The International Hobby Metal Casting ezine.
Brought To You By:
Col Croucher, administrator of: www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia.
February 2008. Volume: 05. Number:52.
G'day There.
A big welcome if you are a new ezine subscriber, this is probably your first step in the exploration of hobby metal casting. No matter where you live in this global village you should be able to begin to make your own castings. It is an exciting journey that's for sure.
It feels as though the summer heat in the southern part of OZ is losing it’s punch, we have had good summer rains and since then, the days have become much milder, with crisp mornings and I think we are entering into an early Autumn... I for one wont be complaining about that, as it means that the foundry once again will be fired up. I don’t think I would be the only one that kind of looses interest in metal casting when the temps are up around the 38C - 42degC mark, but if you really have to carry out some metal casting, at least it can be done in the evening when it is a bit cooler.
We have had many new customers come on board in the past month, I never cease to be
amazed at the number of practical minded people there are around the globe, I think there is a big change happening, people are waking up to the fact that you can make things your self; all you have to do is arm your self with some basic information and away you go; anybody can learn the ABC of almost anything... as long as you have the desire and a bit of get up and go, be a self starter, there is no reason why you should not at least attempt something at least once in your life.
I was watching a show on TV the other night called "The Real Sea Change", one of the
couples in the show sold up everything they owned here in OZ and travelled to the other
side of the globe to Canada where they had bought a rundown lakeside restaurant which they intend to rebuild and re-open as a top notch restaurant.
An off the cuff comment made by the husband was "if I don’t have a go at this venture
right now at this stage of his life, he will probably die wondering and always regret that he didn't have a go". Now that is one helluva life changing challenge, dont you think?
With an educated guess it would be safe to say there are tens of thousands of people
who had an idea in their minds to have a go at something, be it a new business, hobby,
Career change, whatever, but somehow, along the way they got sidetracked, couldn’t
quite make the start, or they were discouraged by negative thoughts and statements
from other people.
Don't let this happen to you, no matter what you want to do in life, there are always
the nay sayers that seem to delight in interfering with other peoples ambitions, negative
people and attitudes can wear you down, with some determination you can follow your
positive thoughts & dreams and you will find success no matter what you attempt, and
it is no different with a hobby like metal casting.
On the odd occasions when my wife and I go out for a social night with other people, and sooner or later the conversation moves around to hobbies and leisure activities, when I explain to people what I do in my workshop they are mostly overawed at what can be made with homebuilt equipment, the questions range from: Isn’t metal casting really difficult to do, how do you get the metal hot enough to melt it, what do you make the mould from, to where do you get all of the info, now I must admit I have to be real careful at that point not to get too commercial, if they are really keen, I give them our web site URL and leave it at that.
Of course there are always the people who ask "is it free"? Well yes, there are lots of free stuff out there, but if you want somthing better than FREE you have to be prepared to spend a few bucks; it's the same with anything you do in life.
OK, the photos below illustrate a clever little metal casting trick, which can be used to make a myriad of things... take a close look... I betcha you will find a use for this trick in the next couple of months.
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Encapsulated Metal Castings.
Image#1.
Originals used as patterns which are pressed/tapped into drag moulding
sand.
Image#
2. Machined - threaded insert ready to place into sand mould.
Image #3. The
cast tree of parts, encapsulated threaded steel studs, plus a set of
plain wing
nuts on the back of the runner.
Image#4. The result of a
encapsulated casting, the flashings can be easily removed.
Image#
5. Whoops, when things go wrong. This is a short run or cold shut, but
often, moisture can also create a blow hole in the casting.
Image#6. The completed
castings. A good result. All flashings have been removed, the wingnut
base machined, and wingnuts have been finished with scotchbrite wheel.
This
particular metal casting technique can be used in many creative ways in
the hobby foundry.
FYI: About the
images. Light source: Diffused window light. Camera: Fuji
S5 Pro 12MP. ISO:160. Lens:Tamron 28/105. S/Speed 1/2 Sec. F/stop:22.
IMS:Adobe Photoshop.
Encapsulated
Metal Casting.
This casting technique is nearly as old as metal casting itself, you
most likely come into contact with items everyday that have been
manufactured using this method, the brief description here coupled with
the photographs above should give you a good start with the technique.
Image# 1.
The original parts were used as patterns. These old wing nuts are
parts, which belong to an old Studebaker truck, the originals were of
forged steel, the client could not find the number of parts required so
a request came in to see if we could cast them. We did the job in
Aluminium but could well have cast them in brass also... yes I can here
you thinking, why not just buy ready made wing nuts, well that was one
option put forward but manufactured wing nuts do not look the same as
these old style nuts. Moulding Method: Ram the drag, then press or tap
the patterns halfway into the sand. Sprinkle parting dust, IE graphite
powder. Draw where runner & ingates will go, place cope on drag and
continue to ram with sprue and riser in place.
Image#2.
The short thread stud, which has been prepared for casting, note the
machined groove, which the metal will flow into and shrink/freeze onto.
The threaded insert is simply placed in the depression in the sand
created by the original pattern.
Image#3.
This is the end result after the mould has been parted and the shake
out process is finished. The cast tree comes out complete with castings
with encapsulated studs, which are all joined to the runners/gates and
risers. The process is one of simplicity and very easy to do.
Image#4.
A close up of the wing nut with captured threaded stud, the cast metal
encases and holds extremely tight, the stud is unlikely to come out
unless some undue force is placed on it.
Image#5.
Every now and again things go wrong, and this is no exception, a short
run or in this case a cold shot has not enabled the metal to encase
metal stud entirely, so this is certainly a reject...it's back in the
pot with this one after breaking the stud out.
Image #6.
A good result, a set of six wing nuts are shown here but in fact we
cast a set of twenty with the metal inserts, plus twenty plain wing
nuts. A fiddly job to do but well worthwhile as it turned a nice profit.
Can you see the value in using
this casting method?
In your own workshop there are many instances where you
can use this technique to make/create special handles for all kinds of
hand tools. You could get creative and manufacture unique art castings.
Use the technique to make antique spoked wheels... take a look at last
month’s ezine, remember the old spoked wheels on the oil engine
carriers, they are very simple and employ the technique we have been
talking about here... OK, the wheels are a bit more work, but you could
roll the rims, cut and weld the spokes to the rim, then turn up a split
pattern in the shape of the hub, prepare your mould boxes, and bingo,
there's your cast antique wheel. But don’t go out and reinvent things,
just learn from what's around you.... most of it has been done before,
but we are the people who are rediscovering it all again, and isn’t it
fun.
Now git to it.
Col.
From OZ.