Bronze Casting - Loading the Crucible

This is a photo of the last stage of loading the furnace, or more accurately, loading the crucible. The bronze is first weighed out and then loaded cold into a large (about 3 gallon) graphite ceramic crucible. Then you place the crucible in the furnace which is then heated to around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1650 degrees Centigrade). The rest of the (preweighed) bronze is set up (using the tongs, of course) around the furnace opening. The pieces are then - as shown here - added as needed to the crucible while the bronze melts. The final crucible is filled almost to the top with the molten bronze.

The furnace you see here holds a crucible capable of holding somewhat more than 200 pounds of bronze. Toward the end of the loading you have to keep an eye on the level of the molten bronze so you don't overfill.

The safety gear is (obviously) necessary and quite effective. You still have to be careful since during the melting you can get a few pops from the bronze, particularly when removing slag.