You Can Learn How To Sand Cast Metal To Create Your Very Own Masterpiece.

Today, more than ever, practical skills are rapidly dissapearing from society, and that is a great shame. The purpose of this web site is to explain & teach practical hobby foundry skills & techniques which will provide you with practical old time metal craft skills, skills that will allow you freedom of self expression in metal. People tell us over and over that they lament the death of the old style skilled tradesman... you know... the kind of bloke who can fix or make almost anything, and has the knowledge to create beautiful things in metal from a simple idea.

Does That Sound Like Something You Would Like To Do?

Do You:
Like to build things? Enjoy a creative practical challenge? Then welcome to the world of hobby metal casting, there's a huge grab bag of things to explore.

Since 2003 we've helped & encouraged people from all walks of life from over forty seven countries around the globe to learn about the art of metal casting, we would like to share with you how to set up your own hobby foundry, right in your own backyard workshop, you'll be using equipment & tools which you can easily build your self... you don't have to be a genius, all you need is the desire & passion for your hobby along with some practical ability, which I'm sure you already have.  

The basic skills & methods we'll explain to you have been successfully employed by people who have never before tried their hand at metal casting. Once you understand the basics of this metal craft, then the sky is the limit. 

You probably already know plenty of people who get a kick out of showing you the "toys" they have acquired with their money, but I can tell you now, nothing compares with the personal reward, admiration & satisfaction you'll truly enjoy when showing others what you have made by using your own creative skills & talents.

From time to time, you have probably stopped to admire beautiful bronze sculptures and other artworks in metal... Have you got an idea in your mind that you would like to recreate in metal?

Many people enjoy casting metal... it matters little how many times you do it, there is something magic about watching molten metal flow into a sand mould.

So What Can I Make You May Ask?
All kinds of things. The only limiting factor is the amount of: Skill - Imagination - Determination & Passion you have. Foundry work is fairly basic, the process begins with a timber pattern, made with simple hand held wood working tools, the pattern is used to create a cavity in a two-part sand mould, the sand is rammed around the pattern, then it is rapped & carefully removed, the molten metal which is melted in a simple furnace, is poured into the mould cavity and allowed to solidify.... Bingo, you have your casting

The more you learn about metal casting, the better your skills will become.

Practical minded people just like you, begin casting metal for many different reasons, the trigger for most is a desire to remake an obsolete part for a restoration project, and when you think about it, it really makes sense, if the part in question was originally made using the green sand casting method, then nine times out of ten, you can reproduce it again using the exact same technique, this is the kind of thing we share in our ebooks... explaining the practical methods to create castings from aluminium or bronze. The metal casting process is not difficult to learn, and once you know how, you are only limited by your imagination.

Green Sand.
The image above shows a common foundry moulding medium called green sand, the name has nothing to do with the colour. When a pattern is rammed with well prepared green sand in a mould box, the fine grains of sand bond together & retain the exact shape of the pattern, (foundry sand is not quite the same as beach or river sand), and when the pattern is rapped & removed, a replica shaped cavity remains which is where the molten metal is poured. Other types of silica sand can be used for making moulds also, but green sand is good to start with. Many art casting studios still use only green sand for their foundry work.

Aluminium Ingots.  

Aluminium, because of it's relatively low melting temperature (740C) is a great way to begin metal casting, you can collect & melt good quality scrap to make your own ingots, which will be used to make good quality metal castings, clean scrap can be sourced from: engine inlet manifolds, old aluminium cylinder heads, cast aluminium cover plates, bell housings, etc. Good scrap metal can be found in many places. 

 

Salamander Silicon Carbide Crucible.  

Most hobby foundry workers build their own Gas Fired Furnace.  And the Metal Casting Made Easy ebook provides complete instructions. All measurements are supplied in both imperial and metric. The furnace interior is lined with a high temperature resistant refractory cement which can be obtained from a foundry supply warehouse, you can also make your own home made refractory, (an old time recipe is included in the ebooks) but the home brew refractory may not last as long as the proven commercial variety, but it is a low-cost way to begin.

 
Internal View Of Red Hot Gas Fired Furnace.  

After preparing the sand mould, and the metal has reached a molten state in the furnace & crucible, it is then  ready to pour. The crucible full of molten metal is carefully removed from the furnace with a pair of special  lifting tongs and placed into a well designed pouring shank, wearing the proper safety gear you take hold of the pouring shank which cradles the crucible and then quickly pour the molten metal into the sprue of the sand mould. After the metal cools down, the mould boxes can be pulled apart to reveal the bright new metal art casting - vintage car or motorcycle part, or perhaps a reproduction part for an old machine of some kind, the objects you can make with metal casting are almost endless.

Pouring Molten Metal Into a Green Sand Mould. 

 When you have become familiar with the methods and techniques of metal casting you will be able to start making your own special castings, which may include parts for veteran & vintage cars, or even the later model classic models built in the sixties. The raw castings in the picture below are fresh out of the green sand mould, the large cone shaped vertical extensions are the sprues & riser. The castings pictured below are the raw cast slugs of clutch slave cylinders for a British car built in the sixties. Pressure cylinders need to be free of porosity, special foundry techniques are employed to eliminate porous metal.   

 

Raw Aluminium Automotive Slave Cylinder Castings.

The gates - runners & sprues are then removed from the castings, along with the internal sand cores, the cylinders are then prepared for the machining operations, to carry out the machining of the castings, a small bench lathe, a pedestal drill, and some small home made tooling & jigs were used to produce the finished  cylinder shown below. The casting of pressure vessels requires that very tight, porous free metal is cast, there are simple techniques you can employ to cast high quality cylinders, these techniques are explained in the books.

  Fully Machined Slave Cylinder Ready To Install.

The ebooks available on this web site have helped countless people learn how to cast their own vintage car - motor-cycle - antique - art castings - sculptures - property name plates - and odd parts for special projects. The possibilities are endless once you know and understand the basic methods and techniques of metal casting. But you should also be aware that handling molten metal can be dangerous, unsafe practices can cause personal injuries. The metal casting process requires that great care should be exercised at all times, the hobby foundry is not the place to consume alcohol, being stupid, or for careless behaviour, metal casting is a serious business.

Would you like to know more about this ancient metal craft?

If you are just starting to explore metal casting as a hobby, a good way to begin your learning is to download the sample ebook, or download the Power Point slide show. The ebook is a shortened version of the 98 page Metal Casting Made Easy ebook, you can read about twenty randomly chosen pages. This is the main ebook which is also accompanied by The Design Of Gates And Risers, plus all of the other valuable bonus ebooks we include with the package described on the library page.

The complete ebook package can be purchased and downloaded direct from this web site, or the ebooks can be ordered and supplied on CD ROM and delivered via airmail. (Ideal if you have slow download speed or data transfer). Overseas delivery of the CD is normally about eight to ten days.

The Package Provides An Awesome Amount Of Hobby Foundry Info.

Now, before you visit the library page, we want you to take a moment to download your free ebook & power point slide show. Simply fill out the form below and click the submit button, don't worry, your details are very safe with us, we hate spam just as much as you do, we will never share your details with other parties. Just fill out your first name & a valid email address. During the sign up process you may be get third party offers, you should ignore other third party offers. (Note: Invalid email addresses are trashed by the mail system.)

Grab your sample Metal Casting ebook, as well as the amazing Old Time Hints & Formula ebook. Both are FREE right now, just pop your details in the box below... & wait a few moments for an email to arrive at your inbox with your special download links.   

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Check your inbox shortly for the email message which will include your download links. (If the email appears to not arrive, check your junk mail folder) While you are waiting check out the ebook library Page >>


Take a moment to listen to a short mp3 streaming audio audio message from Col, the Australian hobby foundry ebook author. The audio runs for 1min 46 seconds, and has a short buffering time. To listen, click on the yellow triangle player button below. Dont forget to turn your speakers on.

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We really enjoy communicating with our customers from around the world, many tell us of the success they are having. The email below arrived recently from a happy customer, we're pretty thrilled to know that Keith is enjoying real success with the hobby foundry knowledge he has gained from our ebooks. Just imagine... you could also enjoy the same kind of metal casting success. 

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Hi Col. Thank you for checking in on me. Also thanks for the ezine. Good stuff. I actually purchased several books on home foundries and I am pleased to write that I literally have my furnace behind me, here in my room with a 100 watt light inside of it to slow cure it. You see, I just cast the refractory this weekend. I am very happy with the way it has turned out. Your design is the best of all of the designs I have found put together. Plus I added a few of my own ideas along the way. I will send you a picture of it when it is done. Thanks again. Keith Taylor. California USA.

Did you know that our hobby foundry ebooks have been sold & delivered to hobby foundry workers in most english speaking countries as well as many European & Middle East countries  More >>