How Do I Melt Metal Over A Fire For Metal Casting?
Okay, I Want to melt metal such as pop cans, aluminum foil, etc.
but I cant build a foundry in my back yard, all i can do is make a really hot fire.
I would like some helpful suggestions.
Posted in 
Tags: 2 Responses to “How Do I Melt Metal Over A Fire For Metal Casting?”
I’ve melted aluminum, zinc and copper in one of those large cast-iron backyard chimneys. I just kept adding hardwood ’til the fire was shooting out the top. (It’s about 7 feet tall) It got so hot that I had to wear a thick jacket to get near it. I used tongs to put in and replace the melting bowl. I had to wear gloves soaked in water to get within 2 feet of the opening with the tongs. Even then the water started boiling almost instantly, so I had to be quick & fling the gloves off. All of those metals were so hot they ran like water when I poured them. Is that hot enough for ya?
If you can buy charcoal (not the square briquettes, but the one that looks like wood) then you can do it. You need basically 2 things besides that. First, a place to hold the charcoal (you cant just dump it in a pile, a small amount of bricks shaped in a rectangle will do). Second, you need a powerful air source to provide ample amounts of air to the burning charcoal. The reason charcoal is great for grilling is the ability to control the temperature; deprive it of oxygen and you can slow cook/smoke food at low temperatures, give it free access to air and it will sear a steak. Basically you would have some sort of air pump (something along the lines of a leaf blower, though no need for that amount of power) connected to a metal tube going into your pile of charcoal to provide air directly. This should melt aluminum, and turn steel red enough to hammer into various shapes.