!! My kids and I want to get into smelting. I tried copper but I couldn’t get it hot enough in my coal forge, the got to red/orange but not high heat. Take a lot of hand cranking to get it that hot, lol. But we swapped over the soda cans and we melted about 80 cans and made an ingot, lol. I did the borax treatment first, but when I was doing the copper, it was all sticky and coated the copper. I’ve forged with copper, just didn’t have enough arm horse power after 4 hours of cranking. There was a bunch of crud stuck in the bottom as well like you said, but I didn’t stick it back in the heat to drop cook the drowsy stuff out. Thanks for replying!!
Thank you for sharing this with your kids, ours grew up on us , so we are enjoying the grands😊. We are on shut down here in every way not even camp fires (the reason to go camping). Nice to find more hobbies to do while stuck home😊. We enjoy time with the kids anytime! Nice chatting with you! Be safe out there! Casey & MariSue
I subscribed to your videos. They are great and informative. I have a question about thick stainless steel pipe. Would they work good also as a longer lasting crucible?
Thank you for your great question Ron, we have used the bottom of cut off fire extinguishers that burned through in not long at all, do you have an approximate thickness and if you are going to weld a piece in the hole in the end of the pipe, that could become an issue. Thank you again for your great question and please keep us up dated. Blessings, Casey & MariSue
Hello Devante, you will still have some that has to be scraped out though the most important thing is the slow cool down of the crucible, doing so extends the life of the crucible. BTW loved the OG stuff, thank you! Blessings to you and your family! Casey & MariSue
So that crucible on the left is a standard 6kg crucible size? I was buying a Devil Forge 10KG furnace and a #8 crucible. I may be thinking too big. That #6 looks like about all I can safely handle. Thanks for the great vid incidentally!
Hello Joe, that crucible is actually a 12kg and I have had companies conflict with the sizes, I double checked the information for you and I wanted you to know the correct size, we have had good success with this size. 👍 So to be clear, we all know that they should be a #6 lol. We just know how much of a pain it is to send stuff back, yay, not! We appreciate you and your time! Thank you! Blessings and can't wait to hear how all goes with your new furnace. Casey & MariSue
You gotta do another vid with a stable camera! There are tons of vids on this subject from seemingly incompetent young people. I want to hear what an expert has to say in a vid that’s watchable!
Hello Captain Feathersword, we would like to refer you to big stackD casting, he has a video about a 2kg. furnace and you can see a visual on the 2kg. crucible. We thank you for your time and enjoy your endeavor. Blessings to you and your family, Casey & MariSue
Sody pop cans fit almost snugly in my #3, and perfectly well in my #4. I'd start with a #4 for cans, because crushed cans would fit easier in it. Crushed cans are wider than normal cans.
Hello descargaelbuno, the name of the place we found them was atlantic deal on amazon. We had that happen a few times. We went from the amount that it will hold, find out how much it can hold, before you buy it. BTW- We really like the silicone/graphite best, it has held up very well. Thank you for your comment. Blessings to you and your family. Casey & MariSue
She said Casey doesn't want one. Not every RU-vidr can fork out the money for a full studio. Especially if you don't like, subscribe or send them some money so they can please you. What do you want next? Drone footage? Just sayin...
On to my 2 nd $80 A-6 my god not cheap at all. Am new to this been doing it for about 3 years . This I just a question. Would pottery clear glaze work as a protector on either the inside or outside. Has anybody else had this thought? Has anybody tried it ? If so what was the result?
