Question about handling a crucible that cracked mid-pour

Last Tuesday I was pouring a batch of aluminum at the shop when I heard a pop and saw a hairline crack run right down the side of my silicon carbide crucible. It was about 25 pounds of metal in there at 1,300 degrees, and I had maybe 30 seconds to decide if I should keep pouring or set it down. I set it down slow on the concrete floor, but the crack split open and dumped hot metal across three feet of my work area. I ended up with a puddle of aluminum that hardened into a pancake I'm still chiseling off. My guess is the crucible had thermal shock from me setting it on a cold shelf after the last heat. Has anyone else had a crucible fail like this mid-pour?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleym3710d ago

Isn't it wild how sometimes the smallest mistake in planning sets off a chain reaction you never saw coming?

black.oliver10d ago

and honestly, that pattern hits home with a lot of stuff, not just hot metal. it's like when you rush putting a hot pan under cold water in the kitchen, you know that little crack or warp that shows up later? same idea. its those little shortcuts we take when we're tired or in a hurry that come back to bite us. i've done it a ton with other tools too, like putting a hot drill bit in water to cool it down fast, then wondering why it snaps next use.

cora_west59d ago

yeah, finleym37 that really hits on something. i did something similar a few years back with a welding blanket. i was in a hurry after a job and just tossed it in a pile while it was still hot. couple days later i grabbed it to use again and the whole thing just crumbled apart in my hands. it was basically the same kind of thermal shock but with fiberglass instead of metal.