Just a quick update on the “furnace project.”  We built a very small charcoal furnace.  We connected our vacuum to blow air into the coals and build a small steel crucible to hold the aluminum.  We were a little too impatient in getting the charcoal going so it ended up taking longer than we wanted and we ran out of time.  We did manage to get a small amount of molten aluminum however.  Jake took a bunch of pictures, I’ll post a slide show soon.  So bottom line is that it looks as if we will be able to pull this off.  We may attempt to melt some more again tomorrow.  Next up…Mold making.