My Son & his DIY Forge
Some time ago I came home to find that Jaedin was making a forge in the back yard. He was using my hair dryer for ventilation and a small bucket to melt things.
As always, I was pretty damn impressed. I have said it before and I'll say it forever, but I LOVE how my kids have ideas and then do what it takes to make them happen.
Well, that tiny forge was a success and definitely peaked his interest. Now he has a much bigger forge in the driveway. He made it inside of a metal trash can and honestly... I don't even know what is all involved. Maybe I can get him to write about it sometime.
Anyway, he was over with his girlfriend (and her lizard) yesterday melting down two HUGE trash bags full of empty soda cans. He melts those down and pours them into muffin tins to make aluminum ingots. It makes it easier for casting later and also had the added benefit of condensing the cans so that I don't have huge bags full of cans at my house :)
I should also mention that while Jaedin @knightengale was working, his gf was hanging out with me inside building aduplo house for her lizard. You guys knows how much I love duplos! I definitely approve of this one!
So here is my amazingly creative son with his forge, his crazy awesome girlfriend and his aluminum ingots.
Steepshot
Looks like a standard propane forge. Basically, you hook up a propane tank to a sort of jet that's embedded in some sort of container with insulation. Surprisingly, even just propane on a semi-large flame gets enough to melt aluminum, or even glass, as long as you have enough insulation.
It's good that you feel that way about his efforts. Parents should be proud of their kids efforts. It's what part of what ensures that they actually try out their ideas, and by extension, ensures people all around the world invent cool shit.
Thank you. My kids aren't afraid to try and they usually succeed to some extent. If they fail, then they tend to learn from that lesson and change the way they do it the following time. I couldn't be more proud of them.
He's been melting copper, aluminum, silver (he made a custom charm for his sister once) and making quite a wide variety of things. It's been a learning experience, for sure! I've always been impressed by this kid's habit of taking on things that I personally know nothing about (and rarely have any interest in) ever since he was very young. He always gets the job done. :)
Thanks for the comment!
ha! howdy there Byn! It sounds like he could make anything! and probably will. lol. what a blessing!