ToAuto Electric Smelting Furnace Review

New to smelting and casting? Here is a first impression of a budget electric melting / smelting furnace using recycled sterling silver. DIY smelting and casting for silversmithing in a home studio.
In my opinion, even though this qualifies as a budget furnace, the quality is there. Furnaces in general are pretty low tech, and one of the few reasons you might want a different furnace is if you need one that can go over 1100C (2012 F), or one that can run longer than the maximum time for this unit which is three hours.
ToAuto Website:
www.toautotool...
Inspiring Metalsmiths Jewelry Facebook page:
/ aspiringmetalsmithsjew...
Turquoise slab earrings by Eugene & Georgia Sanchez, Santo Domingo Pueblo, NM
References used:
Jewelry Concepts and Technology by OPPI Untracht
The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight
Rio Grande, specifically information about the Solidus (melt) temperature: 1,490°F (810°C) and Liquidus (flow) temperature: 1,639°F (893°C) of Sterling Silver. www.riogrande....
#Silver #MeltingFurnace #Silversmithing #SmeltingFurnace #ElectricFurnace #RecycleSilver #SterlingSilverScrap #HowtoMeltSilver #Jewelrymaking #MeltingSilver #JaneArcher

[@spiderfireentmt]

Thanks for the walkthrough. It's nice to see it done before you do it yourself. The review was very helpful

[@FredrikThorbjrnsenLillejordet]

Great video! I love that you show the whole process and explain your thoughts

[@janearcher3834]

Thank you for your feedback.

[@stacykropp580]

Great video. Thanks for the review. It looks like a wonderful furnace to have

[@doggiesarus]

I do mostly wax carving and lost wax for my jewelry(obviously many of the stone setting tasks are similar) -- It's a different method though. I totally understand the hassle and expense of trying to send things "out" including casting services. I also think casting outside is the way to go.

[@ParanormalHorrorArtist]

Your video was the first one i watched for reference. I still use your video today. Awesome job!! I just got a Good Crafter after my other China furnace fried its fuse. I opened it up but was ruined beyond repair. I recommend getting a Good Crafter because they are shipped from Amazon and the US directly. To Auto is also good from what I've read. Make sure you guys change out your crucible if worn. You don't want it breaking and ruining your electric melter.

[@janearcher3834]

Thank you for your kind reply. And yes, a degraded or damaged crucible will ruin your equipment.

[@ParanormalHorrorArtist]

@Jane Archer Just wanted to tell you that I also had been using the wrong power cord extension. Lol. I could've just plugged the machine only with the cord supplied but my needs were different. Luckily my dad told me what kind of extension to use. Good thing I noticed the cord getting hot. And one more thing I'm excited to tell you Jane is that the ToAuto manual that came with mine is incredibly helpful. They did a great job. Thanks for liking my comment

[@janearcher3834]

@@ParanormalHorrorArtist Oh my! Yes, using the correct extension cord is important. And no, it should not be getting hot. That indicated too much resistance or too great a load being carried by it.

[@thevictorychannel9443]

Thank you Jane. Might I suggest that you get a sheet or two of either Hardiboard or Cement tile backer board to have on hand. You might prop up a piece behind the furnace to protect your window. The constant heating and cooling is not good for glass, even tempered. Around my metal melting work areas I put some of the cement board loose on the floor. You can't under estimate that one day you will have a spill or a crucible or mold will crack or break. Happens to me all the time. Glad to see you have gloves and an Extinguisher. You might keep a bucket of sand in a metal bucket on hand. I can't see if you have a leather apron. You can pick up most of what you need at Harbor Freight but I am sure you go there all the time for your picks, misc tools, and supplies. Anyway, great video. I had a Kerr at one time but sold it and now looking to get back into teaching Lost Wax and would like to offer my students this alternative for their own furnace. I have evaluated it in my lab and it's a good choice. The one I have does have the internal overtemp safety switch, something to look for if you open it up, but I believe these are U.L. You can add the switch which looks like a little top hat in series with the line wire and mount it in your unit if it is not there. Randy

[@janearcher3834]

Thank you for your suggestions. With furnaces like these you only have to worry about a heat column above the furnace. There is very little heat dissipated outward. What do you use your bucket of sand for? I have my quench water on my soldering table just out of sight. That would take any heat out of any spilled metal that got off the tile. And I do love Harbor Freight!

[@thevictorychannel9443]

@@janearcher3834 Quench water is good for quick cooling metal or an investment casting but for fires you never want to use water around metal. It will cause a steam explosion, even when used on the smallest amount of hot metal. Even if the metal looks solid it can be liquid in the middle. Keep a bucket of sand or get a bag of baking soda used for sand/soda blasting and keep it in a metal bucket. If you should have a spill and something should smolder or catch fire, dump the bucket on the spill. BUt never ever throw water on a fire if there is hot or molten metal or you may end up with metal flying onto you, or spreading the fire more.

[@chilebike6556]

Thank you Jane. Be interesting to know how much you have used the thing & how it has stood up. Pussy cats always good too. I'm looking at one of these for clock part casting from the tons of brass scrap I make.

[@janearcher3834]

I haven't used it much since this video. I have been very busy with my first job (which pays the bills). But I know from previously working with graphite and kilns that the thing that is likely to go first is the graphite mold. It will degrade faster than the unit. But they are easy to replace. ToAuto sells replacements which are relatively inexpensive and you can probably find them on Amazon as well. If the unit fails, it is likely because the thermocouple is no longer good. ToAuto doesn't sell thermocouples for this unit, but if you can find it on this unit, then you could see if one of the numerous thermocouples on Amazon would be a good replacement. Thermocouples are cheap. www.toautotool.com/collections/smelting-tools/products/pre-sale-graphite-crucible-metal-melting-ingot-mould

[@jimbettridge3123]

Thanks Jane!

[@sharonwaller6716]

It was hard on the rolling mill because it needed anneling

[@janearcher3834]

Oh it got annealed. It just takes a lot to reduce thick silver. One thing I probably should have done prior to running through the rolling mill was to hammer it, then anneal it. I have since heard that helps close any voids in the metal, or reduce them.

[@thaynethetigerbarnes]

I think you are a very skilled person! Ty so much for making the video. I'm interested in smelting gold. I play in dirt 😅so its great you might do this with silver. Do you think i could make a good go of it as a one man op. I hit the skim bars every year. The gold accumulates i smelt it into a bar with that thing?

[@janearcher3834]

You can definitely melt gold in this. You wouldn't be able to smelt it as in separate it out from other metals. You would need a different operation for that. But definitely good for melting metals.

[@thaynethetigerbarnes]

thank you I have since found this out. but these definitely are cool little units @@janearcher3834

[@JJW]

That's something I'm looking for but getting it here in kenya is turning out to be a nightmare

[@janearcher3834]

This is made in China. Have you tried going directly to their website? Or try contacting them directly? I'm sorry I can't help you more on this.

[@JJW]

@@janearcher3834 ...yes I have but I gave up because the shipping fee they ask for is more than the price of the furnace

[@chatwitch6]

I’m planning to buy one, but is it safe to use indoor ? Any aluminium fumes ? Any risk of fire ?

[@janearcher3834]

I used it indoors. It is as safe as the setup you create. As you can see in the video I put two layers of large tiles underneath the unit and underneath where I would pour. Also I created a wall of firebrick. The most likely problem would be if the crucible cracked and the contents ran out. Or when pouring you missed your mold and poured onto the tile surface. I would not say that there is never a zero risk of fire. But you can set yourself up for success by making sure there is nothing above the unit since there will be a heat column coming off of it, and nothing very close on the sides. Also make sure you have a heavy duty grounded extension cord that you can easily access to plug and unplug the unit. Neither the power cord or the extension cord should be underneath anything. Not under carpets or furniture, etc. You can see it in the video, about three feet to the right of the unit I have my acetylene torch soldering set up. So I have fire/flame in my studio all the time. But again it is in an environment where I have limited the risks. I also have three fire extinguishers nearby. One literally next to all this on the floor, and two at the entrance to my studio. And I check to make sure they are fully charged periodically. About aluminum fumes, there were none coming from the unit.

[@chatwitch6]

Thank you for your detailed explanation!❤

[@janearcher3834]

@@chatwitch6 If you aren't already, you should consider joining the Inspiring Metalsmiths Jewelry Facebook group. I am one of the admins there. We have lots of members who help out with metalsmithing questions as well as a place to show your work, and be inspired by other people's work. It's a very big community, so every topic is covered.

[@DreidMusicalX]

Where are you buying your casting grain silver from? I am wanting a reliable source knowing I'm getting real silver and hopefully not taking chances off ebay.

[@janearcher3834]

I get my casting grain from Rio Grande, or Otto Frei. I don't know which country you are in, but I would expect that any precious metals supplier would also have casting grain. And please don't get it off Ebay. If you have had good experiences getting precious metals off Ebay, count yourself lucky. This is one thing where the reputation of the seller matters a great deal. If you are a member of the Facebook group Inspiring Metalsmiths Jewelry, then you can pose that question to the group. We have members all over the world who can give you a solid answer.

[@annclark9277]

How long should it cool down after having been on for 3 hours?

[@janearcher3834]

Thank you for your question. I don't know what you intend to do with the unit or the crucible after three hours, but think of it this way. You don't want to shock either the graphite crucible or the unit. That could cause cracks or weaken it. So you can add more metal to the crucible after three hours and it will probably be okay. You can probably turn the unite back on again after three hours without any damage. I let my crucible and unit air cool until it was room temperature before putting it away. Did that help?

[@annclark9277]

It’s that I have more than 3 hours of work (smelting paydirt) however the manual says after 3 consecutive hours of use to turn it off to cool down before continuing. It doesn’t mention how long.

[@janearcher3834]

@@annclark9277 That is probably to protect the thermocouple and heating filaments. Prolonged use can degrade them. Although that is the same for multiple uses (based on my experience with kilns). I would say just let it cool off till it is warm, not hot. But that could still take a few hours.

[@johnsullivan5885]

Very nice video

[@johnsullivan5885]

I have 2 ozs of gold flakes to smelt, with a little black sand mixed in, any tips? Should the borax I ordered remove the black sand

[@evanoraad9059]

Well done ...

[@janearcher3834]

Thank you Evano!

[@flyerphil7708]

No smelting going on there at all. Just melting!

[@janearcher3834]

That is correct. I don't smelt - just melt. However, this furnace can be used for smelting if that is what you need it for.

[@flyerphil7708]

@@janearcher3834 I doubt very much that the smelting process could be carried out in this furnace.

[@billymacktexasdetective5827]

​@@janearcher3834No, it can't.

[@Grottotrance]

i is cAtsting metol 😻dur dur dur

[@ITZGR82BFREE]

Please stop calling it SMELTING, unless you are super heating stone ores to extract the metals.

[@terranceborer7614]

About time someone said something! Lmao! Sorry .

[@terranceborer7614]

She's about to poison everyone in you tube land What! Not with Boric acid roach powder as a flux? Wowzers Inhale that and you will have a bad day

[@David-xg3sq]

​@@terranceborer7614borax is used as a flux for gold and silver. Mule Team borax is the same borax that's sold as flux. Check any jewelry suppliers flux, it's borax. 🤦

[@janearcher3834]

I understand your point, but colloquially melting metal is often called smelting.

[@janearcher3834]

@@terranceborer7614 Boric acid is just boric acid regardless of what is on the label or what you use it for - washing your clothes, killing ants, and roaches, fluxing your metal. It's all the same.