You're a true craftsman, myfordboy. Now that I have a little land, I'm hoping to try my hand at some backyard casting this year. I've learned so much from watching your videos!
David, this has got to be one of the best metal casting videos you have ever made, as it shows metal casting from scratch and it shows one of the most important parts of metal casting - The moulding pattern - Most people just take metal casting for granted that it is just a matter of making an impression in some sand and pouring the molten metal in...they do not know or appreciate just how much effort and hard work that actually goes into a cast metal object no matter how small or large it is and of course it is a well made pattern which determines the overall quality and detail of the cast part besides the sand which is also crucial as well - This video shows just what is involved in metal casting excluding the furnace setup (which most people who have watched your other videos will usually know anyway) - I for one really appreciate all your effort, time and trouble in making this brilliant and informative video for people to watch and learn.
Congrats on a concise video that is far above the many poor attempts on TH-cam that don't demonstrate good practice, but broadcast dubious knowledge with self-appointed expertise. Having retired from operating a pattern shop for 30+ years and worked in foundries many years, I can, at last, watch a video on this subject without constantly shaking my head at foolish armatures pretending to offer good advice. They should watch your videos to learn good practice. Thank you for a job well done.
It can be left until the metal cools if you want to but there is no need to, it just bakes the sand. And of course as you say, it's exiting to see the end product.
Hello. I've watched all your vids up to this point but didn't know about the comment section until later. I'm fairly new to the inter net and not familiar with a lot of things available. I am familiar with casting and hope to start my own soon and I greatly appreciate what you are doing, You are obviously very experienced and talented. Thank you.
I like how you use your metal working machines to machine the mdf but especially how you split the dowel! A woodworker would kave a hard time to do that. Great video!
I enjoy watching your videos, you make it all look so easy. I've shied away from making the patterns as they seem like a black art to make, but this video is the best so far. Thank you.
The origional was iron with no seperate bearings. My aluminium replica has bronze bushes fitted as bearings so there is no problem with wear. Casting in aluminium is easier than iron and once painted looks just the same.
Thank you for showing all the tricks,I have been watching allot of your videos this past few days and now want to ,feel comfortable enough to give it a go myself .I will start with something simple and see how it works out I am sure I will have lots more to learn as I go.I have subscribed to your channel and that in it's self means allot as I don't subscribe to many 5 I think now
As usual, nicely done! I find that the two-part body filler doesn't leave me a lot of time to work the filler into the areas I want to fill. As an alternative, I use "body putty", the cousin to body filler. I simply squeeze it out of the tube, work it into place and let it dry. I can then sand it as I want, add some more, until I get the shape that I want. A lot easier and less messier.
You just have to use hand tools if you don't have the power tools. One method I used before I had the disc sander for creating the draft on the patterns is to make the pattern square and glue a thin strip of wood on the inside edge, then form the draft with filler.
Wow, patten making is a trade/ art form all on it’s own. Not only do you have to make the patten but you have to consider how it will fit together for casting. Im making my first major patten for casting and your videos are giving me some excellent guidance. One question please, did you give the base on this piece draught just for decorative reasons. Thanks so much and cheers Stuart 🇦🇺
Very nice job, sir! You look like you have done that a time or two. Your videos remind me of the Popular Mechanics Magazines we had here in the U.S. back in the old days. They always had a cartoon every month called "The wordless workshop".
Have you tried Acrylic Latex Caulking for the fillets on the inside corners? It is in reality very thick latex paint and can be applied with tools or fingers and uses water to smooth it to a finish. When dry, it will be about 1/2 the size of what you originally applied and can be re-coated if necessary to build up the profile. Very small beads are attainable if the surface is masked on both adjacent sides.
+Norman May The decorates filler works well for me,. The caulk sold here has a rubbery texture when dry so it is not really hard enough and cannot be sanded.
When you calculate the size of the finished part you want are you sizing the mould 2% larger than what you expect to come out of the flask or are you pouring in the excess amount of aluminum and anticipating that as the metal cools, the shrinkage will occur in the riser and vent? BTW, I've watched all of your videos and they're just great although sometimes It sounds like you live near Heathrow.
Does the emulsion paint (latex sorry) being water based ever cause your mdf to absorb water, break down the substrate and loose surface quality? I use sprayed oil base primer for moldings made with mdf to protect them. If it works fine maybe its time to use something cheaper. Thanks for sharing, I enjoy the videos you do great work.
Nice work. The traditional way of making fillets are to use linseed oil putty, but if you want to paint with cellulose based paint, it is better to use cellulose based putty to. You make a "putty worm" and use a ball shaped tool to make the fillet squeezing it into the corners.
Consider to fabricate a big disc sander. We used 600mm disc's with K40 paper on it. A more difficult project would be an oscillating vertical drum sander for insides with a tilting table.
The riser and feeder is best located on a thick part of the mould so the metal flows from a thick section. The riser will feed the mould with metal as the casting cools.
I'm considering building a 3d printer, would 3d printed abs plastic serve as a good casting mould maker? It just seems like less work/less dependent on your woodworking skills and less dependent on your woodworking tools.
It's just that every vertical surface has to have a taper of a couple of degrees otherwise you cannot get the pattern out of the sand without damaging the mould.
If you make a sliding table that can move parallel to the disk sander with a T-slot in it perpendicular to the disk, you can make outside circular shapes easy. In the T-slot you fit a sliding stick.There has to be a long adjusting screw under a stop on the perpendicular slide that controls the radius and a dowel near the end towards the disk on top. When you make a circular shape (or part of it) you only need to drill a hole in the center and place it on the dowel and sand away.
The first coat makes the surface rough especialy the edges. After sanding and a couple more coats the surface is ready for a spray finish.Its quicker to dry than oil based paint.
I have a series of videos on building the Essex hot air engine. One of the uses of this engine was to power a turntable like this for shop window displays.
Mr Myford, If I may make a suggestion, ask Mrs M for a blush brush, (I think that's what they're called.) They're a good inch and half to three inches wide and would be perfect for spreading the talc. Regards, Albert
great vid (as usual) I was a little surprised that you added the fillets after the primer coat. I would have thought you'd use the body filler to make the fillets before painting. any special reason??
Watching the video for about the sixth time I have a feeling the original part was cast iron and the one you made cast aluminum. Is this correct? Am I correct in thinking cast Iron would have been a good candidate for the bearings in the original as intended to be used daily for hour whereas cast aluminum would be a good bearing material for this replica since it would be used for short periods?
As the metal cools it shrinks so the pattern is slightly larger to allow for that. The large risers feed the mould as it shrinks. You can see the top of the risers contracting in some of the pouring shots.
+Dan Amy Humphreys The very dark sand is a small quantity i had given to me in the earlier videos. The greensand I use now is Bromsgove greensand from artisanfoundry.co.uk The orange sand is petrobond which is oil bonded. This gives better detail but is expensive and some has to be discarded after use.
I have been wondering what type of spray paint that you use? I saw that most spray paints are oil based and that you cant use it on emulsion/latex paint or it will crack and blister, how do you do it so that your patterns come out so nice looking all the time?
I am just using spray cans sold for cars. There has been no problems with the paint reacting to the emulsion undercoat. Cellulose or acrylic on top of water based paint is fine.
I already saw your answer to someone else asking what you meant by giving the piece draft, to allow easier removal of the pattern but I'm not quite sure how that works. Could you elaborate on this concept a little bit?
What kind of glue do you use to join sand cores?Is that a regular wood glue or something special?The thing is that i tried using PVA glue,however it was too flexible to hold the cores together.
Hello, you had previously mentioned that you make your patterns 2% larger to account for shrinkage... does that mean everything on the pattern is 2% larger (Height,length, width)? Sorry if this is an dumb question, I just wanted to make sure.
Merry Christmas to you and all your family David, Hope you all are having a great Christmas holiday :-) I will send you an email soon and let you know how the build for the new electric melting furnace is going lately - You will be impressed! ;-) Very best wishes for 2015.
I need help, im trying to take a picture I have, and turn it into a mold, so I can make it 3d out of pewter or brass. Lets say a picture on a book cover, what is the process of making the image into a brass belt buckle or even a plaque ? is there a software I can use, or do I have to draw it out by hand ? Thanks for any help !
What you call "double stick" tape is actually 'adhesive transfer" tape, because the actual tape is removed in application, leaving only the adhesive. There are several types of actual double-stick tapes made of various material, including paper, vinyl and foam.
Great job bro, i have a question, the dimensions of the work piece after solidification vary compared to the pattern dimensions, how can i calculate this variation in dimensions due to metal shrinkage thank in advance
In the video I did not see the pattern be removed prior to pouring the molten metal. Does the molten metal just burn through the MDF? Did I miss something?
+Glenn Meadows The pattern WAS removed. As this video is about pattern making I did not show the whole moulding and casting process. You can see this in many of my other videos.
It seems to me that all the. People doing metal casting remove the casting while it is still pretty hot. Is this for a reason or are they just anxious to see the end product?
You're a true craftsman, myfordboy. Now that I have a little land, I'm hoping to try my hand at some backyard casting this year. I've learned so much from watching your videos!
David, this has got to be one of the best metal casting videos you have ever made, as it shows metal casting from scratch and it shows one of the most important parts of metal casting - The moulding pattern - Most people just take metal casting for granted that it is just a matter of making an impression in some sand and pouring the molten metal in...they do not know or appreciate just how much effort and hard work that actually goes into a cast metal object no matter how small or large it is and of course it is a well made pattern which determines the overall quality and detail of the cast part besides the sand which is also crucial as well - This video shows just what is involved in metal casting excluding the furnace setup (which most people who have watched your other videos will usually know anyway) - I for one really appreciate all your effort, time and trouble in making this brilliant and informative video for people to watch and learn.
It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for you to do these. Experience really is something else.
Congrats on a concise video that is far above the many poor attempts on TH-cam that don't demonstrate good practice, but broadcast dubious knowledge with self-appointed expertise. Having retired from operating a pattern shop for 30+ years and worked in foundries many years, I can, at last, watch a video on this subject without constantly shaking my head at foolish armatures pretending to offer good advice. They should watch your videos to learn good practice. Thank you for a job well done.
Thank you for taking the time to show step by step. As always, you inspire me to do better work, and try new projects.
Excellent, as ever. Thanks for this. It's people like you that make the Internet what it should be.
It can be left until the metal cools if you want to but there is no need to, it just bakes the sand. And of course as you say, it's exiting to see the end product.
I like how you keep a very clean work environment. Also, the casting is very entertaining!
Very very interesting, both myself and my wife found the whole process fascinating.
Thank you so much for taking the time to make, edit & upload your videos. It is a very real pleasure to watch an expert at work.
Best Regards,
Jon
Hello. I've watched all your vids up to this point but didn't know about the comment section until later. I'm fairly new to the inter net and not familiar with a lot of things available. I am familiar with casting and hope to start my own soon and I greatly appreciate what you are doing, You are obviously very experienced and talented. Thank you.
I like the way you always think. simple but yet effective and practical! good job!
Beautiful work, as always. It's a pleasure to watch a master at work. Can't wait for the next installment. Thank you, for sharing this.
I like how you use your metal working machines to machine the mdf but especially how you split the dowel! A woodworker would kave a hard time to do that. Great video!
The arms were shaped afterward when the gear centers were known. You can see this in the next video, part 36.
Interesting and a lot of effort put in. Didn't know the trick with the paper. Thanks
Fantastic work! Great video editing as well. Thanks for taking the time to share your craft with us.
your patterns are a work of art...
I enjoy watching your videos, you make it all look so easy. I've shied away from making the patterns as they seem like a black art to make, but this video is the best so far.
Thank you.
The origional was iron with no seperate bearings. My aluminium replica has bronze bushes fitted as bearings so there is no problem with wear. Casting in aluminium is easier than iron and once painted looks just the same.
Thank you for showing all the tricks,I have been watching allot of your videos this past few days and now want to ,feel comfortable enough to give it a go myself .I will start with something simple and see how it works out I am sure I will have lots more to learn as I go.I have subscribed to your channel and that in it's self means allot as I don't subscribe to many 5 I think now
As usual, nicely done! I find that the two-part body filler doesn't leave me a lot of time to work the filler into the areas I want to fill. As an alternative, I use "body putty", the cousin to body filler. I simply squeeze it out of the tube, work it into place and let it dry. I can then sand it as I want, add some more, until I get the shape that I want. A lot easier and less messier.
I feel the filler which is water based sticks better to the water based primer than directly to the MDF.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us all.
Great,Thank goodness for people like you.
You just have to use hand tools if you don't have the power tools. One method I used before I had the disc sander for creating the draft on the patterns is to make the pattern square and glue a thin strip of wood on the inside edge, then form the draft with filler.
Good day David
Damn you make it look so easy.
Rod - Canada
Wow, patten making is a trade/ art form all on it’s own. Not only do you have to make the patten but you have to consider how it will fit together for casting. Im making my first major patten for casting and your videos are giving me some excellent guidance. One question please, did you give the base on this piece draught just for decorative reasons. Thanks so much and cheers Stuart 🇦🇺
You have to add draft to all vertical surface or you wont be able to remove it from the sand mould intact.
myfordboy. Of course, it’s obvious now you have explained it. More notes 👍👍👍
Very nice job, sir! You look like you have done that a time or two. Your videos remind me of the Popular Mechanics Magazines we had here in the U.S. back in the old days. They always had a cartoon every month called "The wordless workshop".
The wordless workshop, that's me!
This is a very good video on how to do this !!!
Have you tried Acrylic Latex Caulking for the fillets on the inside corners? It is in reality very thick latex paint and can be applied with tools or fingers and uses water to smooth it to a finish. When dry, it will be about 1/2 the size of what you originally applied and can be re-coated if necessary to build up the profile. Very small beads are attainable if the surface is masked on both adjacent sides.
+Norman May The decorates filler works well for me,. The caulk sold here has a rubbery texture when dry so it is not really hard enough and cannot be sanded.
Lovely jubbly!! Nice to see the job done properly :)
you are an artist, I like your work, excelent
When you calculate the size of the finished part you want are you sizing the mould 2% larger than what you expect to come out of the flask or are you pouring in the excess amount of aluminum and anticipating that as the metal cools, the shrinkage will occur in the riser and vent? BTW, I've watched all of your videos and they're just great although sometimes It sounds like you live near Heathrow.
Does the emulsion paint (latex sorry) being water based ever cause your mdf to absorb water, break down the substrate and loose surface quality? I use sprayed oil base primer for moldings made with mdf to protect them. If it works fine maybe its time to use something cheaper. Thanks for sharing, I enjoy the videos you do great work.
Incredible. That is possibly the smoothest sequence of events i have ever seen, was there any problems / things you would do differently?
Nice work. The traditional way of making fillets are to use linseed oil putty, but if you want to paint with cellulose based paint, it is better to use cellulose based putty to.
You make a "putty worm" and use a ball shaped tool to make the fillet squeezing it into the corners.
Consider to fabricate a big disc sander. We used 600mm disc's with K40 paper on it. A more difficult project would be an oscillating vertical drum sander for insides with a tilting table.
nice work loved the video an the true craftsmanship keep it up
No, the draft is a few degrees of taper to enable the pattern to be removed from the sand. Like making sand castles.
The riser and feeder is best located on a thick part of the mould so the metal flows from a thick section. The riser will feed the mould with metal as the casting cools.
Yet another excellent video from myfordboy.
I'm considering building a 3d printer, would 3d printed abs plastic serve as a good casting mould maker? It just seems like less work/less dependent on your woodworking skills and less dependent on your woodworking tools.
It's just that every vertical surface has to have a taper of a couple of degrees otherwise you cannot get the pattern out of the sand without damaging the mould.
If you make a sliding table that can move parallel to the disk sander with a T-slot in it perpendicular to the disk, you can make outside circular shapes easy. In the T-slot you fit a sliding stick.There has to be a long adjusting screw under a stop on the perpendicular slide that controls the radius and a dowel near the end towards the disk on top.
When you make a circular shape (or part of it) you only need to drill a hole in the center and place it on the dowel and sand away.
The first coat makes the surface rough especialy the edges. After sanding and a couple more coats the surface is ready for a spray finish.Its quicker to dry than oil based paint.
I have a series of videos on building the Essex hot air engine. One of the uses of this engine was to power a turntable like this for shop window displays.
All went well without any problems.
Mr Myford,
If I may make a suggestion, ask Mrs M for a blush brush, (I think that's what they're called.) They're a good inch and half to three inches wide and would be perfect for spreading the talc.
Regards,
Albert
great vid (as usual) I was a little surprised that you added the fillets after the primer coat. I would have thought you'd use the body filler to make the fillets before painting. any special reason??
Nice work as always!
Watching the video for about the sixth time I have a feeling the original part was cast
iron and the one you made cast aluminum. Is this correct?
Am I correct in thinking cast Iron would have been a good candidate for the bearings
in the original as intended to be used daily for hour whereas cast aluminum would
be a good bearing material for this replica since it would be used for short periods?
A superb video as always.
As the metal cools it shrinks so the pattern is slightly larger to allow for that.
The large risers feed the mould as it shrinks. You can see the top of the risers contracting in some of the pouring shots.
Nice work. Great detail on pattern making. I see you were using the new flasks. How are they working out?
great videos! Could you tell me what is the difference in the colors of sand you use, if any? I've seen black, red, and light brown.
+Dan Amy Humphreys The very dark sand is a small quantity i had given to me in the earlier videos. The greensand I use now is Bromsgove greensand from artisanfoundry.co.uk
The orange sand is petrobond which is oil bonded. This gives better detail but is expensive and some has to be discarded after use.
Grate job, as usual. Thank you for sharing!
very interesting ... congratulations for the work.
I have been wondering what type of spray paint that you use? I saw that most spray paints are oil based and that you cant use it on emulsion/latex paint or it will crack and blister, how do you do it so that your patterns come out so nice looking all the time?
I am just using spray cans sold for cars. There has been no problems with the paint reacting to the emulsion undercoat. Cellulose or acrylic on top of water based paint is fine.
thanks, Ill defenitely try the stuff for cars, we have a few high gloss cans here.
I already saw your answer to someone else asking what you meant by giving the piece draft, to allow easier removal of the pattern but I'm not quite sure how that works. Could you elaborate on this concept a little bit?
Exceptional work!
What kind of glue do you use to join sand cores?Is that a regular wood glue or something special?The thing is that i tried using PVA glue,however it was too flexible to hold the cores together.
New flasks are great.
You do great work!!
you make it look so easy.
watching this in school for my shop class
Got any tips for people who don't have certain tools? Like the router or lathe?
Hello, you had previously mentioned that you make your patterns 2% larger to account for shrinkage... does that mean everything on the pattern is 2% larger (Height,length, width)? Sorry if this is an dumb question, I just wanted to make sure.
Merry Christmas to you and all your family David, Hope you all are having a great Christmas holiday :-)
I will send you an email soon and let you know how the build for the new electric melting furnace is going lately - You will be impressed! ;-)
Very best wishes for 2015.
You are a true Master...
I need help, im trying to take a picture I have, and turn it into a mold, so I can make it 3d out of pewter or brass. Lets say a picture on a book cover, what is the process of making the image into a brass belt buckle or even a plaque ? is there a software I can use, or do I have to draw it out by hand ? Thanks for any help !
You could scan the image, print it out the size you need and glue to some wood.
Cut it out, carve or shape as required.
You probably mentioned it in one of your other videos but is your sand oil based? It looks like what I have called petrobond.
What you call "double stick" tape is actually 'adhesive transfer" tape, because the actual tape is removed in application, leaving only the adhesive. There are several types of actual double-stick tapes made of various material, including paper, vinyl and foam.
A very nice video, thanks for sharing. :)
awesome work!
Excellent tutorial, thank you.
Great job bro, i have a question, the dimensions of the work piece after solidification vary compared to the pattern dimensions, how can i calculate this variation in dimensions due to metal shrinkage
thank in advance
For aluminium I make the pattern 2% larger than the finished item.
Thanks for your swift reply, you mean 2% per each linear length , or per volume
Ehab Mando Add 2% to each length so if you wanted it 12" x 4" pattern should be 12.24" x 4.08". It may vary a little depending on the metal used.
The mould takes about 10 miniutes to ram up ready for pouring.
Yes ,thats correct.
Looking forward to seeing this machined up :-)
In the video I did not see the pattern be removed prior to pouring the molten metal. Does the molten metal just burn through the MDF? Did I miss something?
+Glenn Meadows The pattern WAS removed. As this video is about pattern making I did not show the whole moulding and casting process. You can see this in many of my other videos.
Hi
do you still make the patterns , I need some making . or do you know of someone who does .
thanks mark
Thank you so much for sharing!
What type of wood is good to use on this
What was your elapsed time for making the mold?
pattern cnc me banane ke liye wood kese joint karte ho or program kese banate ho
What is an Essex Turntable and what is it used for?
I am using a core glue from artisanfoundry.co.uk
I have used PVA before and not had any problems using it.
Wonderfull!
Watch out for the next video.
What do you use for your crucible?
It's a clay graphite crucible.
It seems to me that all the. People doing metal casting remove the casting while it is still pretty hot. Is this for a reason or are they just anxious to see the end product?
Ah. It just bakes the sand if you let it cool all the way down. Makes sense!
thank you
I have already shown this in my video, "Worm and worm wheel free hobbing method."
MDF = Medium Density Fiberboard?
That is correct.
20/20
Why arms are not as round as in the original part ?
Okay thanks :) I guess there is a way around most problems.
Milling machine as a thickness planer