Protecting ready for casting flasks

I am in the middle of casting and I have old equipment. One of the
bars that braces the crucible broke before I could complete any of
the work…it’s 1 AM and I will have to find a welder later in the
day who can fix this. Will leaving my “ready for casting” flasks on
low in the kiln be the best thing to do to save them from damage or
do you have a better solution. I did try to find the answer in your
archives but couldn’t. This is my first visit to your website.

Thank you…Yolanda

Hi Yolanda

I have experienced similar problems. The books state that the best
way is to soak the flask in water, then slowly heat it back up to
casting temperature. I have done this and it works. When I did not
have time to soak the flask, I have just reinserted it into the oven
(from room temperature or whatever) and reheated it, which also
worked perfectly! Personally, I would just left the flask in the
oven. I suppose the size of the flask in question, and the complexity
of the pattern in the flask, might have a bearing on this issue. If
it is a small flask, I would just reheat it, but not too suddenly
(not putting it straight into a 1000 degree oven).

Unfortunately, I can not reply directly to you because Orchid does
not allow this.

Good Luck
Jeffrey Everett

Thank you for your support and � I have had wonderful
response from the Ganoksin groups…I was able to have the crucible
arm welded this am by my nephew and then I did reheat the flasks.� I
was successful in two of the castings and one did not
complete…but I don’t think it was due to this problem…it appears
to have been too thin. � You guys are great for responding so
quickly! �

Thanks again and take care.
Yolanda Rosales