Bead furnace

5 A bead furnace has a furnace with a furnace chamber 4 and opening 6. A closure assembly 20 is provided on closure assembly 22. The closure assembly has a blank closure element 26 and an active closure element 32 on different sides of the closure assembly, each matching the opening 6. A crucible holder 44 with a detent for holding a crucible and a mould holder 60 10 for holding a mould are provided on the active face. The closure assembly moves between two states, a load state with the blank closure element 26 in the furnace opening and an operation state with the active closure element 32 in the furnace opening with the crucible and mould in the furnace. The closure assembly can agitate the crucible contents and then tip the crucible to pour 15 fused contents into the mould.