Making Crucibles

Making Crucibles

Melting metal requires a heat resistant vessel with a higher melting temperature than the metal you are melting. Such vessels are called crucibles and they are generally made of clay or a mixture of clay and a binder such as ground up fire brick (grog) or graphite. Since they are made of clay, the process of making crucibles falls under the heading of pottery work and the technique is simple. You mix up a batch of clay, you ram the clay in a mold to form the crucible, you fire the formed crucible to harden the clay and you're ready to melt metal. It really is that simple, and this book shows you how to do it. You'll begin by learning how crucibles were made 100 years ago. Then you will take what you learn and convert it into practical information you can use today. Such topics as crucible composition and how to mix up a batch of clay. How to build molds and use them to form crucibles from your clay mix. You'll learn how to cure and fire your new crucibles, how to make crucible tongs and more. The information you need to get started is right here.