Note: I use kids play sand (very fine) from the local hardware store and regular black molasses from the fodder store. I mix it at approximately 5 - 10% molasses (by volume) or whatever makes it cling/bind. Don't add more than is absolutely necessary. The mix consistency should NOT be wet. I keep and re-use the mix after filtering out any burnt lumps with some fly wire or similar. Over time the molasses will evaporate off if stored in an open container. Both components are cheap to buy. Cheers Rob
Another EPIC video mate... One bloke I know from a very poor country stated they have been doing this for hundreds of years. He mentioned exactly same concept, thou he said "boiled raisins mixed with fine sand". I tried boiling raisins but did end up with nothing like syrup... Another great video mate,thanks
Hi Rob. That came out well 👍👍👍 Not heard of the play sand and molasses technique before, very interesting. Be good to see the casting after you've machined it. Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan, I stumbled across this mix on a Pakistani YT site. Very impressive results the guy got. In this case I wiggled the former around a bit to make the arms a bit thicker, but apart from that it's not too dissimilar. The original was obviously done in a steel mold. This will need quite a bit of machining and clean up, which will be time consuming. I will do that to see how it scrubs up. If it's any good i may swap out the existing carriage lock bolt. Interesting exercise. Cheers Rob
Nice work Rob and it came out very well. Yep, they have been using Molasses in India and Pakistan for hundreds of years for sand moulds and its used for everything from aluminium to cast iron. You can see they break the moulds out as soon as possible after casting to try and preserve as much of the Molasses Sand as possible before it bakes all the way through. It can also be fired of with a heating torch to harden and then have a graphite wash brushed on to give a better surface finish. Molasses is also good for cores, put them in the oven and they harden up nicely and the great thing is they break out very easily. The only down side with Molasses is the shelf life of only up to one year then it starts to grow mold so if you have a heap of sand that you only use occasionally you may need to replace it each year. Cam
Hi Cam. It worked very well at the extreme temperature. I've had that sand mix in an open bucket for over 12 months and all that's happened is that most of the molasses has evaporated off. No mold. I just added some more and went for it. I think it's about 5 - 10 percent from memory. What ever seems right. Certaiinly a cheap and easy way to do it. No muller required. The place I bought the molasses from said quite a few people buy it to make gin in their home brew fermenter. He He. Cheers Rob
No one uses molasses anymore in India atleast. It's lot more expensive now. We have bentonite mixed with fine White Silica Sand (available at $5 per 1000kg) Cast iron needs slow cooling, prematurely taking it out creates brittle castings.
Interesting you should say that. I was originally going to do this with Bentonite clay and play pit sand, but at the last minute changed my mind to go with the molasses. I will do the Bentonite thing another day. Cheers Rob
A 5 gallon bucket with 12 on ice somehow turned into 2 sealed truck inner tubes of Bentonite as wheel well ballast while doing some control upgrades for a drilling platform.
G'day Rob. Sweet. I've watched a number of the casting videos from Pakistan and am amazed what they can do. I've read about using molasses to cure sand moulds but haven't tried it yet, what's the smell like when baked/heated,sweet?? Cheers Peter
Hi Peter. I didn't notice any smell, but it was outdoors. This is the second time I've used this method (first was with ally) and it seems pretty useful and varied in how you can use it. Very cheap and no muller required. Plus it all washes off with water. Worth a try. Cheers Rob
Sure Michel. They also do other things besides metal casting, most of which would never get past OH&S in the west ;) Very interesting channel. th-cam.com/users/WowThings Cheers Rob
Just a thought, would garnet used for sandblasting be a good substitute to sand ? You can get them in specific grades depending on how fine you want them.
You could use garnet as it is a sand substitute, but it is a lot more expensive. Play pit sand is very fine and similar to most garnet dimensions I've used for grit blasting. Cheers Rob
Hi Jason. I think that's it. He did a number of videos on casting aluminium and used the same technique/mix each time. You don't need much molasses to bind it. This cast turned out pretty good as a demonstration: th-cam.com/video/2NAdyOPbOEg/w-d-xo.html Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu I'd say it is. It looks like a really good technique to use. The sand once you're finished with it would be very clean to dispose of anywhere. The other solutions I've seen are not so clean. The castings he produces look pretty good too.
Hi Jason, I kept that sand mix from last time and had it in an open steel bucket for at least 12 months. Seived it through some fly wire, added a bit more molasses to replave what had evaporated off and used it again. No problem. Cheers Rob
Note: I use kids play sand (very fine) from the local hardware store and regular black molasses from the fodder store. I mix it at approximately 5 - 10% molasses (by volume) or whatever makes it cling/bind. Don't add more than is absolutely necessary. The mix consistency should NOT be wet. I keep and re-use the mix after filtering out any burnt lumps with some fly wire or similar. Over time the molasses will evaporate off if stored in an open container. Both components are cheap to buy. Cheers Rob
I know this is 2 years old, but it was by 5%-10% by weight right?
@@Poetofsilver The ratio is by volume.
@@Xynudu Ah thank you. I'll have to break out the measuring cups
Don't ya just love it when a plain comes together, excellent job Rob..
Turned out way better than I expected. Cheers Rob
Another EPIC video mate... One bloke I know from a very poor country stated they have been doing this for hundreds of years. He mentioned exactly same concept, thou he said "boiled raisins mixed with fine sand". I tried boiling raisins but did end up with nothing like syrup... Another great video mate,thanks
Thank you Samuel. Molasses is very cheap in Australia and so is sand. It's a great way to try casting with minimal equipment. Cheers Rob
are you kidding !! WOW .. great share rob.. Worked out just as you were shown.. ENJOYED !!
Cant wait to see it in use! Thanks for the molasses idea. That’ll come in handy
The mix is cheap and cheerful and works pretty damn well. Cheers Rob
Very interesting as usual. Enjoy your summer.
The old McWilliams molasses. Well done.
Ha Ha. Yes, nothing quite like it ;) Cheers Rob
I think it turned out great. I worked in a foundry years ago all it was was sand a pattern and hot metal. you can make all kinds of stuff
Thanks for sharing 👍
I like your casting vids thanks
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing, Robby.
My pleasure!
Great result Rob , 😊👍
Yes Colum. I will try casting brass round stock this way. Cheers Rob
Hi Rob. That came out well 👍👍👍 Not heard of the play sand and molasses technique before, very interesting. Be good to see the casting after you've machined it. Cheers, Alan.
Hi Alan, I stumbled across this mix on a Pakistani YT site. Very impressive results the guy got. In this case I wiggled the former around a bit to make the arms a bit thicker, but apart from that it's not too dissimilar. The original was obviously done in a steel mold. This will need quite a bit of machining and clean up, which will be time consuming. I will do that to see how it scrubs up. If it's any good i may swap out the existing carriage lock bolt. Interesting exercise. Cheers Rob
Nice work Rob and it came out very well. Yep, they have been using Molasses in India and Pakistan for hundreds of years for sand moulds and its used for everything from aluminium to cast iron. You can see they break the moulds out as soon as possible after casting to try and preserve as much of the Molasses Sand as possible before it bakes all the way through. It can also be fired of with a heating torch to harden and then have a graphite wash brushed on to give a better surface finish. Molasses is also good for cores, put them in the oven and they harden up nicely and the great thing is they break out very easily. The only down side with Molasses is the shelf life of only up to one year then it starts to grow mold so if you have a heap of sand that you only use occasionally you may need to replace it each year.
Cam
Hi Cam. It worked very well at the extreme temperature. I've had that sand mix in an open bucket for over 12 months and all that's happened is that most of the molasses has evaporated off. No mold. I just added some more and went for it. I think it's about 5 - 10 percent from memory. What ever seems right. Certaiinly a cheap and easy way to do it. No muller required. The place I bought the molasses from said quite a few people buy it to make gin in their home brew fermenter. He He. Cheers Rob
No one uses molasses anymore in India atleast. It's lot more expensive now.
We have bentonite mixed with fine White Silica Sand (available at $5 per 1000kg)
Cast iron needs slow cooling, prematurely taking it out creates brittle castings.
Interesting you should say that. I was originally going to do this with Bentonite clay and play pit sand, but at the last minute changed my mind to go with the molasses. I will do the Bentonite thing another day. Cheers Rob
A 5 gallon bucket with 12 on ice somehow turned into 2 sealed truck inner tubes of Bentonite as wheel well ballast while doing some control upgrades for a drilling platform.
Good stuff, rob. very interesting. Good exchanges in the comments too. All the best, Mart.
Hi Mart. Yes, it could make you consider replicating stuff if necessary. Cheers Rob
G'day Rob. Sweet. I've watched a number of the casting videos from Pakistan and am amazed what they can do. I've read about using molasses to cure sand moulds but haven't tried it yet, what's the smell like when baked/heated,sweet??
Cheers Peter
Hi Peter. I didn't notice any smell, but it was outdoors. This is the second time I've used this method (first was with ally) and it seems pretty useful and varied in how you can use it. Very cheap and no muller required. Plus it all washes off with water. Worth a try. Cheers Rob
Hey Rob. nice result. Any chance of a link to the pakistan casting channel you talked about?
Sure Michel. They also do other things besides metal casting, most of which would never get past OH&S in the west ;)
Very interesting channel. th-cam.com/users/WowThings
Cheers Rob
Gday i thought you must have carked it mate, i havent been reccomended one of your videos for years.
Have a good day
Welcome back
Just a thought, would garnet used for sandblasting be a good substitute to sand ? You can get them in specific grades depending on how fine you want them.
You could use garnet as it is a sand substitute, but it is a lot more expensive. Play pit sand is very fine and similar to most garnet dimensions I've used for grit blasting. Cheers Rob
Did you taste it afterwards? 😁
Thanks Xynudu, thats cool! did i hear you mention the source of the molasses technique? can you share it?
oops already shared below:) cheers
I've now added the link to the video description. Cheers Rob
You've got to be happy with that Rob... I was not aware that molasses could be used...
We all live and learn Paul. Some of the stuff they do in India and Pakistan beggars belief. Cheers Rob
Video machining it mate
(please)
I will see what I can do. Cheers Rob
This is the video - th-cam.com/video/ToWAUA5CRs8/w-d-xo.html
Hi Jason. I think that's it. He did a number of videos on casting aluminium and used the same technique/mix each time. You don't need much molasses to bind it. This cast turned out pretty good as a demonstration: th-cam.com/video/2NAdyOPbOEg/w-d-xo.html
Cheers Rob
@@Xynudu I'd say it is. It looks like a really good technique to use. The sand once you're finished with it would be very clean to dispose of anywhere. The other solutions I've seen are not so clean. The castings he produces look pretty good too.
Hi Jason, I kept that sand mix from last time and had it in an open steel bucket for at least 12 months. Seived it through some fly wire, added a bit more molasses to replave what had evaporated off and used it again. No problem. Cheers Rob