DIY Forums

Confusius, the wisest camel in the frozen desert says: Never assume, never risk thing, never let your concentration drop when handling hot or molten metal !! Aluminium, if hot enough can run over your DRY hand without causing any real harm. Because it simply won't stick to your skin. Copper or brass...

What is the biggest crucible size I can use? We CAN go tall is we have to. But in terms of diameter it really comes down to your insulation. The last thing you want is the inside of your microwave getting too hot.... Considering it is designed to cook food we can assume a short term kick of around 1...

What about flux ? Tricky question.... Sometimes we can't do without it if we want a nice a clean result. Especially if you works with aluminium and find you struggle to make to to your form quickly enough after scraping all the crap off. The crucible is a consumable anyways and you should have at le...

Ok, you ruined an otherwise perfect microwave, created some stuff with your molten metal and now you are sick and tired of having such a hard time.... A dead simple crucible as we made is great fun and more than enough for do your gold nuggets or some little castings for your things... But of course...

Can I melt something now, can I ???? Nope, first you need a good drink to celebrate ;) I suggest to start with Aluminium as it is cheap and comes with a low melting point. Prefer solid chunks over crap like old beer cans or already badly oxidised stuff. BE VERY CAREFUL!!! Molten metal is very danger...

Up until know your only worry were gloves and a good respirator. Now let the fun begin. I assume that you confirmed the entire insulation pack is now bone dry.... If the glass already cracked in the oven then it is now time to carefully remove it all to free the crucible. Don't do this if there is o...

By now your crucible should be bone dry and a bit more sturdy. To make sure let it cool a bit, then place a metal plate over the glass for a moment - if moisture condenses put it back in the oven for a bit longer. Since you already have a powerful abrasive at your disposal use it with some water and...

If you find a warning sticker on your microwave stating not to put metal into it then please take it off so it won't interfere ;) Ok, why would be so dumb to put metal into a microwave? Because we know what we are doing.... Why does it work? Because mircowaves provide an awful lot of energy if used ...

I recently had to somehow fix an old part for an even older tractor - a broken part. As it failed in action only one half could be found but there was a mirror one on the other side of the tractor. Only one problem: I had to do it in brass to keep it authentic...... Long story short: The method I am...

That's the big question, isn't it? We KNOW the energy that is 'too much' has to come from somewhere.... Since it is a closed system there simply is no other way.... Or is there? Did you play around with those protons, neutrons and electrons before to check how to turn hydrogen into helium ? If not d...