Okay, the first rule about buying coal in Texas is, don't talk about buying coal in Texas. People will immediately begin to examine you for signs of drug use, insanity, or parated's tinfoil hats.
Duh, forgot today's saturday, so everything's closed. Can't score coke 'til Monday at the earliest. (If you wonder what the hell I'm talking about, read my last article. Besides, you'll learn something.)
So in the meantime, whilst (and at the same time even) continuing my search for better ways to make fire for my metallurgy, I remembered something I'd read in a Harry Harrison sci-fi novel, and decided to look up the "electric arc-furnace." Ooohhhhh shiny!!!!!!!!!! Must have pretty furnace!!!!!!
Turns out an electric arc furnace melts zinc, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, steel, and damned near anything else, including rocks, and the walls of your furnace if you're not careful. Even better, found a Popular Science article describing how to make one by google whacking. And it's soooooooo easy.
Take a stick welder (If you don't have a stick welder, I've seen one rigged just using current.) Attach two carbon welding rods. Insert welding rods into furnace. Leave a gap in between but keep them close together, and close to what you want to melt. Turn it on. Melt city. Don't melt down the refractory or firebrick of your furnace walls. Yes. It's that hot. DO NOT LOOK AT THE ARC WITHOUT WELDERS GOGGLES. YOU WILL GO BLIND.
They had pictures posted on the article, and the guy had it on for just a little while, and the walls of the firebrick were molten and running. I don't know about the firebrick, but it goes hotter than the melting temp for sand, which is about 2600 to 2900 degrees. Wow!!!
Obviously this is dangerous as hell, so don't do it. Not even if I'm doing it. Ever. Even if it does work. Even if you think that this paragraph is a disclaimer. I have no money, so don't try this then come crying to me about how your furnace melted through and the molten steel took your legs off at the knee. You really can go blind if you look at the arc. Other possibilities from using an arc furnace, especially a homemade one include burns, wounds, injury, death, widespread fire, nausea, acid reflux, death, headache and death.
Now that's out of the way. Afterwards I went to the hardware store and looked at welding rods.....and a flapper for my leaky toilet. While I was there, I ran into a guy looking for silver solder and chatted for a minute. Turns out he lives almost literally right behind my house, and is very into a lot of the same stuff I am, including metal casting, auto repair, and other such manly arts. He invited me over, and to use his mills, lathe, STICK WELDER, and other assorted cool shop type toys. Sweeeeet.