Third Anniversary Edition.
The International Hobby Metal Casting ezine.
Brought To You By:
Col Croucher: administrator of: www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia.
October 2006. Volume: 03. Number: 36.
Hello.
Three years ago when we decided to take the plunge to publish the first
edtion of hot
metal ezine, we
had no idea whether it would be a success or not, and whether it would
be accepted by people interested in hobby foundry,
I was also not sure what the future would hold, but alas, we are now
three
years down the road, and still going thanks to all of our
valued subscribers, you have helped us reach a milestone. Three years
is a hell
of a long time where the Internet is concerned, cyberspace is a place
where
things can change pretty damn quickly, and new web sites appear and
disappear
with frequent monotony.
We appreciate the support that all subscribers have given to
myhomefoundry.com,
and to the HM ezine, it has grown way beyond what we ever thought it
would.
The hobby
foundry articles & info products we provide has obviously struck a
chord with
many thousands of people from around the globe, even my wife is totally
amazed
when I tell her about new customer's that pop up out of nowhere,
from a little country on the
other
side of the globe. As you well know, the Internet has changed the world
forever; our
online
journey has been one of excitement, trepidation, and amazement, and
sometimes fear of the unknown.
While we've had our fair share knockers and nay sayer’s, we've been
overwhelmed by support from the majority
of subscribers, we've had some wonderful emails sent to
us from
people who have bought our products, or just enjoy being a subscriber
and simply enjoy reading the
ezine articles and soaking up the hobby foundry
info supplied.
If you are a new subscriber to the ezine, I hope you thoroughly enjoy
the
articles in this issue, as well as the news
we have about the hot metal
ezine
back issues, (more about that a little further on).
Have you ever been guilty of sitting on the fence watching other's?
What is it that makes
people sit on the fence? ie. people that look on and watch while others
get on with things. If you want to
achieve
something for your self, you have to get motivated and make the start
on
your own
dream, no matter how big or small it is, nothing will happen if you
just sit
their looking on, no one else is going to pick up the brush and paint
the
canvass for you, procrastination achieves nothing, doing something does.
A small achievement each day soon turns into a bigger success, and
that's
usually when other people begin to notice that you seem to have
achieved a lot
in a short time, but in reality you have simply achieved lots of little
goals
because you simply kept
your nose to the grindstone as we say here in OZ, and little things add
up to big things and suddenly it all starts to
happen.
We have seen some
amazing casting results from some of our customers, many of whom
knew very little about metal casting prior to finding our web site.
They are to be
congratulated for getting on with the learning, and applying the
practical work to create their
own metal
casting success.
Anniversary Celebration.
We've put together a huge anniversary bumper Metal Casting Toolkit
Knowledge
package for you, so if you've been fence sitting, now is the
time come on down and grab this before it's gone, you can read more
about it below.
Also we have some more photos and writing about the blower housing
project (See previous issue if you missed this)
which is now complete, the castings have just arrived back from the
heat
treatment factory, and we managed to take some more photographs before
they
were all packed up and sent to the interstate client. Take a
look at the
finished result, (don't take this as a boast) the castings have been
created using nothing more
than the methods & basic equipment
outlined in the ebooks. If you posess skills to use general metal
working & wood working
tools, and you can weld OK, then you shouldn’t have much trouble
building the tools
and equipment required to do your own metal casting in your home
workshop.
If you take a
commonsense approach, and dont take careless shortcuts, your little
micro foundry will give you years of pure enjoyment and
great satisfaction. Learn
More.
The photographs below
continue on from the previous issue which explains more about the
blower
drive housing.
Sponsor Message.
It's Celebration Time!
Happy Birthday.
The Hot Metal Ezine turns three with
this issue.
Check out the Hobby Metal Casting Knowledge Tool Kit ebook package, you'll find a truck
load of info and tools to help you achieve your hobby
metal casting goals.
Before you make a start, take a moment to
read some of our customer Testimonials:
Read Them Here.
Or Skip the testimonials and:
Grab Your ebook Package Here.
A collection of pdf ebooks, a neat software tool,
plus we'll
include the NEW HME article
collection ebook, all of this unique info will
help steer you along the path to metal casting success.
If you've previously
purchased the foundry ebook package, and
would
like a copy of the HME Article Collection ebook, then please email us
with your
original purchase receipt details and we will send you a link. Use the contact form on the
web site.
Our
Birthday Gifts To You. FREE
ebook
Download Gifts:
Classified Secrets.
Learn how to write classified ads that really sell. Lots
of clever things to learn for newspaper, magazine or web ads, etc etc.
Jim Wilsons Ebay Secrets.
Want to know about the secrets of selling your stuff on
Ebay? This
ebook will teach you heaps.
Note: These ebooks are suitable only for P.C. Windows
platform.
Foundry
Snapshots.
Marshall
Blower Drive Housing Project.
No 10.
Blower housing pattern
& pieces, (L to R) risers & bases, PS foam ingates, split
sprue, core print loose piece, and the main pattern. Shellac was
initially used
on pattern, later, a coat of automotive primer surfacer undercoat was
applied
at from a spray can.
No 11.
Blower drive housing raw Al
castings
with sprues & risers removed, the castings are fresh out of the
green sand mould.
No
12.
Baked sand shell cores ready to
insert into sand moulds, the large collar was cut from larger shell
core and glued to core rod.
No 13.
Green sand mould
after removing the pattern, note the white PS foam ingate at the
bottom, and the core print hole, the things that look like ears are the
base pads for the feeders, and the hole on the right is the deep bottom
feed
sprue.
No 14.
Triple mould box
arrangement showing sand core inserted into sand mould. the two bottom
boxes are bolted together during the ram so they could not move (Sand
core
locates into top & bottom core print hole).
No 15.
Sand moulds sitting on the floor waiting
to be poured with molten aluminium. These moulds were just on the limit
for one man handling, green sand is quite heavy in a decent size mould
box.
No 16.
The completed casting project, the project
order was for ten Al drive housings, only nine are actually shown here.
All
castings were
heat treated in preparation for machining. We were not involved with
that side
of the project, so we are unable to show you a fully machined casting.
Casting Statistics:
Weight of casting:1.9KG. (4.18Lbs).
Weight of Sprues & Risers:1.202KG.
(2.64Lbs).
Total Casting Weight: 3.102Kg.
(6.83Lbs).
Moulding medium: Green
Sand.
Sand Reconditioning method:Motorised
Gyratory Riddle. (Home built unit) And very effective
Images copyright of
coljan photography australia.
Blower
Project.
Image No
10.
This picture shows the many pattern parts required to make the sand
mould, the project could not be made in a normal two-part cope &
drag mould box, a three-part moulding system had to be employed. mould
boxes were made from 20mm (3/4") marine ply, handles, brackets and
register pins were made from mild steel. (See image 14 & 15).
Image No 11.
The raw castings straight from the sand mould, the gates runners and
sprues have been removed along with the internal sand cores, alloy used
was from recycled automotive cylinder heads.
Image No 12.
Sand cores can be made in the hobby foundry, but commercially made
baked sand cores are so cheap that it is hardly worth the effort to set
to make your own, the commercial sand cores are quite tough and robust,
you dont have to worry about them breaking during handling, unless you
drop them on the floor. The core required some carefull attention
before fitting intro the moulds, the length had to exact as per the
core print dimension on the pattern, the ends of the core print had to
be square and the top required a taper to help guide the core into the
top core print cavity as the cope was lowered.
Image No 13.
A shot looking down into the green sand mould cavity, the PS foam
ingate can be seen, and the bottom core print is visible, the cavity
has a nice clean smoth finish. Graphite powder was used as parting
dust. Green sand required recondioning between each moulding /casting
session, this was quickly done with the motorised gyratory riddle, and
produces silky smooth moulding sand.
Image No 14.
The mould boxes pulled apart, the pattern, sprue and feeders have been
removed, and the sand core carefully placed into the sand cavity.
Image No 15.
The mould boxes sit on the floor ready to have molten aluminium poured
into the green sand moulds.
Image No 16.
Finished at last, this is a great feeling and very rewarding when you
have finally produced the batch of castings you set out to do. Heat
treatment was the next thing on the list, which took about five days
turn around time. You may be sitting there thinking if this project was
easy or not, well, it was not impossible to do, a little more pouring
capacity would not have gone astray, and I certainly learnt a lot more
about pattern
making and gating and feeding of castings. Each moulding
session took about 25 mins,
but the more practice you have, the quicker you get. So there you have
it, a commercial project completed with home built hobby foundry gear,
a financially and personally rewarding foundry project.
So what next you might ask? Well I'm not sure, it depends on what
happens, I have other projects of my own that I want to complete now,
and some experimenting with other types of sand moulding.
The Metal Casting Dream.
What is
your
dream?
Just about everyone who decides they want to get involved with hobby
metal
casting has a dream or vision of something that they would truly like
to create
from molten metal. Yep, even I had a dream many years before becoming
involved
in the hobby, but unfortunately the dream was hampered by lack of
understanding
of what exactly was possible when you first start out, this was about
16 years
ago, and foundry work was relegated only to thoughts in my mind at the
time.
But a couple of years later the real learning began in earnest.
In this instant coffee world we are conditioned from a very early age
in
childhood to expect things to just happen with the snap of the fingers,
unfortunately we all have to take the reality check and find that its
not quite
like that in real life. Often I get emails from people who have just
started in
the hobby and want to know how to cast cylinder heads or want to know
how to
cast a small engine block! Hey, there is nothing wrong with having a
dream or
vision, for without them things just wouldn't happen.
But how about we start the dream off with some small achievements
first, and
when you learn to conquer a number of small things, your confidence
grows
enormously, you get to learn many skills that you can use and apply to
the
bigger things (the dream) you eventually want to create down the road.
It may take you a year or two to build the required skills and
confidence to
finally take on that BIG project you set your heart on in the first
place. I can
tell you from experience that attempting something way beyond your
skill and
knowledge will only lead to disappointment, heartbreak and thoughts of
giving
the hobby away. I'm sure this happens to quite a few people, and yes,
problems
can rear their ugly head at times and the sole hobby worker will find
it
difficult to discover the right answer, but often with just a little
more trial
and error work, the answer can be found. And when you do find the
answer to
anything that you do in the foundry, write the method or system down
for future
reference so that you can repeat the process when you need to.
So keep your dream alive by constantly working towards your goal, I
noticed a sign the other day that said: The
difficult we can do right away.
The impossible will take
just a little bit longer.
And that about sums up hobby foundry work! I hope you can keep your
project dreams alive.
American Bronze.
Web site for lost wax.(See links below).
The entire pour is very fast and very precise; one crucible of bronze holds 400 lbs and can fill one or two large shells or ten or more small shells. The first pieces poured are those with thin walls and intricate details; requiring hot, fluid bronze to move throughout the channel system.
The alloy cast at Artworks is known as Silicon Bronze. The metal is made up of the following elements: COPPER 94.0%, MANGANESE 1.1%, SILICON 3.9%, TRACE ELEMENTS 1.0%. Silicon is an additive which helps the "flowability" of the bronze. It achieved widespread use during World War II when lead and tin were in short supply.
Patination of Bronze Metal.
Patination is enhancement of bronze by the chemical application of color. Three water soluble compounds form the basis for most patinas: Ferric Nitrate produces reds and browns, Cupric Nitrate creates the greens and blues and Sulphurated Potash produces black.
Each foundry develops its own proprietary (and carefully guarded) patinas that result from a carefully orchestrated blend of different chemicals, pigments and application technique. A wide range of colors,
both transparent and opaque are available to the experienced patineur. The final step is putting a thin coat of clear wax over the bronze to enhance and preserve the patina.
Article Source: For more information visit:
http://www.americanbronze.com/process.htm
web site for lost wax.
http://www.lotussculpture.com/bronze_sculpture_bronze_casting.htm
Oils Used With Petrobond®
Manufacturer
Trade Name.
Texaco
CANOPUS 150
Shell
Turbo 220
Sunoco
Sunpar 120
Lubricants,Inc. Drexoil 170
Chevron
Utility Oil 100
Bonds Castorine. Tex-A-Film 900 CPD
Citco.
Amplex 150
Enterprise Oil, Co. Binder Oil 700
Note:
This list is not all inclusive. Conventional refined oils without
inhibitors, any paraffinic oil or naphthenic oil with a flash point
above 400° F will work. Oils with relatively low viscosity work
best.
Industrial Thermocouple
Supplies Pty Ltd. (Australia).
39 Macquarie Drive,
Thomastown, 3074 Victoria Australia.
Phone: +61 3 9464-6700.
Fax: +61 3 9464-2507.
Email: its@cybernex.net.au
http://www.ausmanufacturers.com.au/thermocouple/
Contact:
Managing
Director: Brian Oakley.
Production Manager: David Rosser
EPS.
Know your material: Expanded polystyrene is all airWhen you pick up white foam packaging for the first time you are usually struck by how light it is. That's not surprising when you consider it's around 95% air. That also gives it excellent insulation properties both in terms of heat and noise.
The white foam is expanded polystyrene or EPS. It's also often called polystyrene foam. EPS is a lightweight, rigid cellular plastic made from the polymerisation of the styrene monomer. Styrene, a byproduct of crude oil extraction is also found naturally in foods such as strawberries, nuts and beans. The polymerisation process produces translucent spherical beads of polystyrene about the size of sugar granules.
To produce EPS, the polystyrene beads are heated with steam. This causes a pre-foaming agent found within the beads (usually a hydrocarbon such as pentane) to boil. When this happens the beads expand to some 40 to 50 times their original volume. After expansion the beads undergo a maturing period in order to reach an equilibrium temperature and pressure.
The beads are then placed within a mould and reheated with steam. The pre-foamed beads expand further, completely filling the mould cavity and fuse together. The beads are moulded to form boards, blocks or customised products.
EPS is used widely as packaging for a variety of products. The majority of EPS packaging manufactured in Australia is used in the transport of fruit, vegetables and seafood. Its exceptional shock-absorbing characteristics make it ideal for the storage and transport of fragile and expensive items such as electronic equipment, chemicals and wines.
Considerable quantities of EPS are also used in the construction industry. EPS is an inert material that does not rot and is not susceptible to attack by pests such as rats or termites. Its strength and durability makes it a versatile building product however it is primarily used as custom insulation in building applications. Products made from EPS include sandwich panels, waffle pods and also void forms. When safety is paramount, EPS comes into its own. It is used in the manufacture of children's car seats and cycling helmets, where its protective qualities, strength and shock-absorbency are vital.
More information: http://www.pacia.org.au/index.html
T- Mag. What Is It?
Through new advances in the casting process, super lightweight magnesium alloys is being used by a team of research engineers from CSIRO.
1 February 2006
Future cars will be far lighter – but just as strong – through new advances in the casting process that uses super lightweight magnesium alloys by a team of research engineers from CSIRO.
The technology, called T-Mag, consistently produces high-integrity magnesium alloy castings from permanent moulds, free of porosity and other defects.
T-Mag can cast lightweight magnesium-alloy engine blocks that will be only two-thirds the weight of current aluminium alloy blocks and less than one third the weight of cast iron blocks– a prospect that is already arousing the interest of high-performance car manufacturers in Europe.
It will also be possible to cast high-integrity magnesium alloy wheels. Current casting technology cannot produce wheels of sufficient integrity to be safe and practical at an acceptable cost.
T-Mag is being developed through CSIRO’s Light Metals Flagship by a team from CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology. A pilot-scale unit built for research and development has already produced successful demonstration magnesium castings, including road wheels, and blocks for a 750cc, water-cooled, motorcycle engine will be cast shortly.
CSIRO believes that T-Mag’s technical and economic attributes will give it a competitive advantage over current casting technologies, and remove many obstacles to the economic production of high integrity magnesium parts.
Head researcher, Dr Thang Nguyen, describes T-Mag’s novel, integrated design as a critical enabling technology, with a range of applications beyond the high-pressure casting technique currently used to produce 85 per cent of the world’s magnesium alloy components.
High-pressure die casting has limitations which restrict its application to cast many automotive components, one of these limitations is low as-cast yields: typically, it takes six to seven kilograms of metal to produce a 3.5kg casting. The unused metal cannot simply be recycled because re-melting creates oxides and inter-metallic compounds, and both the initial melting process and re-melting the scrap consume large amounts of energy.
‘T-Mag requires only 3.7kg of alloy for a 3.5kg casting. This reduces recycling, and energy use and saves a lot of melt cost,’ Dr Nguyen says.
T-Mag is a permanent-mould casting process that requires neither applied pressure nor a vacuum to fill the die. The die fills smoothly from the bottom, minimising air entrapment and oxidation, and produces X-ray-quality castings that are virtually free of defects.
CSIRO is now seeking industry partners to commercialise T-Mag.
Article Source: CSIRO Australia.
Online Foundry Supply Houses.
(Copy and Paste links into your browser.)
http://www.foseco.com/
http://www.freemansupply.com/
http://www.implog.com/foundry/
http://www.artmolds.com/gateway/resources/suppliers.htm
http://www.powersourcing.com/sf/foundrysupplies.htm
http://www.sculptor.org/Foundries/TradeAssociations.htm
http://foundrysite.com/catalog/conditions.php
http://www.sculptshop.com/
http://www.perrysupply.com/main.asp
http://www.exmoorcastingsupplies.co.uk/
http://www.msstate.edu/fineart_online/art-resources/services.html
Restoring Rusty Cast Iron.
From the "Fajita King", and he uses cast iron serving plates for my fajitas say's Jeff Watson.
The best way to rejuvenate cast iron after it gets a little rusty or crusty is to spray it with oven cleaner and let it sit for an hour to remove the buildup. Then remove any rust with naval jelly (gelled phosphoric acid, good stuff for rust).
Then rinse thoroughly in hot water several times, wipe it down with vegetable oil and heat it up in the oven. You'll have to re-apply the oil a time or two, but this is the step that prevents rusting, so coat it well and let it soak in, the heat will help it wet the metal and cure it so that it stays put. Good Luck and Bon Appetite`!
Permatex Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver 8 fl. oz. It's even available through Amazon.