Almost ruined a $500 ductile iron casting because I skipped preheating the ladle

I figured I'd save 10 minutes on a small job and ended up with cold shuts and porosity in the whole pour, so now I always let my ladle sit on the furnace for at least 15 minutes. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way with their pour temps?

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1 Comment

leo56716h ago

Honestly, that's one of those lessons that sticks with you after you watch $500 worth of metal turn into scrap. I do the same thing now with my ladle, I leave it in the furnace while I finish prepping the mold so it's just radiating heat when I'm ready to tap. Cold ladle is a killer on ductile especially, I'll also give it a quick wipe with a torch if I'm working in a drafty shop. Ngl I've gotten lazy on small pours before and paid for it every time.