Information on DIY Metal Casting and the DIY Casting Movement

People who like to make their own artifacts and are enchanted with the idea of building new and useful things from scratch are sure to enjoy ‘do it yourself casting’ that can be done at home using simple methods and techniques. Many amazing things can be produced and created using you home made metal foundry. A good understanding of some basic foundry knowledge and few simple tools can help you make metal casting at home possible. Many people find it difficult to get special parts for their cars or bikes or even find it very costly to modify their cars, house or even bikes. If you develop your hobby of metal casting, then you can easily make special parts for your cars and bikes and also will find it easy and save a lot of money. Casting can be used to make many things like, simple ornaments knobs and even handles. Hand wheels and small machinery or tools can also be made. Small articles like brass name plates, statues, vintage motorcycle and car parts, etc can also be made at home.

Furnace Designs that can be made at home:

Coffee Can Furnace: This is very easy to build and even a large coffee-can will serve the purpose. This can be used to build a simple gas fired furnace.

The “2 bucks” furnace: Is not as the name suggests, the furnace can’t be built in two bucks.  It refers to the design based on two buckets. It is very useful and a good experienced person can build it with a budget that is below 10 bucks. It effectively burns propane.

Flowerpot crucible furnace: This furnace can also be built very easily and most importantly, it can be built using the waste material from your back yard. All you need is an old flower pot and a few metal cans. Melt the metal cans and coat the inside of the flower pot with the melted metal and you furnace is ready.

Other types of furnaces that can be built at home are dirt and brick furnace, chimney pipe furnace and breaking metal in barbecue.

Tools and material needed:

Home made Aluminum pulleys: Pulleys of different size and shapes can be made by bending aluminum rods or plates. They are very simple to make and once you get the hang of it, you’ll enjoy making them.

Building steel crucibles: Steel crucibles are a bit difficult to make. You need to cut the steel and weld it using a welder, so it is a bit risky job and can cause injuries. It needs to be done with utmost care and precaution.

Home made ladle: A ladle can be made at home using a small portion of a steel water pipe; you can select the water pipe according to your needs and then cut it in the desired dimensions to create your home made ladle.

After doing all this basic work and gathering all the required information, you can now start your own metal casting and make desired articles. You also need to make the molds of your desired shape and size and you are ready to go. All types of metals and alloys can be used and melted for home casting, only their degree of heat required varies.