| Hi Jankers,
To be honest its not the safest thing to do. Molten metal even aluminium is more than hot enough to do a hell of a lot of damage.
But and this is the point I make to any one interested, with all the safety gear the dangers are very reduced. I would say that a furnace is no more of a hazard than a charcoal BBQ once the metal is poored.
Laying a few concrete slabs around teh furnace reduces the wet problem. Its worth thinking that the sand I cast into is slightly damp has to be to hold together.
If i listed the worst danger it would have to be water getting into the crucible during the melt. The only way thats going to happen is if wet scrap is added to the pot. This should never happen as the scrap is warmed by the lid of the furnace before being put in the pot.
The cats I cant see a solution for, my two spent a lot of there time in the workshop asleep in piles of swarf. Never worked out why it was comfortable but to a cat it must have been.
Cheers kevin |