The word for the day is “Ouch”. Why is that dam thing so hot? I decided to take up D.I.Y. Metallurgy and build myself an Arc Furnace, to melt all those dirty, little coins nobody wants. Great idea right, well let me tell Ya, maybe think twice about it before you do. Not only is the startup expensive and dirty work but it scares the wife too, so off to town she goes with my list in hand.
ITEMS
- 2 X Heavy Duty Batteries
- 2 X Small Vice Grips
- Bunch of small Hose Clamps
- 1 X Refractory Brick
Plus all the other stuff needed from Banggood. Crucible Kit and another extra big crucible just incase, some welding gloves and a bit of Dutch Courage for good measure. So I build this thing from a video I watched on YouTube and there it is. Ok all set now but wait, what if I put all my gold in it first? More great ideas right. I have this brand new home made arc furnace with a nice shiny crucible, some borax and you got it Electricity. Flipped the switch and the old Buzz Box springs to life.
So what you have to do is after destroying those brand new 6 V Batt’s to get the electrodes out, is you need to strike an arc to burn off this waxy stuff they have on them. Otherwise they smoke a lot in your furnace.
Ready, Strike, BAMM!!! can’t see a thing for the next 5 minutes. I stumbled around bumping into stuff knocking my equipment to the ground. Ok now let’s do this, so in it all goes, lids on and stick them hot things in there, it’s working “look at that thing go Honey”.
Some time goes by and I figure it should be flowing like lava, lifted the lid and nothing, ok some more, 1 minute goes by, 2 minutes go by, lost count, alright it’s got to be ready now. Lifted the lid and burnt myself, grabbed the tweezer thingy burnt myself, started to pour and yes burnt myself, and only 2 little drips came out of the crucible missing the mould completely. Was nothing like I saw on T.V.
The best idea I had all day was to let it cool down, then tried to figure out what went wrong. Had some more Dutch Courage and ask did you see that Honey? No she said “I couldn’t see for the bright light.” Oh B.T.W. I did this at night so the whole neighbourhood got a light show for free.
Now let’s get serious here, I ask you why is all my stuff broken? The Refractory brick split in half, my teeny weeny graphite stir stick hit the floor and shattered. The gold is stuck in my brand new not so shiny crucible, and everything is still so dam hot.
In order to answer my own questions I think welding goggles would be a good investment, that would stop the night blindness and maybe a limited amount of Dutch Courage when playing with fire but as far as great ideas go this has got to be my best. The heat, molten metal and the bright light all make for an exciting time, now only if I could do it like on T.V.
Best Regards,
L.L.
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