Abstract: A furnace to contain molten zinc, molten aluminum, or other molten metal has an outer vessel, an inner vessel, and particulate matter packed therebetween so as to enable the inner vessel to be lifted readily from the outer vessel. Electrical conductors are imbedded in said matter and arranged to close an electrical circuit including a signalling means if bridged by any molten metal leaking from the inner vessel. The furnace is provided with a removable bonnet, a beam mounted across the inner vessel, and a partition mounted to and beneath the beam so as to extend into the molten metal deeply. The inner and outer vessels, the removable bonnet, and the beam are insulative. The partition is a good conductor of heat.

Abstract: An automatic press for loading and tamping powdered explosive material in ojectile casings. An increment feeder operates in synchronism with the press and feeds successively smaller increments of explosive into the casing, as the casing fills, until the fill cycle is completed.