Backyard Furnace continues.....

As you know, at this point it takes cement (lots of it) time to dry. I figure probably 3 to 6 months to fully cure to where it will be safe to fire it up. You are probably wondering why the cement has to be dry?? Well, from what I learned from my research you can't have heat to wet cement because it drys out to fast and cracks. On the other hand if you put extreme heat to wet cement it will probably explode or pop. (Dangerous!) I'm not about to put my or anyone else's life to stake because I can't wait to get it up and going. As of right now I still have lots to do before I can get to the next point.....Two days after I poured to cement I took a fiberglass float and smoothed out the edges and rubbed the top flat. I also put a box fan I had laying around and put it on top facing down to blow air into the furnace to help dry it out. The next thing I had to do was to get another 55 gallon drum to cut and make my lid. I needed a 2" mold to pour in cement to build a lid to cover the top of the furnace. I modified it from the original plan to have a 5 " hole in the center to be able to insert the metals I want to melt. After getting the supplies I was ready to get to work. I took my sawsall and cut two and a half inces from the top of the barrel which gave me two inches inside. Then I took some paper and cut it round to cover the bottom of the lid so the cement would'nt stick. I bought three 2" x 1/2" bolts with washer and nuts to insert into the mud to build an anchor for the hinge. I took some lath I had and cut it to go in the mud to help support the concrete so it won't crack (I hope it works), and mixed some concrete and poured the lid. I don't have a picture of the next step, but I had to let it dry for at least a couple of days to be hard enough to take out of the mold. It did'nt take to long after that to dry because of open air that was able to help. Here is what I have so far!!



The next step that I'm waiting for is the hinge.

I had to measure and cut a circle out of card board and do some engineering to where I could explain to the welder what I needed. The welder just smiled and so far getting it done. I hope I can pick it up either tomorrow or wednesday. (can't wait!!) Oh, I can't leave out that I have no clue what I'm gonna do when it comes to the time to move this thing.

This thing has got to weigh about a ton or more because I could'nt even slide it. Thats my next dilema!! for now I'll just finish it up then worry about the rest.