Time Log for Construction of a Hobbiest Foundry

 
Date
Time
Individual
Activity
pre 24 Nov 2001 5 hours Loren Burner selection, purchase of parts.  Selected Rupert Wenig's mini-mongo.
pre 24 Nov 2001 2 hours Loren Burner construction (manufacturing of jet, tapping, etc.)
pre 24 Nov 2001 5 hours Marc/Loren Burner construction (machining of air-intake collar, boring of pipe cap, tapping, tapping for set screws, etc.)
24 Nov 2001 3 hours Loren Web-page construction.
25 Nov 2001 11 hours Marc/Loren
  • made outer forms using an old (small) oil barrel Marc had on hand.
  • made inner forms for middle section using ends from plastic bucket and sheet aluminum
  • made inner form for base using plastic bucket, styrofoam, and doweling.
  • made aluminum sheath for barrel of minimongo propane burner.
  • cut and shaped holes in outer and inner form of base to accept burner and sheath.
  • made inner form for vent-hole of lid using a plastic container.
  • ran support wires around inside of lid.
  • welded handle and mounting angle on lid.
  • made plinth forms from 2L plastic pop bottle.  (4" diameter).
  • placed lifting bolts in middle piece (with supporting flat steel).
  • poured Dukast 2800 into middle section.
  • poured Dukast 2800 into approximately 1/2 of the bottom section.
  • poured Dukast 2800 into 6 plinths.
26 Nov 2001 1 hour Loren Purchased 2 more bags of Dukast 2800 (4 in total thus far).
Pre 26 Nov 2001 3 hours Marc Time locating and purchasing various iron angle, pipes, and sheet.
Pre 26 Nov 2001 3 hours Marc Meetings and information gathering.
01 December 2001 5 hours Marc/Loren
  • poured remainder of bottom furnace section.
  • poured lid.
  • poured 4 more plinths including two large ones.  Used buckets as the molds.
  • examined and cleaned center section.  Removed inner mold.
  • cut and welded iron angle to form ingot molds.
06 December 2001 2 hours Marc/Loren Went to Andre's to see his set-up:  molding bench, furnace, furnace lifting mecanism, etc.
08 December 2001 4 hours Marc/Loren
  • removed inner form from furnace base and lid.
  • began curing refractory by firing until steam was present (not yet complete).
  • wrestled with the propane burner to get decent output in process of firing (see design notes).
16 December 2001 1 hour Loren Web-page update.
31 December 2001 1 hour Loren Purchase of hose, regulator, fittings, etc. from Mutual Propane.
04 January 2002 9 hours Marc/Loren
  • Assembled new propane fittings. 
  • Fired furnace lining.  Good propane flow:  the lining is now fully cured.
  • Used CAD package to design the lifting mechanism and frame.
05 January 2002 5 hours Marc/Loren
  • Constucted a good portion of the furnace frame and lifting mechanism.
06 January 2002 Marc
  • Assembled 4" crucible.
  • Made metal wheels for furnace frame.
10 January 2002 1 hour Loren Web-page update:  beginning to include scanned photos.
10 January 2002 1.5  hour Marc Construct 4.5" crucible pipe and bottom.  Bottom not yet welded.
12 January 2002 5 hours Marc and Garnet
  • Mounted lifting arms. 
  • Fabricated "L" brackets.
  • Corrected "L" brackets to give over-center action on lifting.
  • Construct vertical tube slide for lid and center sections.
  • Construct foot pedal arm to raise lid.
  • Notch right-hand lifting arm to allow lid to rotate fully to right (allowing the lid to completely clear internal cavity).
13 January 2002 3 hours Marc and Garnet
  • Designed and constructed removable handle to dolly around the furnace.
  • Constructed adjustable jack to support the outside end of the mongo burner.
14 January 2002 2 hours Marc and John
  • Constructed tongs to lift the larger of the two crucibles.