Small heat treat furnace or ceramics oven and toolpost grinder

[Brian Rupnow]

In my continuing quest of making my own piston rings, I need to buy two things----A small heat treat furnace or ceramic oven and a toolpost grinder. The heat treat oven can be very small, about 6 cubic inches would work for anything I need. the Toolpost grinder should fit a lathe with an AXA quick change toolpost. There is an interesting add for "Blackeagle toolpost grinders for AXA toolposts for about $250 USA dollars. It looks like it would work for me. My total working budget is only about $600 Canadian to buy both items. I would certainly buy "Used" as long as what I bought worked okay. If you have either item to sell, or know of someone who does, please email me at brupnow@rogers.com.

[Brian Rupnow]

The world moves very quickly---I just ordered a new toolpost grinder and diamond dresser from Little Machine Shop in USA. It isn't a toolpost grinder even though that's what they call it. It mounts to the topslide. Now all I have to do is find a cheap solution to my heat treat furnace requirement.

[Brian Rupnow]

I've just posted an add on my local buy and sell newspaper looking for a small, electric heat treat oven or ceramics oven 110volt or 220 volt. If you are in Ontario, Canada and have a used one to sell, please contact me.----Brian

[Brian Rupnow]

I got a call this morning from a guy about 25 miles away who said that he had just what I wanted in a heat treat oven.---I drove up to Midland, and when I got there he was all pie faced---his son had taken the heat treat furnace and was using it in his shop. Oh well, it got me out of the house for a drive anyways.

[AVTUR]

At least it had not been junked.

I think all our local buy and sell newspapers disappeared years ago, unfortunately.

AVTUR

[Brian Rupnow]

Whoops!!!---Just got a call from a town not far away and a guy has a dental crucible with an interior heat cavity about 4" x 3" x 3". The price is right and the temperature goes high enough for what I need.---now I'm excited!!

[bent]

Will it get hot enough, though?  Can't remember how hot you need to be to melt gold or silver...

[crueby]

Will it get hot enough, though?  Can't remember how hot you need to be to melt gold or silver...

About 2000 degrees F - depends on alloy. Be glad they take a mold and don't pour it direct into your mouth!

[Brian Rupnow]

Ouch---Sounds painful!! There is an entire world of very interesting technology in making gold crowns and false teeth. I have dabbled a bit in casting epoxy resins, a long, long time ago and found it very interesting. I was a member of the Road Angels car club in Belleville, and they had a maximum membership of 20 people. They had 20 car club placks made from cast aluminum, with a 1932 Ford roadster on them (The kind of club plack that hung from the rear bumper on little short chains). The idea was that when somebody left the club, they would turn in their plack to the club. Of course it never happened. Anybody that left took their car club plack with them. The club was founded in 1956, and by the time I joined in 1965 there were only three or four of the original club placks left. I took one of the better ones, made a reverse mold from it using plaster of paris, then pored the dried mold full of catalyzed resin. I made about 15 new placks, and they were beautiful. Sadly, they were very brittle and didn't stand up to being suspended from a bumper without disintegrating. Like I say, it was a very interesting bit of work, but back then I was poorer than a church mouse and couldn't afford to follow it up and do more of it. Amazingly enough, they were such a great bunch of guys, that I have kept one of the placks I made 56 years ago.

[Brian Rupnow]

My heat treat oven shipped today out of Montreal. I bought it from a lady who was a potter and somehow ended up with two used heat treat furnaces. I will probably have to spend some money on controls for it, but the price was right at $200.00. It cost $92 to ship it from Montreal by UPS. Of course the Rupnow Paypal fund is seriously depleted, but I've sold enough engine plans to pretty well pay for a toolpost grinder from Little Machine Shop and a used heat treat furnace.  There is something so righteous about spending money from small engine plans to pay for tooling to build more small engines. I will post a picture of it when it gets here.---Brian

[Brian Rupnow]

My heat treat oven arrived today. Isn't that the cutest little thing you've ever seen!!! The inside measures 4" x 8 1/2" x 8". And as you can see, it works. It doesn't have any controls on it---just plug it in to 120 volt circuit and it heats up. I'm going to want some kind of on/off switch and something that I can set a dial on for the temperature I want it to hold at. I'm not worried about gradually ramping up the temperature. I just want it to go to whatever heat I wanted and then cycle it off and on to hold that temperature. I don't need a timer on it but if that comes as part of a package I would use it. I'm doing something totally new here, so be gentle with me.  Can someone recommend what I need please. Ontario supplier works best for me, but I can shop USA if I have to.---Brian

[propforward]

Hi Brian, I know how to do this. I’ve built several ovens. I’ll do a bit of looking around and try and find low cost versions of what is needed - maybe find a simple used controller on ebay or something. Fairly simple set up - a thermocouple and a small controller and relay, to turn the elements on and off to maintain temperature would work. More advanced set ups control the current going through the elements, which makes for a more stable oven temperature - but cycling them should work and will be easy and inexpensive.

[pgp001]

I can vouch for the fact that these work just fine, and are pretty cheap for what you get.
I had to buy a thermocouple with a longer tip than the one in in the kit, but it was very cheap.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274660354869?hash=item3ff3086b35:g:utoAAOSwv41gD~ag

You may be able to locate one near to you.

Phil

[propforward]

Well there you go - that's exactly what I was going to search for.

[Don1966]

Brian you can upgrade your Kiln with digital control for $40 from Amazon….. https://www.amazon.com/Temperature-Controller-Jaybva-Programmable-Thermocouple/dp/B07XNQ538P/ref=pd_sbs_2?pd_rd_w=jDZGG&pf_rd_p=2419a049-62bf-452e-b0d0-ca5b7e35a7b4&pf_rd_r=EF0YNFVBYPJRJ242CK3D&pd_rd_r=400af3b8-6181-44ac-a998-b33222612e83&pd_rd_wg=ChtPD&pd_rd_i=B07XKRQ1SY&th=1


Regards Don