Sunday, February 7, 2010

Blacksmithing and Metalcasting

Blacksmithing as you probably know is the shaping of hot metal using a hammer and anvil. It is a very old craft and one that I particularly enjoy, although I'm not very good at it.

Metal casting is another way to shape metal, by melting it at high temps and pouring it into a mold. I am trying to learn this craft also, and it will allow me to make some important metalworking tools that would otherwise be very expensive. I.E. a metal lathe, shaper, milling machine, drill press, and related "accessories". The series of books I am following is Dave Gingery's How to Make a Machine Shop from Scrap. So the first step is to build a charcoal foundry. I have done so according to the books directions, and here is a video of the first fire, curing the refractory lining.









More metalcasting pics



As the furnace cured, I went to the blacksmith shop and made some tongs for the crucible (pot of metal).
I also made a skimmer.















Here's a video of me blacksmithing the tongs:


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