You are hilarious. I love all of the "bloopers" and your obvious deviant sense of humor. I wish i knew you personally 😂 i would have a blast learning and laughing.
When my son was 15 he said he didn't need driving lessons because he knew how to drive just from watching me do it. I now know how he felt. I'm sure I could melt metal successfully just from watching your videos.
I expect you actually could melt metal, we all do it without any hands-on training, its the other stuff, like parallel parking where it gets tricky 😄 Then again, you might have been one heck of a driver 😄 BTW, what's harder to drive, a car or a train?
Perry, good to see you back, sorry can't say it enough. Your mentor has got to be proud, the student now an accomplished caster and doing some very needed teaching. I saw not too long ago Martin made a comment about over-ramming with his air rammer, of course he's very critical of his own work. I couldn't see a problem. Anyway thanks for the sharing of your knowledge and be safe.
Thanks Donnie. I'm trying to not play the role of authority here, because I'm not one. I did feel the need to put together a series largely because I continually get "instruction" in the comments of my very early and abysmal casting videos. I've heard the same thing about ramming too hard. I don't know that I could do that by hand... maybe if I try REALLY hard... I ram pretty firm but as you'll see in next weeks video while I forgot to cut vents the sand still appears to be reasonably gas-permeable.
@@swdweeb your filling a much needed void, watching the hobby channels to me is something I do just for entertainment of it. Some are humorous, some are just....well I think it's like Martin said about some, he saw no reason to "polish a turd" lol referring to polishing ingots. Thanks for sharing.
Sir I loved it. Sir I'm going through my first year of Computer Science and Engineering and your demonstration made me do a lot well in my workshop class. Sir, you did a pretty clean task. Thank you sir.
Well, certainly not a foundry dude. 😄😄 I forgot to give credit where credit was due. Tobho Mott told me about it. I'll have to figure out a way to make it up to him.
Dang, I cant tell you how often I've turned the box over and seen half empty corners. And... they seem to take a ton of sand. I can keep putting it in the corners and ramming it down repeatedly.
If only you had the proper tools to turn one up 😄😄 I expect to see your face engraved in the side, a beautiful dyed anodized finish. I think blue would be nice 😄
I am so looking forward to learn how to melt and cast since I first started watching all the videos I can find on u-tube. There are tons of stuff here to melt in the Philippines. Unfortunately I have been in Covid quarentine since March 15 th as I am over 59 years old and can't leave my property. Hopefully this pandemic will end someday and I can start. Until than I have all your's and other's videos downloaded. Thanks for the content and look forward to the next one.
Don;t get me started on when or if this virus will go away. Sorry you're quarantined. I'm older than you but at least I can still get out. I hope you are able to get out soon and start collecting material. I love metal casting, it gives me joy.
A great discussion about an aspect of sand molding that isn't often discussed in much detail. A bronze horseshoe would look good on that tack shed. Just saying... Cheers from Juneau Alaska, Greg Chaney
You and that darn horseshoe 😄 I have a new shoe that I can use as a pattern now, I just have to find the time to shoot a new video. Oh and the desire to make more aluminum bronze, I assume you want it to be "golden" in color too 😄
My copes are 3 1/2" deep. I pack the sand in two lifts. After riddling and filling the cope 2/3rd's full, ram around the edges and the pattern with the tapered end. Then pack the rest with the 1 1/2" butt end, just enough to get a good finish. Fill the rest of cope and use my 2" x 2" ram to pack the top lift softer than the lower lift. This will let the sand breathe better. By packing in two lifts you have a better consistency of the facing layer on your pattern.
Thanks Andy. You're going to get a mention in an upcoming video. Not this weeks but next week or the week following. It has to do with an approach that mimics contact pouring basins at the home foundry.
@@swdweeb You've sure been busy. I've been trying to find some time to make some more videos. I really want to make some beginning blacksmithing videos.
@Andrew Martin Well, if you consider seven months of not uploading anything busy... :-D Maybe I'm trying to make up for lost time. Maybe I'm just feeling the juices again. Been editing next weeks video this evening. Good luck on the blacksmithing stuff. I found that really hard to do when I tried it.
Hey Perry. I was wondering if you will ever try out a multilevel drag system like for example a three level system? I hope I got that right. :D But yeah. Nice to see you back in action.
I have thought about it a lot. I think they're called cheek boxes... I know cheek is right but box??? Anyway, yes I intend to try one. I'm not sure you can truly fill a mold the way Campbell describes without it.
@@swdweeb maybe with a vertically parted flask... Remember Andrew Martin's exploding glass flasks? Always fun to see 3 or more part molds being made though, looking forward!
@@tobhomott I keep wondering if I shold just make some cheap/easy molds out of wood to learn how to use the cheek mold. My inclination is to make a pattern and spend a bunch of time pouring only to find out I wished I'd done it differently 😄😄
Good chat... I am looking forward to casting my rammer. I made the flask the other day and put my logo on the model and reprinted it, so I think today might be the day. This is a great explanation of how to ram sand... I wonder if this has anything to do with the origin of the phrase "go pound sand"? Thank you for the demo... Be well...
Excellent video. Just getting started. I will definitely be trading my hammer in for a ramming tool. Where did you get your "runner and spin trap" from.
The runner and spin trap are based on Professor John Campbell's theory. I also used information from Bob Puhakka in my design. I model and print the runner and spin traps that I use. I don't have time this morning, but if you look through my channel, you will find a couple of videos that Bob did for me. I also have a video on runners and gates that talks about them and finally there is a video about reducing porosity that I think talks about them. If you cant find them let me know
@@swdweeb thank you so much. I found the files and sent to to a friend to 3d print. I will definitely be checking out more videos on your pages. Liked and subscribed
Question. You riddle the sand to make a nice finish where it presses against the pattern. But when you ram it the sand against the sides of the pattern will be compressed down, leaving half or a third of the side of the pattern faced with the clumpy sand. Has that been a problem? I would think that after you riddle the sand you would use your fingers to press it against the sides of the pattern to keep good facing sand against the sides. Might also help with the tear-outs. I don't cast (yet), just trying to make sense of things.
Well, there's your first problem Mark, trying to make sense of things 😄 That is true for tall patterns, The sand definitely compresses down past where the riddles sand is. For stuff like I cast in this video I had plenty of riddled sand over the pattern. I suppose you could do as you suggest by riddling and then pressing with your fingers. I don;t recall doing that with the bells that I cast. I do recall filling the mold with riddled sand. I'm looking at two of the bells right now and I dont see any creases due to gaps in the sand. It could be due to the fact that the sand that is closer to the end of the ramming tool will compress/pack more than the sand that is further away. Maybe my ramming with the peen end first got the bottom part of the bell and the butt end did the top. That's a darn good question though.
@@swdweeb It would appear that for most castings the layer of riddled sand is enough but like you say for a tall casting the ordinary sand will end up facing the molding. If the item is sufficiently tall enough then it will be laid on it's side anyway and end up with a parting line. Fully mulling your sand prior to ramming up should reduce defects due to voids.
@@markfryer9880 Good to see you're still here Mark 😄 I suppose one could riddle an excessive about of sand so that the whole thing stays covered but I think you're right, if the sand is prepared beforehand it'll be soft and mold up against the pattern well
Best comment ever! I am a teacher at heart so this made my day. 😄 I've never been employed as a teacher, but I have done a lot of teaching... if that makes sense
Is it possible to ram the sand too hard? I've been using both petrobond & some green sand i made. I seem to have more breakouts of large chunks not releasing from the mold especially with the petrobond. I haven't been doing this too long, so i'm learning as i go. Where i've really been having difficulty is doing some coins & trying to get more detail in them, but that's for another time, maybe you could do a video on right temp for the metals to flow properly & how to get more detail in the smaller molds. Thanks for all the great videos!!!
Yes, you can ram sand up to hard to the point where it causes defects in your castings. Ridling your sand allows for finer sand to replicate finer details in the mold. Venting is also important to prevent gas buildup and gas related defects. Olfoundryman is currently doing a series on making Aluminium casting boxes, and in the last two videos he shows some defects and explains their likely causes.
Someone who knows a lot more than I do about sand molding once told me "You're cracking walnuts, not rocks". But I just go by feel, you can tell when the sand firms up under the rammer. The sand needs to remain permeable enough that gases generated inside the packed sand from the hot molten metal can escape the mold through it instead of getting trapped inside the cavity and messing up the casting (or in the worst case, making the mold explode / spit metal back out at you). If you ram up much harder than needed for the mold to hold its shape through the pour and until the casting freezes, the sand will be denser and less permeable to the steam (or smoke with PB). So, for the same reason you can't put infinite amounts of clay and water in your greensand to make it much stronger than it needs to be, you can't ram it up hard as a rock either. Even with generous use of the venting wire, trapped steam/gas defects may occur. Petrobond can use finer sand grains and be rammed up much harder than greensand before running into permeability issues because the smoke from the burning oil in it has a much smaller volume than the steam from the vaporized water in greensand. Also, if the sand is rammed so hard it has no give to it at all, castings that surround sections of sand (like the heart Perry cast here) could potentially even tear themselves apart trying to shrink a little bit just after solidifying, while the solid metal is still hot-short (crumbly). But I think you'd have to ram REALLY hard to cause that. It can be an issue with overly hardened cores though.
Venting is a source of contention especially with guys like Luckygen1001. I have been an advocate of using vents and he has no need for them. He proves it many times over. I expect this is due to two things, his sand composition is different than mine and he has developed a touch for how hard is hard enough. It is possible that I've crossed the line on how hard... next week's video shows a plaque that I forgot to vent. For the most part it flowed pretty well... for the most part
You are hilarious. I love all of the "bloopers" and your obvious deviant sense of humor. I wish i knew you personally 😂 i would have a blast learning and laughing.
Ha! You're in the minority :-D Thanks, I appreciate it.
When my son was 15 he said he didn't need driving lessons because he knew how to drive just from watching me do it. I now know how he felt. I'm sure I could melt metal successfully just from watching your videos.
I expect you actually could melt metal, we all do it without any hands-on training, its the other stuff, like parallel parking where it gets tricky 😄 Then again, you might have been one heck of a driver 😄
BTW, what's harder to drive, a car or a train?
@@swdweeb Anyone can pull a few levers Perry. But doing it in a way that doesn't end up with a pile of scrap steel behind you is the art of it.
@@volgnit Fair enough mate 😄 I expect, but could be wrong, that there are a few less crazies driving the tracks than the roads. Take care
Perry, good to see you back, sorry can't say it enough. Your mentor has got to be proud, the student now an accomplished caster and doing some very needed teaching.
I saw not too long ago Martin made a comment about over-ramming with his air rammer, of course he's very critical of his own work. I couldn't see a problem. Anyway thanks for the sharing of your knowledge and be safe.
Thanks Donnie. I'm trying to not play the role of authority here, because I'm not one. I did feel the need to put together a series largely because I continually get "instruction" in the comments of my very early and abysmal casting videos.
I've heard the same thing about ramming too hard. I don't know that I could do that by hand... maybe if I try REALLY hard... I ram pretty firm but as you'll see in next weeks video while I forgot to cut vents the sand still appears to be reasonably gas-permeable.
@@swdweeb your filling a much needed void, watching the hobby channels to me is something I do just for entertainment of it. Some are humorous, some are just....well I think it's like Martin said about some, he saw no reason to "polish a turd" lol referring to polishing ingots.
Thanks for sharing.
@@donniebrown2896 Yeah, I watch a couple of those channels but because I consider the guys that run them friends. They're good guys.
Once again another awesome video , full of GOOD advice. Thank you
Thanks again!
Sir I loved it. Sir I'm going through my first year of Computer Science and Engineering and your demonstration made me do a lot well in my workshop class. Sir, you did a pretty clean task. Thank you sir.
You are most welcome
Well done Perry! Thanks for the teachings on butt & peen! Who knew!?! 🤣🤙🏼👊🏼
Well, certainly not a foundry dude. 😄😄
I forgot to give credit where credit was due. Tobho Mott told me about it. I'll have to figure out a way to make it up to him.
Thanks for the knowledge
Thank you. Just know that you get what you pay for 😄😄
swdweeb
rofl
Great vid! 👍🏻 the corners are always the most annoying and always have to pack those down more. That came out perfect!
Dang, I cant tell you how often I've turned the box over and seen half empty corners. And... they seem to take a ton of sand. I can keep putting it in the corners and ramming it down repeatedly.
Okay, now I have to make myself a proper ramming tool. I think it's time for my Buffy the vampire slayer stake to go. Good job. Regards, Mark Presling
If only you had the proper tools to turn one up 😄😄 I expect to see your face engraved in the side, a beautiful dyed anodized finish. I think blue would be nice 😄
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Peter
Thanks Peter
Another excellent video my friend! Great how to / what’s what.
Thanks bud.
Thanks for sharing! Nice demo,
Thanks Craig
Gott acatch up with some of these videos, great and educational video Perry :)
Welcome back!
Thanks for doing these. Learning with every video. 👍👍
You're more than welcome. Been wanting to do something like this for a while now
Awesome job perry!
Thanks mate
I am so looking forward to learn how to melt and cast since I first started watching all the videos I can find on u-tube. There are tons of stuff here to melt in the Philippines. Unfortunately I have been in Covid quarentine since March 15 th as I am over 59 years old and can't leave my property. Hopefully this pandemic will end someday and I can start. Until than I have all your's and other's videos downloaded. Thanks for the content and look forward to the next one.
Don;t get me started on when or if this virus will go away. Sorry you're quarantined. I'm older than you but at least I can still get out.
I hope you are able to get out soon and start collecting material. I love metal casting, it gives me joy.
@@swdweeb
Thank you for the fast comment. Yeah being in lockdown sucks. But as for age I will be 72 this October so we must be close there.
@@davidbates7429 Ahhh... I read that as 59 years old, not "over 59" 😄 Sorry about that. Still hope you can get out and get material soon
A great discussion about an aspect of sand molding that isn't often discussed in much detail. A bronze horseshoe would look good on that tack shed. Just saying...
Cheers from Juneau Alaska,
Greg Chaney
You and that darn horseshoe 😄 I have a new shoe that I can use as a pattern now, I just have to find the time to shoot a new video. Oh and the desire to make more aluminum bronze, I assume you want it to be "golden" in color too 😄
@@swdweeb Tin Bronze would be fine too. Or silver, silver would be nice. :)
@@airshipguys Now you're just talking crazy talk... wasting a good tin bronze on a horse shoe 😄😄 I'll make up some aluminum bronze for it 😄
Really neat job and thanks for help sir!
You are very welcome
Very useful and clearly explained -- Thanks :)
Thank you and you're very welcome
These are going to make for a great how to series.
Thanks John
My copes are 3 1/2" deep. I pack the sand in two lifts. After riddling and filling the cope 2/3rd's full, ram around the edges and the pattern with the tapered end. Then pack the rest with the 1 1/2" butt end, just enough to get a good finish. Fill the rest of cope and use my 2" x 2" ram to pack the top lift softer than the lower lift. This will let the sand breathe better. By packing in two lifts you have a better consistency of the facing layer on your pattern.
Good description.
Nice video Perry!
Thanks Andy. You're going to get a mention in an upcoming video. Not this weeks but next week or the week following. It has to do with an approach that mimics contact pouring basins at the home foundry.
@@swdweeb You've sure been busy. I've been trying to find some time to make some more videos. I really want to make some beginning blacksmithing videos.
@Andrew Martin Well, if you consider seven months of not uploading anything busy... :-D Maybe I'm trying to make up for lost time. Maybe I'm just feeling the juices again. Been editing next weeks video this evening.
Good luck on the blacksmithing stuff. I found that really hard to do when I tried it.
Hey Perry. I was wondering if you will ever try out a multilevel drag system like for example a three level system? I hope I got that right. :D But yeah. Nice to see you back in action.
I have thought about it a lot. I think they're called cheek boxes... I know cheek is right but box??? Anyway, yes I intend to try one. I'm not sure you can truly fill a mold the way Campbell describes without it.
@@swdweeb maybe with a vertically parted flask... Remember Andrew Martin's exploding glass flasks? Always fun to see 3 or more part molds being made though, looking forward!
@@tobhomott I keep wondering if I shold just make some cheap/easy molds out of wood to learn how to use the cheek mold. My inclination is to make a pattern and spend a bunch of time pouring only to find out I wished I'd done it differently 😄😄
Great instruction Perry. Do you 3D print your own patterns ?
Hi Lloyd, yes I do. Well, that is when my printer is working :-D
Great vidio.you can never talk too much in instructional video's. explination is important.
Well, the "view time" per video stats that I get would tend to disagree with you. I of course love to talk so I completely agree with you
Good chat... I am looking forward to casting my rammer. I made the flask the other day and put my logo on the model and reprinted it, so I think today might be the day. This is a great explanation of how to ram sand... I wonder if this has anything to do with the origin of the phrase "go pound sand"? Thank you for the demo... Be well...
I thought it might but "pounding sand" is meant as a futile effort. Ramming sand is generally not so futile... although there are times 😄
Enjoyed your presentation, Leart some more , very informative!
Can other metals ( high temperature like bronze) be successful in sand casting?
Cheers
Yes, bronze, brass, cast iron,... all of them can be sand cast
If you have the time so do I. Like I said thank you for sharing your tips and tricks. Can you cast some numbers with a open back side.
Such as the numbers not Surrounded by sand The back side open
Ok James 😄 I am planning to do an open versus closed mold pour at some point. I've still got a few weeks of other material to cover first.
Thanks man
Excellent video. Just getting started. I will definitely be trading my hammer in for a ramming tool. Where did you get your "runner and spin trap" from.
The runner and spin trap are based on Professor John Campbell's theory. I also used information from Bob Puhakka in my design. I model and print the runner and spin traps that I use. I don't have time this morning, but if you look through my channel, you will find a couple of videos that Bob did for me. I also have a video on runners and gates that talks about them and finally there is a video about reducing porosity that I think talks about them. If you cant find them let me know
@@swdweeb thank you so much. I found the files and sent to to a friend to 3d print. I will definitely be checking out more videos on your pages. Liked and subscribed
@@billsaunders1879 Wonderful. Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever have questions
Question. You riddle the sand to make a nice finish where it presses against the pattern. But when you ram it the sand against the sides of the pattern will be compressed down, leaving half or a third of the side of the pattern faced with the clumpy sand. Has that been a problem? I would think that after you riddle the sand you would use your fingers to press it against the sides of the pattern to keep good facing sand against the sides. Might also help with the tear-outs. I don't cast (yet), just trying to make sense of things.
Well, there's your first problem Mark, trying to make sense of things 😄
That is true for tall patterns, The sand definitely compresses down past where the riddles sand is. For stuff like I cast in this video I had plenty of riddled sand over the pattern.
I suppose you could do as you suggest by riddling and then pressing with your fingers. I don;t recall doing that with the bells that I cast. I do recall filling the mold with riddled sand. I'm looking at two of the bells right now and I dont see any creases due to gaps in the sand.
It could be due to the fact that the sand that is closer to the end of the ramming tool will compress/pack more than the sand that is further away. Maybe my ramming with the peen end first got the bottom part of the bell and the butt end did the top. That's a darn good question though.
@@swdweeb It would appear that for most castings the layer of riddled sand is enough but like you say for a tall casting the ordinary sand will end up facing the molding. If the item is sufficiently tall enough then it will be laid on it's side anyway and end up with a parting line. Fully mulling your sand prior to ramming up should reduce defects due to voids.
@@markfryer9880 Good to see you're still here Mark 😄 I suppose one could riddle an excessive about of sand so that the whole thing stays covered but I think you're right, if the sand is prepared beforehand it'll be soft and mold up against the pattern well
The first part before the ramming is important, you want your facing sand riddled to give the best finish possible.
I agree, riddling the sand over the pattern gives a much better surface
Were or are you a teacher by any chance? You're good at it.
Best comment ever! I am a teacher at heart so this made my day. 😄 I've never been employed as a teacher, but I have done a lot of teaching... if that makes sense
Is it possible to ram the sand too hard? I've been using both petrobond & some green sand i made. I seem to have more breakouts of large chunks not releasing from the mold especially with the petrobond. I haven't been doing this too long, so i'm learning as i go. Where i've really been having difficulty is doing some coins & trying to get more detail in them, but that's for another time, maybe you could do a video on right temp for the metals to flow properly & how to get more detail in the smaller molds. Thanks for all the great videos!!!
Yes, you can ram sand up to hard to the point where it causes defects in your castings. Ridling your sand allows for finer sand to replicate finer details in the mold. Venting is also important to prevent gas buildup and gas related defects. Olfoundryman is currently doing a series on making Aluminium casting boxes, and in the last two videos he shows some defects and explains their likely causes.
Someone who knows a lot more than I do about sand molding once told me "You're cracking walnuts, not rocks". But I just go by feel, you can tell when the sand firms up under the rammer.
The sand needs to remain permeable enough that gases generated inside the packed sand from the hot molten metal can escape the mold through it instead of getting trapped inside the cavity and messing up the casting (or in the worst case, making the mold explode / spit metal back out at you). If you ram up much harder than needed for the mold to hold its shape through the pour and until the casting freezes, the sand will be denser and less permeable to the steam (or smoke with PB). So, for the same reason you can't put infinite amounts of clay and water in your greensand to make it much stronger than it needs to be, you can't ram it up hard as a rock either. Even with generous use of the venting wire, trapped steam/gas defects may occur. Petrobond can use finer sand grains and be rammed up much harder than greensand before running into permeability issues because the smoke from the burning oil in it has a much smaller volume than the steam from the vaporized water in greensand. Also, if the sand is rammed so hard it has no give to it at all, castings that surround sections of sand (like the heart Perry cast here) could potentially even tear themselves apart trying to shrink a little bit just after solidifying, while the solid metal is still hot-short (crumbly). But I think you'd have to ram REALLY hard to cause that. It can be an issue with overly hardened cores though.
@Tobho Mott, good stuff. Thanks. I neglected to give you credit for the peen and butt knowledge. I was in a rush and forgot. I will make it up to you.
Venting is a source of contention especially with guys like Luckygen1001. I have been an advocate of using vents and he has no need for them. He proves it many times over. I expect this is due to two things, his sand composition is different than mine and he has developed a touch for how hard is hard enough. It is possible that I've crossed the line on how hard... next week's video shows a plaque that I forgot to vent. For the most part it flowed pretty well... for the most part
@@swdweeb no worries. 👍 I really need to get back out in my foundry soon...
👍👍😎👍👍
thanks
Now, if someone tells you to go pound sand, you can take it seriously and look forward to it.
There ya go
Hiya
Hi Bill