I love the lathe project [1], I recall looking at it quite seriously when I was younger. Inspired by this site, I welded up a crucible and setup to cast aluminum using charcoal in the bottom half of an old pot belly stove, with a hand dryer reused as a blower for heat. I did manage to melt some scrap, but I didn't have a mold ready that time. My diy flasks weren't great, and I lost interest while trying to get some green sand. I would like to try again though