Many American hobbyists and crafters are looking into ways to build their own melting furnace equipment to make small batches of metals for their projects. Although melting furnaces do achieve much higher heat levels than standard propane burners, a metal furnace or lead furnace can be a dangerous project to do at home if the builders are not aware of standard safety requirements.
Finding a pre-made, safety-rated lead furnace or other metal melting furnaces seems to work well for many home do-it-yourselfers who want to be able to melt metal that melts at relatively low temperatures.
For cleaning and stripping, lead melting, tin melting, pewter melting, tempering and marquenching (for steel melting and tempering needs), many metal workers are making the investment in a standard industrial burner with melting furnace equipment.
Many melting furnaces can also be used for melting heat treating salts, tempering and/or quenching, and come standard with digital controls and high heat tolerance. Larger models may hold over 2,500 pounds of lead, or over 1,500 pounds of zinc or other materials and can achieve temperatures of well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Talking to a professional furnace manufacturer about industrial or small-batch metal melting needs may help hobbyists and professionals decide which kind of melting furnace equipment to invest in. Building your own device may save some money, but when high temperatures and dangerous liquefied metals are involved, it seems safer in general to make sure that furnaces are approved for continued use at high temperatures.
Whether the metals involved are tin, pewter, lead, zinc, or other alloys, round melters and rectangular melters that are professionally produced can be set to specific temperatures, guaranteeing a smooth quality melt and allowing for quicker overall melting and casting of materials that can be tricky to work with.
And of course, when using professional metal melting equipment, proper shielding of the face and body is essential. When proper safety precautions are followed and the proper equipment is obtained and regularly maintained, many amateur metal enthusiasts are able to produce consistently satisfactory art pieces and metal work.
