CASTING A KARAMBIT?! PART 1
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- Опубліковано 27 гру 2017
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My name is Alec Steele and I am a 20 year old blacksmith from Norfolk in the United Kingdom. I upload a vlog from my day at the workshop almost every single day. Lots of sparks, lots of making, lots of fantastic-ness. Great to have you here following along!
What do I make? LOTS of Damascus steel, knives, swords, axes and more and of course, I always love hearing your suggestions for future projects in the comments below!
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Alec Steele Blacksmith 2017 - Розваги
Alec, some tips for you from a person who has sold his castings online and at small town fairs.
1. Before you start putting in sand to make the second half of the mold, take an ice-pick or a sharp pointed screw and gently run the tip all the way around the buck (the buck is the item that you are trying to cast, also called the pattern). Then blow away the sand you knocked loose with a gentle blast from your air hose or canned air. Then liberally apply the baby powder/powdered talcum, then create the second half of your mold. By breaking the sand away from the edge this way ,you will increase how cleanly and easily the buck comes out of the molding sand, thus giving yourself a better cavity to pour into.
2. You need larger pour holes, at least one and a quarter inches in diameter and preferably four to six inches in height - this will help give you more pressure to force the liquid metal into the mold space. It also makes it easier to do the actual pouring.
3. You need larger gate channels from the pour hole to the mold cavity - this makes it easier for the metal to flow into the cavity. Best advice I ever got was to use a cheap plastic spoon to make the gate channels - its the right diameter (nice and wide) and the cheap plastic spoons have a sharper edge than a metal or more expensive plastic spoon, which makes for cleaner edges in the sand. Just make sure to hold and support the bowl of the spoon, not just the handle.
4. When casting thin metal parts (like the blade of the Karambit) take a bamboo or metal skewer and poke air-escape holes directly from the cavity of the mold itself up to the surface instead of doing a single large air-escape hole and gate. You want roughly 1 of these small holes for ever two square inches of thin area you are trying to pour. Once you poke the skewer through pull it out then gently blow air through the hole to clear it of any sand that might be in it. After the casting (depending on the metal's liquid pressure and temperature) you will have some metal that will have gone up the holes - could be anywhere from tiny bumps to thin 'straws'. These are easily removed and polished away.
5. To more easily dry your sand, spread a sheet of plastic ( a new tarp or a large garbage bag - 1 use the 50 gallon garbage bags - works great) out on the floor of your office. I'm presuming that the office is warmer than your shop, but if the shop is warm you can do it there. Do this before you leave for the night, and spread the sand out in a thin layer, about a quarter to a half inch deep. Leave it overnight, then the next morning put it back in the container by just picking up the plastic sheet by the corners and using it to channel the sand back into the container. This is the easiest and fastest method I have found for drying sand to where the moisture content needs to be. Then when you sand is too dry, get yourself a small spray bottle and squirt a fine mist of water onto a thin layer of sand - mix thoroughly and repeat until it is back where it needs to be.
Hope you see this, and hope it helps!
InvolvedObserver nicely writen. Couldn't say it better :)
Fitting name
I see 2 issues and I made them my first time. You need a slightly wider pour hole. I've always used steel tubing to extend the holes upward. Hell a bean can will do! This has 2 advantages. It means you can pour the entire crucible in one go, and that will in turn create pressure to force the pour through the mould.
Never try to pour from both ends. It traps air and rarely works well :-)
Dan Bennetto I think making the pour spout taller might help with the pressure as welk
To add to that he should have the vent hole in a long pour closer to the end. But yeah a pouring riser would be good for pressure if that is what you meant. And also the pour spout should be closer to the other end with that tiny ring. If not in the tiny ring just have to drill and file it out.
I love UA-cam
Lil Doggy
So does your mom
Also did not help that there was no ventalation at the very ends
if you had taller pour holes it would make more head pressure and make the pour more likely to flow through out the mold.
Hence the reason Alec should have filled the entire Cope with sand.
sandrammer exactly!
For Thin projects I think it is more effective and reliable to use vertical pouring instead of horizontal pouring. My reasoning is simple, it lets gravity assist you.
An inclined pouring should work as well, and easier to put in place with the sand flasks you have
exactly what they did in the bronze age with saopstone
I think if the gas escape holes were at the very ends and the inflow hole in the middle it would have flowed thru better. Looked like he got trapped gas pockets on the ends. In flow funnel would probably help a bit too.
Put gas exit holes in both ends of mold. Like right in the tip of the blade and middle of that finger hole at the other end. Those are the places where the molten metal pushes air and gasses inside the mold. Now those gasses and air didn't have way to exit the mold.
well said
If you out gas holes in the mold you will essentially make holes for the metal to flow into. Ruining the mold
Sorry, I didn't understand exactly what you meant. But the method I describe before, was something what I learned during my 7 years of mold making in a iron foundry.
Failure is always an option. I like the idea of casting a mini anvil
You can use styrofoam in the sand to pour on to. The heat will burn the styrofoam and replace it. I think this is more efficient but I don’t know.
The gaming Potato if I remember correctly it's called lost foam casting and it's a great way to cast large and odd shaped items
He will need to quadruple the Ventalation he has if he's doing Lost foam also Lost foam also works with plaster investment casting another option is lost wax.
make thing out of wax Coat the wax in virgin plaster. let that Dry then cast in plaster using Matirial form old casts as filler then Stick the mold into an oven and slowly heat to 400 degrees till you can melt out all the wax.
While I fail at casting - please go succeed at building yourself a website with Squarespace! 😅😆😜 Link in description for a free trial and 10% off!
Cast one of the mini anvils!
Check out mrpete2222, myfordboy, n the navy foundry manual. They are great references for casting.
Bronze is a VERY soft metal for a anvil :D
You need air vents at the tip and at the ring to allow the bronze to flow I believe that would help
You can do Alec never give up never surrender!!!
"Does the rolling help?" :D
Always loved Mathesar's resolve!
Hey Alec, a couple of tips for ya:
The magnets are a great way to get your pattern out of the sand, but if you have room, try using a threaded hole. You can then screw in a bolt, lift up vertically and voila. Works really well for heavy parts, or large parts that might not lift up easily.
Make sure you use lots of parting powder to coat your pattern. Once you think you've got enough on there, stick a bit more on just in case. You'll have much tidier results when removing the pattern.
For entry and exit holes, with small parts you'll probably have more success allowing the metal to enter from one end and exit from the other, rather than having the metal enter halfway along the length of the pattern. The metal cooled too quickly in your karambit pour and prevent more molten metal from filling the gaps.
Use a funnel! Seriously, trying to pour molten metal from a crucible into a half inch hole is dangerous, difficult and a bit dumb. Carve a funnel type hole in the sand and smooth the edges by pushing not rubbing with a spoon, dowel rod or your finger.
If you're worried about the sand being too wet, you can take a torch to the mold where the pattern was to dry it out enough, you can even blacken the sand without causing an issue.
Look up the terms Gate and Runner, they're a little complicated to explain in words, but when you see a picture you'll know what they are. Essentially they make the pour more even in pressure, leading to better castings.
Good luck!
Alec please try to do a lost wax casting
Or a lost 3d printer form cast!
Make damascus with pattern of your touchmark.
Konsta K that would be bad ass. A big Alec logo made of Damascus with the touchmark pattern or even a 3D touchmark made of it
If you haven’t already, have a look at Brian Oltrogge’s channel. Some valuable casting videos there.
Keep it up Alec :)
Backyard Workshop I recommend his channel as well on one of the last videos. The guy is a master.
I've seen a few molding videos, and i think some people add silicate oil in the sand. I may be wrong, but i think not. Also, might want to look into lost wax casting? I love the energy you put in your video.
or use a styrofoam cut out that burns away just the same. king of random channel did a bunch of casting methods a while back
imma pewpew He bought professional green sand, so he shouldn't have to add anything except some water when it gets too dry. Lost wax is a great way of doing casting, but for someone just starting out like Alec, it's a bit tougher because he has to carve the wax (or use a 3d printer), either cast it in plaster or dip it in ceramic shell slurry, burn out the wax, then pour in the bronze. Green sand is a much easier way of casting
you are right about the oil thats used in oil sand mix but its not silicate silica is the main sand use in most moulding material as well as others like zircon cerabead lynicur chromight
As I recall it's sodium silicate (waterglass) and carbon dioxide
Alex try using styrofoam to cast it a start
The gamer 115 you beat me to it. I have made many things from foam and then poured.
That way you dont have to remove the mold object..it disintegrates in the mold
From experience generally using foam as a pattern leaves voids. Its always better to cast from the original pattern if you can. contrary to popular myth it's supposed to vaporize, but it does it. It changes to a gluey pile of goop.
Two holes: Pour and Vent.
He had two holes in his mold
and he poured into both of them. gotta have a way for the air to escape, when he poured into the vent hole i literally said noooooooooo!
Mike Reppert it already had failed it was worth a shot to pour in the vent
Alec check out press tube he does a lot of casting metal
I wish I could get as excited about one thing as Alec does for everything.
Hey Alec, I've done a lot of casting: Bigger pouring holes, with a funnel cut out, for easier and faster pouring.
They should be higher too, that gives more pressure on the metal.
More air vents. Especially at the end of that thinner part of the knife.
Better metal flow, when you blacken the sand mould ( where the metal will be) with candle or torch.
The thin coal layer will guide the molten metal.
That's my bit of casting wisdom.
Have you looked into casting using Styrofoam in the mold?
Instead of using metal as the mold use styrofoam. You could just pour the hot metal in it and it’ll burn away the styrofoam leaving the metal
Always love when we get to see your failures along side your successes!
Hey Alex a lot of casting videos I have seen also put vent holes in so you make sure your mould is full👍
Make a pair of Brass Knuckles!
Why not try lost wax casting?
unless your making jewelry its a lot of time and money
Alec you should cast your touch mark the size of that karambit. It would make a great "wall hanger"!!
Love to see you trying new things! You're doing great with the casting!!! Keep up the FANTASTIC work!!
I see several things that you can change to get a great pour. First when you go in for the pour you must give a consistent steady pour. When you were pouring this time, you missed the hole for a half second and the metal in the cast had cooled. Look at the pour again and you will see once the pour started to miss the metal cooled. Second you need a f*ck ton of holes. You only have one hole for the gasses to escape and that is not enough. Lastly when packing the mold for casting. What i do is completely pack both halves and then press the piece into the sand. I then press the two halves of the mold together. Love the videos! So glad i found this channel a couple of weeks ago, can’t wait for the new projects to come. (And yes i have been binge watching all you old stuff like a rabid dog!)
I think you’ll probably find putting the vent at the point of the blade better as the way you had it as soon as the metal passed the vent you created somewhat of a vacuum
hey Alec I'm a master moulder in a foundry that casts stuff off the highest spec level duplex up to ultra duplex steels, high nickel ,manganese tool steels, SS, iron ductile Nihard ect , ect we make stuff for oil industry lumber industry mining, Nasa, military, nuclear if you need a real answer to a serious question then just ask me id be glad to help...there is a product out there called Zipslip i find it to be the best release agent out there
The basic components to a mold are the sprue, gates, runners, the mold cavity, and the riser. The sprue is the hole that you pour into. The gates are ditches that are carved into the sand along the sides of the mold. Runners are ditches that are carved into the sand that connect the gates to the mold cavity. And the riser is a visual that you have successfully filled the mold cavity without a cold shut. Gates and runners allow for a more consistent flow. A cold shut is when the molten metal freezes somewhere within the mold cavity just like what happened in the video here. Hope this advice helps you. Another word of advice is to carve what you are looking to mold out of styrofoam and use that in place of a solid metal object. As you pour the metal in it will burn the foam leaving an exact mold of that foam piece. Keep up the good work.
You are getting your head around this process man. It's exciting to see. Epic castings I'm sure are just around the corner.
Looks like someone made a fake Alec Steele channel (Alex Steele Official)and is spamming it with GARBAGE!!!! I didn't even have to click on it to know it B.S.
I've reported about 10 of the comments made by him, by now.
report RAID!!!
Have you watched any videos myfordboy or mrpete222 have done on casting? They are some great informative videos and I think you will find them helpful. Hope this helps and looking forward to seeing you have great success at making some cool castings. Thx for the great videos.
I appreciate you including your fails, showing determination, and what it takes to actually get good at something! thank you.
a couple things; you need to put the pouring hole all the way on one side of the cast and a smaller hole for gases to excape all the way on the other side. and you must not pour it down both holes, only the pourig hole, and you pour until you see the metal coming out the other hole.
NOTIFICATION SQUAD!!! How y'all doin?
John K doin pretty good
WHY YOU NO USE LOST-WAX CASTING METHOD ?
prolly he doesnt know what it is
It definitely was a great way for me to learn before moving on. Great suggestion
You have to have a way to make the wax positive, which is a lot more involved than the way he is doing it. You need to carve, cast, plaster, etc. (Or have a 3D printer.)
No, you need clay. Just "clay" : you model the object in clay earth. Then you play with positives / negatives, you think about evacuation trenches / holes, etc. Just like during 90% of the human metallurgic history ^^ (sorry for my english, I'm an archaeologist, but I'm french haha)
A really good old method : do your item in clay, cook it, make a bivalve (???) mold of it with more clay around it, and there you go, you avec a mold, really more stable than casting sand. Reusable.
I did casting in metal shop in High School. I was taught to put the pouring holes in the corners and punch any additional air vents from the inside out. The actual mold was made in the bottom half upside down, with finely screened sand over the item to be cast. The top was placed on with brown paper cut out around the outside of the item to be cast. I was taught to put the pouring holes in the corners and punch any additional air vents from the inside out. I was never quite satisfied with sand casting and back in those days investment casting wasn't well known.
Alec just a tip, you can use polystyrene in the sand so help with the mold, then pour the molten metal onto the polystyrene and it will burn and the molten liquid will take its place.
Try using wax paper with the molds
ten thousand wtf no stupid
Alec you have the best thing to use for your molds. You have a press to press your sand.
he could make a 15 part series of how he trialed and errored making a casting sand mold presser for his hydraulic press. ;D
just want to say, im really grateful for your willingness to show the failures, it is honestly just as interesting and more importantly, an inspiration to me for how i treat my own failures
I really hope Alec sees this: try casting in a cuttlebone mold! You'll love it, I promise!
Cast a coin please
That's illegal
Mr.Ben Playz it depends. I’m not exactly sure about england, but in many places, as long as you don’t profit on it, and you make some sort of mark that differentiates it from the original
Daddy Slimcock That is what I mean not an actual coin like a prop coin
Mr.Ben Playz It is most certainly not illegal.
Its only illegal if you try to spend it.
If you get a 3d printer you could print what you want to cast and then just pour the metal over it, the plastic burns and just leaves the cavity that it took up
So obvious, YES! Get some investment plaster from a hobby store, print something like a cool fantasy knife, make a really good mold and then cast it. Easy enough with his equipment. He could even have a guest come on in and do all the 3d printing stuff, perfectly laid out to be a form for a mold with pour and gas escape.
Hi Alec, just a tip when casting in moulds try having 2 holes, one to pour into and the other to vent the trapped air. Ive found this helps especially when casting larger items
My successes in casting came from making a worksheet that I ticked everything I needed to do off as I did it. After 100 aluminum pours did I feel like I knew all the steps enough that I could let go of the worksheet. Just enough process/procedures to keep creative while doing a pour.
The million layer karambit was the project that got me watching this channel. Keep up trying! You'll get the hang of it.
I must say from experience, casting can be incredibly frustrating to learn the ropes, but the amount of satisfaction you get from successful pours makes it all worth it... one of the best channels detailing the mold making process is called Olfoundryman that guy does not have half the subscribers that he deserves...
Working in a steel foundry just out of high school. We used a black sand and a sodium silicate binding agent. It's a no bake binder that easily enough cracks apart after use. Would throw all the old mold in a shaker that broke it back down to use again. Mixed the sand in with the binder and then pressed in your core as it started to harden. The binding agent also caused the patterns to heat up some. First we painted all cores with a pink mold release paint that helped them release much easier without damage. Bottom form being called a drag with top being called the cope. These were much much larger castings. Many water pump cases and fancy street light poles with center light and 4 arms to hold other light.
Hey Alec!!!!! You should make Damascus tampers for when you're casting!
Alec. one thing you could possibly do to thicken up the workpiece before making a mold is to cover it with something like sprayed rubber - this stuff will both apply evenly, get a glossier surface (less sticking sand) and will come off easily.
Keep up the amazing work, cheers!
Alec, can't tell you how much I appreciate you bringing us along for the ride and showing the failures along the way. Much more informative and also just makes you awesome for admitting that you're a human rather than Hephaestus in disguise. Hope you had a merry Christmas and have a happy New Year.
Hey Alec, congrats on getting the foundry set up. Something that might help: instead of pouring straight into the spru, do a little well to pour into and then it will run down. Should help it be a little smoother pour and reduce splashing inside the cavity. Plus, on bigger castings where you'll have more shrinkage, you'll want that extra material and weight over the cavity to allow more material to flow down and help prevent shrinkage.
From what little I've learned watching videos of metal casting, if you don't need terribly high detail, use greensand with a 2-part mold or use vanishing Styrofoam. If you do need detail, use lost wax/PVA and a mix of plaster and sand for the mold.
Best channel for this is (I think) Presstube.
alec back in the bronze age master blacksmith would use soap stone molds to cast swords they used saop stone because it is fairly heat resisting so it wont crack when puting molten metal into it but u will need to preheat the cast so it has a better chance of flowing thourgh the hole cast without cooling down too much so it doesnt clog up . i thing you should do your resaerch about tis if you want more detail
My parents got me a blacksmithing class for Christmas!!!!! Can’t wait! It’s with the people on Milwaukee blacksmith’s on history channel
Alec Steele,
First off, I love your videos! Your enthusiasm is wonderful and you do some great work.
Second off, I've taken classes in college where I studied manufacturing, which included molds and casting. And I think I have some tips to help you out. When placing the pour hole. Place it near the middle or one end. Middle would be best. When placing vent holes. Place them so they are the end of a path. Ex: on the karambit. The Pour hole was good but the metal didn't flow around the finger hole because the vent got plugged before the metal went all the way around. Place the vent so metal can follow evenly before reaching the vent and you should have a better time. For the blade end. Your vent looked good. Maybe a larger and shorter channel leading to it will help. Biggest problem there occurred when you poured into that vent. When pouring into the center of a mold you want vents at the farthest ends so the metal can flow and reach all corners.
I agree that your sand is too wet but I'm not sure how to fix that. The sand I used had been used by students all summer. Just keep up on applying talc powder to the part and the surfaces of the sand where the seam is and you'll get there. You've made great improvement along your way and I'm super excited to see more.
I also have a lot of machining experience and am jealous of your Bridgeport! Those are great machines! If I ever see something I may have a tip for you on, I'll be sure to comment.
Keep up the great work and the great videos!
-Derek (design/manufacturing engineering student. Utah, USA)
Alec's smile makes my day
Try lost foam casting or any other type of lost casting. For those who don't know what that is it is: create object in question with foam or other material that disintegrates with heat. Also including pourhole and vent in foam or other material as specified. Leave in casting sand. Pour molten mettle. If casting large objects use multiple pourholes. Make sure that the path form the casting to where you are pouring from is large enough. What's going on is it's cooling down too fast. The trail is small enough that it's moving to slow, and the size is small enough that it cools too fast. You want it to be hot for as long as possible. Lost casting is good for beginners cause there's less to mess up. I've done casting and I've worked with metal in almost every way. But I've never done Blacksmithing. I've all ways wanted to. If you or any one else needs help just shoot me a shout. By the way I never started with lost casting. I started where you are. Except I had a teacher to show me what to do and what not to do. Edit: And jemo joopajoo is correct. Put vents everywhere gas will get trapped. And make the path to the vent a little larger it needs to escape faster.
you have so much energy and its amazing that you use it to be positive and happy. i hope you keep doing what you do next year!
Alec, I am not a expert and only took foundry in a High School Shop class. My Teacher was Mr Dix who was as old as the hills in 1975 and was a wonder to watch as he demonstrated molding it took him 5 minutes to create a perfect mold! He obviously had a lot of experience, he was also my Father's Foundry teacher in 1942, in his first year of teaching and owned a foundry on the side. Mr Dix made us use a wood tamper that was two headed; one side was a wider round tamper 5"-6" diameter and the other side was a blunt wedge shape. Mr. Dix always emphasized a medium force general tamp over the surface with the round face and then a reinforcing tamp around the edge to compress the sand into the mold. This caused the sand to squeeze in to the mold. Our molds were bigger than yours and usually did two sometimes three levels of sand tamping in the manner I described earlier. Of course Mr Dix did it in one course allowing the sand to mound high but always wound up with the right amount when he was done molding. Using this method I did not lose sand when splitting the mold to remove the pattern. We also had a piece of aluminum sheet maybe 3/32" thick 2.5 - 3 inches long bent in a V with a thumb hold on the side that we cut channels for the metal to run into the pattern's cavity. Our channels seemed bigger than the ones I saw you use on your video. Mr Dix also stipulated that if you expected metal to reach a far corner of your cavity you better make plans for the gases to escape. So I would suggest more vertical shafts at the end of the pattern if you are pouring from a central point on your mold. Again, I am not an Expert but Mr Dix certainly was, Good Luck!
Might I recommend you build yourself some casting parts. #1 Down Sprue (tapered for easy extraction with a funnel toward the top for easy pouring), #2 Riser blocks (typically equal in size to the item being cast, these act as a reservoir to supply the part being cast and to absorb the shrinkage as these typically are much higher being in the upper mold) #3 Gating or runners these are larger channels to provide good flow of metal. #4 Vents, you need to provide the air you are displacing a place to go (I usually put them at the top of the riser protruding from the top of the mold. Then when you pour you slowly fill the mold until you see the metal rising to the top of the vent.
Also, don't cast on the floor. Build a board to set the part on, sprinkle with part compound, then fill the mold up with sifted sand. compact, then add more sand. Flip the mold over with the board onto another board. Add the top of the mold, and sprinkle parting compound, fill the mold, and then part them. You then cut your gates etc unless you had them in the mold
Alec, you can try to melt a piece of the meteorite. Maybe you can cast something of it, or you can forge it afterwards. I’m very curious to see what will happen
He'll need to modify his furnace for forced air to get to the temperature needed
Watching this and feeling the energy levels even after the failed attempts is fantastic! Learned a lot just from this alone and by the way, awesome boots
If you put your fill and vent tubes on either end of what youre trying to cast, the metal will have to flow. It takes the easiest way out, thats why you got a partial casting. Cheers and good luck Alec.
Alec!
That’s called a misrun. It’s a common casting defect and the main cause is that you are not pouring at a fast enough rate.
Also, I’d recommend that you add a vent hole in the tip of blade, it gets very thin there so the metal is likely to harden very fast.
If you have a vent, you can pour faster without worrying about the air in the mold not escaping.
Alex, you seen the guys that use foam as the mold? The hot metal burns away the foam and you have a perfect mold! Happy new year!
I suggest you use a Table with a raised Rim for making the molds. All the Sand ist cointained up there well, and because it is not as colda s on the ground, the sand should stay a bit dryer.
Also, you dont have to sit on the ground.
I saw you started making a second hole in the mold to let the air out, this is good. i also saw professional foundry workes putting a fine small mesh of steel to make the abrasive effect of the pour (flowin water vs. stone) weaker. Escpecially when making bigger pours (Those guy poured up too 500 pounds in one pour).
Alex, a couple suggestions about the sand. We sand casted back 45 years ago in High School Shop. our molds were made of pine, we used a tar saturated sand. it was a bit different than that red stuff. Kind of think your steel molds are making the sand slip. moisture content shouldn't be a problem unless it is just full of moisture. Should be good out of the bag unless it's been sitting out side getting rained on.
Wider pour holes, and channels to the pattern.
Also, use a square piece of wood to pack. I think that round bar you are using could be causing some slippage pocketing.
Long thin object and cold sand might make it hard to get a good pour.
I know this video is quite old and you probably have alot more experience with casting now, but one thing I noticed that may help you (especially in this video) is why not build your casting boxes out of wood, the sand will protect the wood and would allow you to quickly build a box to correct size. Love your videos currently binge watching most of them right now, keep up the great work and inspiration!
As others have said, you need a pouring cup, those are quite helpful. You also will always have trouble with thin stuff. I would recommend picking up a thermocouple and measuring the temperature of the melt. You want a bit of a "superheat" (how far over the melting point you go) to ensure the metal has enough energy to fill out a pattern completely.
Oh, and watch myfordboy, he does a bit of casting.
Alec, not only do you need the pour hole. you need sprue holes as well for the gasses to escape from and for the metal to fully fill the mold.
put your pour hole on one side of the casting and use a smaller tube (straw) on the far end of your piece.
Happy Birthday Alec!
You could use heat reactive foam that melts away as soon as heat gets near it as a mold method?, shape the foam, fill the sandbox halfway, place the foam with foam tubes extending out for pour and airhole, fill it the rest of the way. Make your top cones. As soon as you pour the foam will be almost instantly replaced with the liquid metal. Do it the good ol alec steele way, "forge it big, grind it small" and do the same thing " cast it big, grind it small".
Thank you if you read this.
I understand this might not be an ideal way to perform this but it works.
Alec you should look into using foam to do your casting. The foam melts away so you don't have to remove the form from the casting sand
Potential solution to prevent using too much sand: use some of the left over refractory cement to make a "cap" to put in the lower part of the mould form.
Alec: Search UA-cam for "Colonial Blacksmith". It is a video made in 1969 at Colonial Williamsburg in the US. Wallace Gussler, master gunsmith, makes a rifled flintlock. He casts all the brass parts in sand molds. He uses charcoal for parting powder. You may pick some other techniques. I haven't watched the video for some time, but I learned a lot about casting, forging, heat treating and tempering springs and a dozen other skills.
Thanks for all your videos!
Colonial Gunsmith, not blacksmith!
Just as InvolvedObserver said below, but "Venting Position" is key. In your pour in this video, the areas that didn't fill had built up air pressure pockets. Remember, there's air in the cavity and it has to go somewhere. Basically the trapped pressure pockets will stop the fluid. Your pour tube was in the middle of the part, so therefore you should have had at least 2 vents, one at each end. Side note, don't be afraid to put the pour tube right into the side of a part or on the edge. Channeling comes with experience. You'll know when you have a good pour when the material comes up out of the vents as your pouring. Then you know you've filled the cavity. When you forge, you read the metal and react to it...that's the black magic of experience. With casting, you need to read the pattern and ask yourself what nook or crevasse is going to trap air, and then let it breath....
Use sodium silica bonded sand it's easy and the product comes out perfect
Happy birthday Alec!
The tip of the karambit formed a pocket, an area where the molten metal would pour towards the tip and it's simply not feasible to do that without an escape route. I would do it this way: tape over the fingerhole of the karambit and install the pour hole in it's center. The thicker blade portion of the mold definitely helps, but should not be necessary if the mld is solid enough and the bronze pure and liquid enough. The last airhole needs to be at the very peak of the blade or otherwise the molten metal blocks it's escape route. Larger pour and airhole make for less pressure to the mold and make it cleaner. Cone shaped pour hole oughta help with the pouring too. Someone mentioned vertical casting here, that's something you definitely want to try. Good luck!
Perseverance: steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
"You have the most perseverance out of anyone I know." Thats just one of the reasons so many people are fans of you.
In high school we did some casting. Our shop had a table that was kind of like a raised kid's sandbox where all the sand could always be out to stay at a better moisture content. The table also kept the sand contained instead of all over your shop floor and keeps you off the floor. Just an idea. The sand table also had a cover, but that does create evil horizontal space.
I knew when I saw the bubble of metal on top you nailed it ! Well done !!!
It’s not a failure when your learning. Great video!
Make a golfball size pit under the spru hole. It should help when the molten metal shrinks.
Hi Alec , Hope you find this helpful, at School Metalwork class we were told to place the pattern as you are doing but to do the top by just setting the top on a flat surface. Then powdering the mold and filling with sand to the top and then placing on top of other half, removing and seeing there the pattern touched. Then cutting out vents with top half on its side, making a tapered hole and using a long drill to make vent holes. Hope you find what works for you :) and Happy New Year.
Love the enthusiasm and the shirt the wife got me for xmas! Thanks for being Fantastic
I love your videos! I have stage 4 thyroid cancer and heard issues. You videos help me through the long nights.
Get/ build a table on casters for working your sand. Also if you're storing your sand beside a large roll up door condensation may be adding moisture to your generally dry sand due to temperature fluctuations
Alec Steele, you are an impressive young man, your parents must be proud!
Alec Steele here are some recommendations for you
1- why don't you use molding sand called "Greensand" it is black colored it is highly recommended and good for casting
2- make an external drop point or what might be called a feeding head where it is connected to the opened point so that the molten element you pour in there is easier to control like when you want to put gas in a bottle you put a funnel to make it easier
3- why don't you use an alloy rather than copper. I know copper is easier to melt but it's also easier to freeze which means you need to pour it fast and if not a professional you will end screwing it up a lot and a lot. but the alloy like scrap alloy is useful because it is more dense which means you need to melt it with higher temperature but on the flip side it means it will last longer in the molten form which will lead to the best forge because, it will take it's time stretching in the cast and you won't need to spill it as fast as you spill the copper you will give the time for air to flow out easily giving the steel it's glory.
4- use wooden flask rather than metal because the metal flask is cold and will make the sand colder which will lead to the molten steel to cool faster but the wood is kind of stable in temperature and easier to move around not like the steel which will be heavy and cause and movement will cause greater momentum which might cause the sand to fall apart or drop out like what happened to you in there. imagine that you're carrying a bowl full of water, any move will make the waves in the bowl and that is called momentum.
5- make the pouring hole at the end of the mold and the point where steam comes out is at the very end of the mold or even make a channel for the steam outside of the mold at the end of it. not in the middle because when the mold get's to the point no more steam will come out, it will be clogged and ruin the whole process.
Wish you all the best.
Yours truly, Hamad Al-Enazi, Qatar.
This is a fantastic teaching video. I have never cast or anything like this. I learned a lot from this, especially patience.
I saw a UA-cam video where a caster glued a bunch of paint sticks together, and used its angled side to pack the sand in. The angle not only pushes DOWN, compacting the sand, but to the SIDES, which gave it lateral compression, or something like that.
Good to see you continue to try coz that's the way you succeed and good to see you back on it I'm sure u have been practicing constantly well done with the half karambit
To get the metal to go further into casts, make the sprue taller. It adds more pressure to the metal on bottom, forcing it in.
Adding a smaller secondary vent hole will help the metal flow