How to Make a Copper Smelter

Select the location for your furnace pit. A preferred location is a bare patch of ground that is away from vegetation and other flammable elements.

Dig a cylindrical-shaped furnace pit with a width of eight to twelve inches and a depth of at least twelve inches with a shovel. Dig two smaller channels across from one another for the vacuum hose.

Attach a two-foot section of black iron piping that is slightly smaller in diameter than the vacuum hose. Insert the hose over the piping and secure the pipe with a hose clamp. Repeat the procedure for the remaining hose and pipe.

Attach two lengths of vacuum hose to each end of the PVC T-connector. Secure the connections with hose clamps. Attach the remaining free end of the PVC T-connector to the outlet of the electric blower.

Place the vacuum hoses within the channels, making sure the end of the black iron piping protrudes from the walls of the furnace pit. Cover the piping and hoses with dirt.

Line the inside of the furnace pit with flat sandstone blocks, and then insulate the floor of the pit with sand.

Pour charcoal inside of the furnace pit until the charcoal covers the bottom of the pit. Ignite the charcoal and cover the pit with flat sandstone blocks. Leave a small hole in the center of the ceiling.

Allow the charcoal to burn for an hour. Afterwards, add a handful of copper ore, flux and additional charcoal through the opening. Plug the electric blower into an available power source and turn it on to stoke the fire during the smelting process.