Great info and detail. Your organization and clear explanations (along with your analysis of choices that different people and conditions may require) are very helpful. Thank you.
That sounds pretty interesting. I haven't heard of anybody using casting for knife making like that. I am glad the video can help you out. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.
Thank you. You know I thought about that and I didn't film my self building them. In my next video I can do a build explanation though. I had a large round peice of aluminum that was near the same size as the crucible to help form the metal around.
yeah, they are indeed ... Once it cools down more here, I think I'll dig out my welding stuff and make a pair. I also like Damon's pouring gadget with the sliding square tubing the keeps the crucible from falling out. It's one of those "DUH, why didn't I think of that" ideas :))
Actually I have a total smelting setup that was given to me for a Christmas present. I have yet to have the time to fire it up and cure everything before making my first pour. Hope to change that soon though. I have smelted lead for decades and except for the higher temps, everything else looks pretty much the same... Thumbs Up!
I have not smelted lead before but I can imagine your right, it would be the same except for the temp. The only suggestion for casting I have is to avoid pop can aluminum alloy if you can help it. Use aluminum alloy that has been used for casting before if you are trying to make an actual object. Good luck! Thanks for watching.
Not to pick a nit, but "smelting" is distinctly different from "melting," foundry casting. When you melt stuff to pour into a mold, you're changing the 'phase' of the substance from solid to liquid and back to solid again. Strickly speaking, pouring water into an ice tray is the same as pouring liquid aluminum into a mold. The only difference is technique and (obviously - or it better be! -) temperature. That's why hardcore metalheads don't say "hardened" but rather "Frozen" or "solidified," or - if they're super geeky or have worked professionally in a foundry - "Fused." Smelting on the other hand is what we do to get our metals in the first place: take an ore and extract the metal from it by heating the often-crushed ore beyond the melting point ("liquid transition phase") of the sought-out metal. I'm only giving this distinction for your own safety. If you're sitting around a campfire, or helping some friends do a pour, and you say "Wow this *smelting* is so much fun" - you'll get a sideways glance that'll burn your ears. :O - HP
Great videos! Thanks so much for the tips! Id like to see a video of a mold where one side isnt flat. In my mind, im guessing you would take the part and build up to a parting line using foam core, and hot glue. Pack one side, take out the model, remove the mat core, carefuling put the model back, place the other mold cavity on top and then fill that one. Break apart, cut sprue, runners and vents, pour, finish then profit. Thoughts?
Thanks so much for following my channel. I 100% agree that I need to cast something useful or completely 3D. I have been challenged by to make something fit a curved surface by another viewer so I am working on that. Currently, I have 3D printed and prepped 2 match plates that will make a 3D object(this will be filmed in the next day). Also, I will have a video of a custom drawer pull knob in 3D to cast. That pattern has been completed and I just need to film the pour. Another video I want to do is having AI help generate patterns for casting. I have been working on that the past couple days. Trust me I understand I have been stalling moving forward with my types of casting and will be progressing soon. I really appreciate the input.
So, here's something I've noticed about casting that no one seems to be attempting, what if you make a permanent steel mold? I have a fiber laser, so I can engrave with detail and accuracy, and I was wondering, would it work to make say, a two piece mold, for a repeatable coin pour? I know the machine can engrave coins, but it takes a lot of run time, and is finicky when it comes to depth details. I kinda like the idea of using the tool, to make a simpler tool, and that way all the hard work is only done once, plus I'd rather deal with exhaust gases , verse fine dust and I will say there is a lot of fine dust in laser engraving. a one time engrave is much easier to manage for dust verses dozens of coins. What do you think? is it worth trying to develop a mold in to a couple flat steel plates?
There is a channel and the name is Olfoundryman, he is doing die casting with metal molds but not in detail. I believe the aluminum sticks to the metal mold and a material is sprayed on to keep the aluminum from sticking. I have heard of using an acetylene torch with a real sooty flame to add a non stick surface of carbon too. You are right in my opinion if you tried this I have not seen this done anywhere else on the internet. Sounds interesting to see if you get this going. Another method that you could try is make a real simple coin mold with no detail. Then make a stamping die with your laser like the actual US mint uses for coins. Then you could just stamp your aluminum blanks. Either way send me a message if you post a video or send an email of the results. That would be an interesting project. Good luck!
Purity of cast and endurance of your mold are the issues. Although all steel alloys melt at much higher temps than aluminum, some of it will work its way into the cast anyway, affecting the surface qualities as well as gradually degrading the mold. If you have deeper pockets you could try machining a titanuim mold. (I'd be surprised if your laser is hot enough to dent it without many dozens of passes though :). Interestingly, titanium does expand with heat. (The reason the USAFs famous SR-71 Blackbird leaked fuel on the pad was because the titanium structures had to have gaps to allow for said expansion at Mach speeds. At full tilt, the plane elongated more than you might guess... Homework exercise :p) That historical tidbit aside, using a titanium mold in your coin casting might work well. Seems like Im contradicting myself but because your coins are going to be relatively thin (I assume) the pour will freeze faster than the mold expands. It would also help to paint on a thin layer of a commercial grade refractory which will be sacrificial, requiring replenishing before each pour. You could also try multiple layers of same if youd like to try the steel mold - it might work but youd loose a bit if detail as the thickness of sufficient layers would tend to fill the fine lines. In ether case you could also have more than one coin in the mold. But at some quanity, the tutanium would expand enough to spoll the whole batch. Expensive experiment. The stamp suggestion our dear video producer gives might just be the best in the long run. Be it gold, silver, pewter, or my favorite alloy, Zimac-12, "soft stamp" it just after the metal starts freezing. If a chill runs up your spine, that's because the spirits of the coin minters of yore are smiling as they watch over your shoulders. For that is how it was done for thousands of years.
This is the description on amazon of the unit that reads the thermal couple. It does come with thermal couples but they can not reach the temperature of melting aluminum. Its about $30 usd. Digital 2 Channels K-Type Thermometer w/ 4 Thermocouples (Wired & Stainless Steel), -50~1300°C (-58~2372°F) Handheld Desktop High Temperature Kelvin Scale Dual Measurement Meter Sensor I can't find the exact thermocouple I have used, I believe though that mine could read to 2000F. My video called "Making a Fallout 76 emblem out of aluminum using the sand casting process and tooling upgrades" has the most detail in it about the probe. Also, in the video I use it against a IR point thermometer. I think the reflectiveness and distance of alot of objects interfere with those. I had previously purchased an IR thermometer that was supposed to cover the melting point of aluminum and it never seemed to work correctly so I returned it. My opinion, I get the best reading by a thermocouple. th-cam.com/video/bF10FhQx03Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oNaloIFK7OoRrQE9 Thanks for watching!
In my video with the match plates where I made a grenade the aluminum was dumped straight in the top of the casting flask. The grenades did have some small flaws in them. I think the goal of casting would be to get a nice even flow and fill of aluminum. Also try and use a pouring basin carved in the sand it helps with making it easier to pour along with a smooth flow of aluminum introduced into the mold. The other piece of advice I would definitely say is to use a little bit of air to remove any loose sand. I personally try and avoid a straight pour when I can.
I have never visited Romania so I am not sure what you have available there. You might have to make your own greensand rather than petrobond. There are videos on how to make your own green sand on TH-cam. Sifting the sand will get you a finer mesh. For the aluminum you will probably hit up salvage yards for car parts that were previously cast. I have tried other types of aluminum and it doesn't cast as well as an aluminum alloy that was formulated for casting. My propane burner has a ceramic wool interior that needs to be coated so ceramic fibers do not get into my lungs. There are plenty of videos on TH-cam on making furnaces you will have to choose one that fits your available resources. Basically its going to be how resourceful you can be. Good Luck!
@DamonsMetalCasting Damon, what thermocouple did you find on Amazon? I'm fairly good at tracking parts down, but for whatever reason, I've yet to find a thermocouple that can be dipped directly into the liquid metal (without melting :P) . I'm really encouraged that you found one. [Later EDIT NOTE: Well, maybe if I'd had read more of the comments here, I'd already have seen the answer below. LOL - great!] Also, I appreciate the tongs you made. If you like to experiment with different alloys, it is paramount to keep the crucibles separate and use each *only* for that specific alloy (with some exceptions). So, the crucible costs add up fast as a reasonable sized good one isn't cheap. Have you considered or tried making your own? I confess, this is the first video of yours I've watched thus far, so if you have covered that topic, please post a link. Surprisingly many of these tools, like your tongs, and materials too can be DYI'ed. I've used Petrobond of course, but I had almost nearly as good a result with fine aquarium sand and well-pulverized cat litter that has been fine sifted @ 150 mesh. For the cost, the homebrewed is nearly 8 times cheaper than the Petrobond. Sand+cat litter in a water or boiled linseed oil base are similar in function, with the oil version being a bit longer lasting before it has to be reconditioned. (Of course, any casting - and especially core sand - needs to be kept in an air tight container if at all possible. Looking forward to watching more of your work! thanks for taking the time to publish this for the benefit of other Budding Metalheads []:-) - HP in North Florida (where you must be half nuts to weld, stand in front of a forge, or "pour molten hot metal into a hole." 😛)
So far, I have been only casting aluminum so I haven't encountered having the need for multiple crucibles. I have yet to try making casting sand but definitely have an interest. The sand that I purchased just got me up and running sooner than later. The boil linseed oil base sand for casting sounds interesting to try, thanks for bringing that up. I am in a desert in dry heat. I feel bad for you with that humidity, must be heck to do any of those things you listed. If you can get your hands on one of those probes its helpful in my opinion. Hey thanks again for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Much appreciated and good luck casting! (If you have a casting from your DIY sand mixture send me a picture if you don't mind. I would like to check that out. damonsmetalcasting@gmail.com )
@@DamonsMetalCasting *UGH* wrote you a long reply and then accidently navigated away and lost the text. ... I'll try again later. (So much for being computer savvy LOL)
I've been trying to cast a piece with fine detail (jewelry) and haven't even gotten to the pouring part. Everytime I try pulling the 3d printed part, it pulls petrobond chunks with it and it'd too light to drop out on its own. Will the powder fix that?
In my experience an unfinished FDM 3d printed part is just about impossible to pull out of sand with out it tearing apart the sand. For my patterns to pull out I have to create a slick surface finish on them along with using a parting powder. You could probably try starting with baby powder AKA cornstarch. Its the safest on your lungs if you accidently inhale it. In the past I have sanded my 3d prints then sprayed primer and sanded some more. Then finally spray paint the surface. In my most current video of the "IDGAF sign" , I used glazing and spot putty with acetone for dilution. It worked really well. Then I finished it with a primer and coat of epoxy paint.
I have recently purchased myself a melting furnace but after using it today I have found that there seems to be a lot of slag stuck to the inside of the crucible any tips to stop this
I am not sure what type of aluminum you are melting. Aluminum car parts like manifolds work great for me or computer hard drive chassis. If you are doing aluminum cans you will get alot of aluminum oxides/slag If you are melting thin aluminum like cans it oxidizes pretty bad because of the larger surface area per volume. The slag should be floating to the top to scrap off before the pour also. If you can provide more detail I might be able to understand what is happening better. Thanks for commenting!
@@DamonsMetalCasting it is soda cans that I was melting and after removing to be excessive amounts of slag I then poured the molten aluminium and then for some reason there was a lot that had stuck to the inside of the crucible I will take photos tomorrow and try and upload them
I think it works about the same. My videos on this channel started off with 190mesh green sand(grey in color). The videos using green sand are the Maltese cross, incense holder, and peace sign. The only reason I decided to use petrobond(brown in color) is the green sand I have has to be prepared a day in advance by hydrating and mulling to make it homogeneous. I also have accidently made the green sand too wet before and had to spread it out to get the moisture out of it. The green sand was just a little bit more work but I think you can get the same results in the end provided the mesh is close. Thanks for watching!
That's a question with alot of answers. I purchased my equipment online(Amazon). My forge I am not thrilled with because the burner is placed pointed straight at the crucible when it should be off to the side to create a swirling fire around the crucible. Also, most of the forges are made with ceramic wool, the white fluffy material inside for insulation. The ceramic wool is EXTRMEMLY HAZARDOUS to lungs and need to be covered with a refractory material. Most people use a chemical to make it rigid before applying the refractory coating. I used Greenpatch 421 from Iron Dungeon Forge. I purchased my face protection online too(amazon). My jacket/gloves are from a welding shop and I should still purchase something to protect my lower half of my body. Most forges come with crappy tongs that are generally called salad tongs(accident waiting to happen) get a decent pair of lifting tongs and a pouring ring/tongs. Your safety gear is extremely important, having an accident with molten aluminum will be unforgivable. Sometimes I wish my forge was slightly larger so I could pack alot of molds and pour at one time, its more efficient. My petrobond is TETON 190mesh ultrafine, this was from amazon but online jewelry supply stores sell this too. Get aluminum metal that has been cast before, pop can aluminum is junk and not meant for casting. Join Facebook groups and ask questions too. This casting community is full of good people that want to help and don't want to see people get hurt. I am sure I have missed more information but keep looking and researching. Good luck in your research and stay safe.
Yup. LOL I know. I am just trying out different intro styles to see what hold people's interest. TH-cam puts a metric on the first 30 seconds of a video to see if more than half of the viewers kept watching. I just don't want to post click bait. Thanks for the laugh!
Tres Bien mon ami! Thanks now I am ready to cast my first sand casting. Going to do my channel logo that I made out of creamics. It has raised letters (JASON) which will be face down . would you for-see any problems?
Hello! I would be putting the letters face down also. I am not sure what your pattern looks like but if you have beveled edges on your lettering and sides of your logo you should do really well. Are you going to post it to your channel? I will have to check it out.
@@DamonsMetalCasting Oh good ya the edges of the round saw blade shape is very soft and rounded but the raised letters and compass are pretty sharp. hopefully no air bubbles get caught down in the letters but flows up and out. How many air hols would you suggest?. It's half and inch thick and about 6" diameter . Thanks for your help. Yes, I will definitely post a video for that one.
The pattern you are casting sounds pretty thick you probably be fine with a sprue and a riser. I think the air holes help with dead ends of a pattern, if your pattern is mainly a large and thick disc it probably would be fine with out the air vents. If the lettering is sharp make sure you have parting powder(baby powder/talc) really down in those letter crevices. Sounds like getting the lettering clean will be the biggest challenge. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.
The cost of the 190mesh when I purchased it was the same as the 140mesh. I also purchased 100lbs at a time so its greatly discounted dollar per pound. People have stated that my castings look nearly die cast. I don't really care to use substandard materials and end up with an item I have to spend time with a wire wheel or other means to clean up. Since my email is posted you are welcome to send a picture of your best casting right after opening the flask and we can talk about how your casting quality is better than mine and how you did it.
@DamonsMetalCasting oh I know for sure🤣 not dogging on ya at all. I've spent AGES making up countless batches of different greensands/delft (as cheap as possibly, processing and grinding and grading 50lb bags after bag of pure silica washed sand, a bunch of different bentonite and additives, made sodium silicate and done c02 setting molds and cores, I have separate small batch sands specifically for facing, or certain difficult mold geometries etc.. NONE of them give me the finish I want- close. Really close. Even getting fingerprints and virtually smooth print lines transfered- but to be fair I'm chasing something that is virtually impossible without spending years gaining experience or just doing step 1- pony up and spend the moola on petrobond because it WORKS right out the gate🤣 I've made hundreds of lbs of greensand now for dirt cheap. 10 bucks/50 lbs, probably 15 bucks all in per 50-60 lbs. Now.. opportunity cost I've spent a FORTUNE on the time and effort, After all the time and TONS of physical work.. I really should have just spent the 100 bucks on some high mesh oil bonded sand🤣 that said I've gained tons of experience. Many outright failures before I figured it out. But yeah. Advice for anyone with some brains- for high definition molds that just work.. buy the petrobond
I agree, I wanted to get up and running with the least amount of variables possible. If I ever did this on a large scale, reducing sand cost would be definitely something I would look into.
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Great info and detail. Your organization and clear explanations (along with your analysis of choices that different people and conditions may require) are very helpful. Thank you.
Thank you for the positive feed back I appreciate it. Also, thanks for watching!
Nice pour technique. I'm just getting into casting for knife making ( guards, pommels, etc). Your vids are really helpful.
That sounds pretty interesting. I haven't heard of anybody using casting for knife making like that. I am glad the video can help you out. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment.
Those lifting tongs turned out spectacular! I'd love to see a build video on them.
Thank you. You know I thought about that and I didn't film my self building them. In my next video I can do a build explanation though. I had a large round peice of aluminum that was near the same size as the crucible to help form the metal around.
yeah, they are indeed ... Once it cools down more here, I think I'll dig out my welding stuff and make a pair. I also like Damon's pouring gadget with the sliding square tubing the keeps the crucible from falling out. It's one of those "DUH, why didn't I think of that" ideas :))
You seem like a realist. I like the way you think. ( 'specially referencing the talc.) Great work here. Thanks for posting.
@joequillun7790 Thank you! Also, I appreciate the feed back.
Actually I have a total smelting setup that was given to me for a Christmas present. I have yet to have the time to fire it up and cure everything before making my first pour. Hope to change that soon though. I have smelted lead for decades and except for the higher temps, everything else looks pretty much the same... Thumbs Up!
I have not smelted lead before but I can imagine your right, it would be the same except for the temp. The only suggestion for casting I have is to avoid pop can aluminum alloy if you can help it. Use aluminum alloy that has been used for casting before if you are trying to make an actual object. Good luck! Thanks for watching.
Not to pick a nit, but "smelting" is distinctly different from "melting," foundry casting. When you melt stuff to pour into a mold, you're changing the 'phase' of the substance from solid to liquid and back to solid again. Strickly speaking, pouring water into an ice tray is the same as pouring liquid aluminum into a mold. The only difference is technique and (obviously - or it better be! -) temperature. That's why hardcore metalheads don't say "hardened" but rather "Frozen" or "solidified," or - if they're super geeky or have worked professionally in a foundry - "Fused."
Smelting on the other hand is what we do to get our metals in the first place: take an ore and extract the metal from it by heating the often-crushed ore beyond the melting point ("liquid transition phase") of the sought-out metal.
I'm only giving this distinction for your own safety. If you're sitting around a campfire, or helping some friends do a pour, and you say "Wow this *smelting* is so much fun" - you'll get a sideways glance that'll burn your ears. :O
- HP
Great videos! Thanks so much for the tips! Id like to see a video of a mold where one side isnt flat. In my mind, im guessing you would take the part and build up to a parting line using foam core, and hot glue. Pack one side, take out the model, remove the mat core, carefuling put the model back, place the other mold cavity on top and then fill that one. Break apart, cut sprue, runners and vents, pour, finish then profit. Thoughts?
Thanks so much for following my channel. I 100% agree that I need to cast something useful or completely 3D. I have been challenged by to make something fit a curved surface by another viewer so I am working on that. Currently, I have 3D printed and prepped 2 match plates that will make a 3D object(this will be filmed in the next day). Also, I will have a video of a custom drawer pull knob in 3D to cast. That pattern has been completed and I just need to film the pour. Another video I want to do is having AI help generate patterns for casting. I have been working on that the past couple days. Trust me I understand I have been stalling moving forward with my types of casting and will be progressing soon. I really appreciate the input.
So, here's something I've noticed about casting that no one seems to be attempting, what if you make a permanent steel mold? I have a fiber laser, so I can engrave with detail and accuracy, and I was wondering, would it work to make say, a two piece mold, for a repeatable coin pour? I know the machine can engrave coins, but it takes a lot of run time, and is finicky when it comes to depth details. I kinda like the idea of using the tool, to make a simpler tool, and that way all the hard work is only done once, plus I'd rather deal with exhaust gases , verse fine dust and I will say there is a lot of fine dust in laser engraving.
a one time engrave is much easier to manage for dust verses dozens of coins. What do you think? is it worth trying to develop a mold in to a couple flat steel plates?
There is a channel and the name is Olfoundryman, he is doing die casting with metal molds but not in detail. I believe the aluminum sticks to the metal mold and a material is sprayed on to keep the aluminum from sticking. I have heard of using an acetylene torch with a real sooty flame to add a non stick surface of carbon too. You are right in my opinion if you tried this I have not seen this done anywhere else on the internet. Sounds interesting to see if you get this going. Another method that you could try is make a real simple coin mold with no detail. Then make a stamping die with your laser like the actual US mint uses for coins. Then you could just stamp your aluminum blanks. Either way send me a message if you post a video or send an email of the results. That would be an interesting project. Good luck!
Purity of cast and endurance of your mold are the issues. Although all steel alloys melt at much higher temps than aluminum, some of it will work its way into the cast anyway, affecting the surface qualities as well as gradually degrading the mold. If you have deeper pockets you could try machining a titanuim mold. (I'd be surprised if your laser is hot enough to dent it without many dozens of passes though :). Interestingly, titanium does expand with heat. (The reason the USAFs famous SR-71 Blackbird leaked fuel on the pad was because the titanium structures had to have gaps to allow for said expansion at Mach speeds. At full tilt, the plane elongated more than you might guess... Homework exercise :p) That historical tidbit aside, using a titanium mold in your coin casting might work well. Seems like Im contradicting myself but because your coins are going to be relatively thin (I assume) the pour will freeze faster than the mold expands. It would also help to paint on a thin layer of a commercial grade refractory which will be sacrificial, requiring replenishing before each pour. You could also try multiple layers of same if youd like to try the steel mold - it might work but youd loose a bit if detail as the thickness of sufficient layers would tend to fill the fine lines. In ether case you could also have more than one coin in the mold. But at some quanity, the tutanium would expand enough to spoll the whole batch. Expensive experiment.
The stamp suggestion our dear video producer gives might just be the best in the long run. Be it gold, silver, pewter, or my favorite alloy, Zimac-12, "soft stamp" it just after the metal starts freezing.
If a chill runs up your spine, that's because the spirits of the coin minters of yore are smiling as they watch over your shoulders. For that is how it was done for thousands of years.
Is your thermometer just a thermocouple or is there more to it then that? Is there a vudeo od you making it?
This is the description on amazon of the unit that reads the thermal couple. It does come with thermal couples but they can not reach the temperature of melting aluminum. Its about $30 usd.
Digital 2 Channels K-Type Thermometer w/ 4 Thermocouples (Wired & Stainless Steel), -50~1300°C (-58~2372°F) Handheld Desktop High Temperature Kelvin Scale Dual Measurement Meter Sensor
I can't find the exact thermocouple I have used, I believe though that mine could read to 2000F.
My video called "Making a Fallout 76 emblem out of aluminum using the sand casting process and tooling upgrades" has the most detail in it about the probe. Also, in the video I use it against a IR point thermometer. I think the reflectiveness and distance of alot of objects interfere with those. I had previously purchased an IR thermometer that was supposed to cover the melting point of aluminum and it never seemed to work correctly so I returned it. My opinion, I get the best reading by a thermocouple.
th-cam.com/video/bF10FhQx03Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=oNaloIFK7OoRrQE9
Thanks for watching!
Great video,thanks so much.
Thanks for watching!
Really cool tongs!
Thank you! It just required an afternoon of metal cutting and bending.
Very Cool, If you get a chance can you put some links of the products you use. Thanks...
Sure I will see what I can do. Thanks for watching.
Cool videos sir would it be possible to purchase or borrow the floral deleigh so i can try my hand at making a few of those
@kenclaro1806 Thanks for watching my videos. Send me a message to my email and when I find the file I will send it to you.
Im not to computer savy whats your email addy and i dont need the file i need the part
Can you do a straight pour into molds or will it get air bubbles?
In my video with the match plates where I made a grenade the aluminum was dumped straight in the top of the casting flask. The grenades did have some small flaws in them. I think the goal of casting would be to get a nice even flow and fill of aluminum. Also try and use a pouring basin carved in the sand it helps with making it easier to pour along with a smooth flow of aluminum introduced into the mold. The other piece of advice I would definitely say is to use a little bit of air to remove any loose sand. I personally try and avoid a straight pour when I can.
that is a great cast
Thank you!
Thank you.
I live in Romania where can I buy the tools what you showed in the video?
Do they cost a fortune?
I want to do this.
I have never visited Romania so I am not sure what you have available there. You might have to make your own greensand rather than petrobond. There are videos on how to make your own green sand on TH-cam. Sifting the sand will get you a finer mesh. For the aluminum you will probably hit up salvage yards for car parts that were previously cast. I have tried other types of aluminum and it doesn't cast as well as an aluminum alloy that was formulated for casting. My propane burner has a ceramic wool interior that needs to be coated so ceramic fibers do not get into my lungs. There are plenty of videos on TH-cam on making furnaces you will have to choose one that fits your available resources. Basically its going to be how resourceful you can be. Good Luck!
@DamonsMetalCasting Damon, what thermocouple did you find on Amazon? I'm fairly good at tracking parts down, but for whatever reason, I've yet to find a thermocouple that can be dipped directly into the liquid metal (without melting :P) . I'm really encouraged that you found one. [Later EDIT NOTE: Well, maybe if I'd had read more of the comments here, I'd already have seen the answer below. LOL - great!]
Also, I appreciate the tongs you made.
If you like to experiment with different alloys, it is paramount to keep the crucibles separate and use each *only* for that specific alloy (with some exceptions). So, the crucible costs add up fast as a reasonable sized good one isn't cheap. Have you considered or tried making your own? I confess, this is the first video of yours I've watched thus far, so if you have covered that topic, please post a link.
Surprisingly many of these tools, like your tongs, and materials too can be DYI'ed. I've used Petrobond of course, but I had almost nearly as good a result with fine aquarium sand and well-pulverized cat litter that has been fine sifted @ 150 mesh. For the cost, the homebrewed is nearly 8 times cheaper than the Petrobond. Sand+cat litter in a water or boiled linseed oil base are similar in function, with the oil version being a bit longer lasting before it has to be reconditioned. (Of course, any casting - and especially core sand - needs to be kept in an air tight container if at all possible.
Looking forward to watching more of your work!
thanks for taking the time to publish this for the benefit of other Budding Metalheads []:-)
- HP in North Florida
(where you must be half nuts to weld, stand in front of a forge, or "pour molten hot metal into a hole." 😛)
So far, I have been only casting aluminum so I haven't encountered having the need for multiple crucibles. I have yet to try making casting sand but definitely have an interest. The sand that I purchased just got me up and running sooner than later. The boil linseed oil base sand for casting sounds interesting to try, thanks for bringing that up. I am in a desert in dry heat. I feel bad for you with that humidity, must be heck to do any of those things you listed. If you can get your hands on one of those probes its helpful in my opinion. Hey thanks again for watching and taking the time to leave a comment. Much appreciated and good luck casting! (If you have a casting from your DIY sand mixture send me a picture if you don't mind. I would like to check that out. damonsmetalcasting@gmail.com )
@@DamonsMetalCasting *UGH* wrote you a long reply and then accidently navigated away and lost the text. ... I'll try again later. (So much for being computer savvy LOL)
I've been trying to cast a piece with fine detail (jewelry) and haven't even gotten to the pouring part. Everytime I try pulling the 3d printed part, it pulls petrobond chunks with it and it'd too light to drop out on its own. Will the powder fix that?
In my experience an unfinished FDM 3d printed part is just about impossible to pull out of sand with out it tearing apart the sand. For my patterns to pull out I have to create a slick surface finish on them along with using a parting powder. You could probably try starting with baby powder AKA cornstarch. Its the safest on your lungs if you accidently inhale it. In the past I have sanded my 3d prints then sprayed primer and sanded some more. Then finally spray paint the surface. In my most current video of the "IDGAF sign" , I used glazing and spot putty with acetone for dilution. It worked really well. Then I finished it with a primer and coat of epoxy paint.
I have recently purchased myself a melting furnace but after using it today I have found that there seems to be a lot of slag stuck to the inside of the crucible any tips to stop this
I am not sure what type of aluminum you are melting. Aluminum car parts like manifolds work great for me or computer hard drive chassis. If you are doing aluminum cans you will get alot of aluminum oxides/slag If you are melting thin aluminum like cans it oxidizes pretty bad because of the larger surface area per volume. The slag should be floating to the top to scrap off before the pour also. If you can provide more detail I might be able to understand what is happening better. Thanks for commenting!
@@DamonsMetalCasting it is soda cans that I was melting and after removing to be excessive amounts of slag I then poured the molten aluminium and then for some reason there was a lot that had stuck to the inside of the crucible I will take photos tomorrow and try and upload them
What happen if we use this mesh Green sand?
I think it works about the same. My videos on this channel started off with 190mesh green sand(grey in color). The videos using green sand are the Maltese cross, incense holder, and peace sign. The only reason I decided to use petrobond(brown in color) is the green sand I have has to be prepared a day in advance by hydrating and mulling to make it homogeneous. I also have accidently made the green sand too wet before and had to spread it out to get the moisture out of it. The green sand was just a little bit more work but I think you can get the same results in the end provided the mesh is close. Thanks for watching!
@@DamonsMetalCasting thanks
Hi, I want to start this hobby, where can I go to buy all the equipment needed. What should I search for online ?
That's a question with alot of answers. I purchased my equipment online(Amazon). My forge I am not thrilled with because the burner is placed pointed straight at the crucible when it should be off to the side to create a swirling fire around the crucible. Also, most of the forges are made with ceramic wool, the white fluffy material inside for insulation. The ceramic wool is EXTRMEMLY HAZARDOUS to lungs and need to be covered with a refractory material. Most people use a chemical to make it rigid before applying the refractory coating. I used Greenpatch 421 from Iron Dungeon Forge. I purchased my face protection online too(amazon). My jacket/gloves are from a welding shop and I should still purchase something to protect my lower half of my body. Most forges come with crappy tongs that are generally called salad tongs(accident waiting to happen) get a decent pair of lifting tongs and a pouring ring/tongs. Your safety gear is extremely important, having an accident with molten aluminum will be unforgivable. Sometimes I wish my forge was slightly larger so I could pack alot of molds and pour at one time, its more efficient. My petrobond is TETON 190mesh ultrafine, this was from amazon but online jewelry supply stores sell this too. Get aluminum metal that has been cast before, pop can aluminum is junk and not meant for casting. Join Facebook groups and ask questions too. This casting community is full of good people that want to help and don't want to see people get hurt. I am sure I have missed more information but keep looking and researching. Good luck in your research and stay safe.
What is this? Columbo? You showed us the end result at the beginning! 😂
Yup. LOL I know. I am just trying out different intro styles to see what hold people's interest. TH-cam puts a metric on the first 30 seconds of a video to see if more than half of the viewers kept watching. I just don't want to post click bait. Thanks for the laugh!
Tres Bien mon ami! Thanks now I am ready to cast my first sand casting. Going to do my channel logo that I made out of creamics. It has raised letters (JASON) which will be face down . would you for-see any problems?
Hello! I would be putting the letters face down also. I am not sure what your pattern looks like but if you have beveled edges on your lettering and sides of your logo you should do really well. Are you going to post it to your channel? I will have to check it out.
@@DamonsMetalCasting Oh good ya the edges of the round saw blade shape is very soft and rounded but the raised letters and compass are pretty sharp. hopefully no air bubbles get caught down in the letters but flows up and out. How many air hols would you suggest?. It's half and inch thick and about 6" diameter . Thanks for your help.
Yes, I will definitely post a video for that one.
The pattern you are casting sounds pretty thick you probably be fine with a sprue and a riser. I think the air holes help with dead ends of a pattern, if your pattern is mainly a large and thick disc it probably would be fine with out the air vents. If the lettering is sharp make sure you have parting powder(baby powder/talc) really down in those letter crevices. Sounds like getting the lettering clean will be the biggest challenge. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.
@@DamonsMetalCasting Ok cool Thanks for the guidance! Now I need to find enough scrap aluminum to give it a try.
@@DamonsMetalCasting Definitely good advice, air holes or even just little scratch vents help the corners fill completely. Thanks for the video!
It’s about fucking time! Lol!
LMAO! Yup you are totally correct. Thanks for hanging in there. lol
Right?!
Hi, I notice this was a wedding, graduation, gathering placez design in Bushwick, Brklyn: place loss of mankind.
People travel, loss of interest in gathering place, preference to upstate in travel: lost the fleur de lis
@sophiakean-chong6692 yup its incorporated in alot of designs. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment, much appreciated.
Step 1- spend a TON of money on high mesh petrobond. Because its stupid expensive. The end. 😂
The cost of the 190mesh when I purchased it was the same as the 140mesh. I also purchased 100lbs at a time so its greatly discounted dollar per pound. People have stated that my castings look nearly die cast. I don't really care to use substandard materials and end up with an item I have to spend time with a wire wheel or other means to clean up. Since my email is posted you are welcome to send a picture of your best casting right after opening the flask and we can talk about how your casting quality is better than mine and how you did it.
@DamonsMetalCasting oh I know for sure🤣 not dogging on ya at all. I've spent AGES making up countless batches of different greensands/delft (as cheap as possibly, processing and grinding and grading 50lb bags after bag of pure silica washed sand, a bunch of different bentonite and additives, made sodium silicate and done c02 setting molds and cores, I have separate small batch sands specifically for facing, or certain difficult mold geometries etc.. NONE of them give me the finish I want- close. Really close. Even getting fingerprints and virtually smooth print lines transfered- but to be fair I'm chasing something that is virtually impossible without spending years gaining experience or just doing step 1- pony up and spend the moola on petrobond because it WORKS right out the gate🤣 I've made hundreds of lbs of greensand now for dirt cheap. 10 bucks/50 lbs, probably 15 bucks all in per 50-60 lbs. Now.. opportunity cost I've spent a FORTUNE on the time and effort, After all the time and TONS of physical work.. I really should have just spent the 100 bucks on some high mesh oil bonded sand🤣 that said I've gained tons of experience. Many outright failures before I figured it out. But yeah. Advice for anyone with some brains- for high definition molds that just work.. buy the petrobond
I agree, I wanted to get up and running with the least amount of variables possible. If I ever did this on a large scale, reducing sand cost would be definitely something I would look into.
@DamonsMetalCasting what source did you get your 190 from? I'm looking for a quality supplier of it
Good lookin casting! Nice. Always enjoy.
Thanks so much. I appreciate it.