How on Earth you only have 15k Subscribers while this Channel being literally a Gem of Knowledge?! i'm an Arab from Kuwait and Honest to God i've learned so much from your channel than our Teachers at the foundries, Discovering your Channel is like finding that needle in the haystack, Thank you for sharing your knowledge and Experience, me being far away from you yet still learned much more than those closer to me at our foundries, Thank you so much man, a simple thanks wouldn't suffice
David, thank you very much for your wonderful comment. I could read comments like this one of yours all day 😊. Why only 15K subs? Well, yes I wonder that too as have several other commentors over the years. There are many reasons but perhaps the main one is that people watch UT to be entertained not to be educated. Look at the great success of some of the channels who just melt down stuff into ingots - no technical merit at all but a million subs and endless views. One of them makes a very good living doing this rubbish - I do not hold this against him but it does nothing to advance foundry skills - I could cry 😰. There are some genuine foundry channels that have perhaps 20 times the subs that I do (In my opinion they do little to advance foundry skills either quite the reverse in fact). These people have been on UT since the beginning so they have a big head start on me and it seems UT tends to promote those with more subs/views/activity so I am unlikely to ever catch up, more likely I will fall further behind relatively speaking. Some of these people are very much into self-promotion - they blog, face book, and forum all they can - it all helps I am sure. Also they tend to put out way more videos than I. But for me the greatest thing is not the number of subs but the realization through comments like yours that I have been able to help people like yourself....Martin
I just found channel yesterday and subscribed ! After looking at many foundry channels on YT ,I think that yours is one of if not the best I've seen. Thanks for your effort in creating these videos.
Dick, Thank you for your subscription and in particular for such a nice comment. The effort in making these videos is my pleasure but comments like yours make the pleasure all the greater. I have been fortunate in my life to have become a Metallurgist and to have worked in several foundries. In addition I have cast as a hobby for about 60 years, and for some 20 years of that, for a living. The foundry industry is very traditional - many of the techniques that I use - small tapered sprues for example - were shown to be very beneficial over 60 years ago yet a lot of the industry and most hobbyists have yet to embrace their use. This traditionality overflows onto YT with a lot of practitioners working from old information and seemingly from a position of lack of scientific knowledge and therefore using techniques that could be, well, without wanting to be rude, improved. Unfortunately, and my videos are in part an attempt to overcome this, many YT viewers wishing to cast them selves copy these old techniques and thus perpetuate techniques that could be better. It is my strong desire to see the industry, commercial and hobby alike, move ahead to better methods and thus improve their own product. Is my channel one of the best foundry ones on YT? Well, I would like to think so but then I am a little biased :). I am conceitedly content to put on the rose coloured glasses and think that I may be one of the better ones but from a technical point of view Bob Puhakka's channel is probably the best I have seen.Thank you again for your comment and I hope that I have provided you with information of use, for such was my intent.
Atomic, Thank you very much for your nice comment. I have to admit though that I am not always quite that calm, I have been know to throw things around a bit when a tough and demanding job goes wrong -:)... Martin
Dave, "So you have mastered the fine art of editing as well" Ah good sir, I would it were so, but I think not....While I will admit to the cutting roof floor being thick with "film", compared to masters of videoing and editing like , for example, Clickspring I pale into insignificance...Martin
Thank you for providing this work Oldfounryman... your question and answers section looks to be solid gold in a lot of ways.. a beautiful thing... have watched luckygen1001's videos for years; somehow today is the first time I've had your's in queue... subscribed...love you both, and all like you.. thank you for another real look at a man in love with his trade. Hope you and Lucky have got to hang out and be friends.
Jim. Thank you for your comments, Yes luckygen and I have sat down and had a good foundry conversation over quite a few cups of tea. It was a pleasure to talk with a kindred spirit such as he. Not only has he been at this casting thing for over 30 years and we therefore have much in common but enough in difference to make it interesting to both of us but he also shares a similar distain for some of the less knowledgeable but sadly more popular YT practitioners -no names no pack drill 🙂. Lucky lives perhaps 80 miles away in a reasonably sized country town which sadly for him has lousy internet service. He tries to call in when ever he comes to the big smoke and hopefully he will do so again soon... Martin
Havoc, Thank you for your comment and your subscription. I am glad that you liked the video - you do tend to get quick when you have done it a few (thousands of :)) times.
I'm watching as many videos as I can I can't believe I didn't find you sooner. I restore old iron and make petter for replacing missing and broken bits. Exelent molding work learning a tun
Chris, Thank you for your comment and for the subscription too. I have not been on YT as long as some of the other foundry type channels and that is probably why you did not find me sooner. I am most happy that you are learning something from what I put on YT. When I first started watching YT I was, as a metallurgist and long time foundry man, aghast at what some channels showed as "foundry work". In some cases it amounted to little more than a complete butchery of the arts and sciences involved in the production of good castings, in response I find myself compelled to try to counter such bad information with a little of what I have gleaned over the years, and if other people learn from my efforts I am well pleased..... Martin
Wow I can't believe I have just found you, Just purchased a Devil Forge and about to melt some stuff. Thanks for the heads up on Ali scrap. Subscribed now Cheers Allan in Perth WA
It is just a standard power hacksaw blade. Used of course. But it is the best thing that I have ever found for striking the moulds off.The only thing you need to be careful of is that used blades are sometimes a bit curved from use and may therefore not strike off the mould flat.
Martin sorry to hear of your problems health is not something to take for granted. Maybe a series of arm chair videos with a white board or drawings I would love to know more about the science of sprews . There is such a wealth of knowledge you possess I’m gealous. But more over take care of yourself first I’ll pray for you. Your Saskatchewan friend Keith
Keith, I am looking at "arm chair" type videos but everything I want to cover seems to require at least a little non arm chair work and at the moment that is rather difficult. Thanks for your good thoughts... Martin
Vo, The reddish powder that I put on top of the feeders immediately after casting is an exothermic compound called "Ferrux NF" it is made by Foseco. Its purpose is to catch fire and keep the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath... Martin
MD, Thank you for your comment. No need for fear here, if a mould stuffs up just break it out and start again, easy! Seriously this was an easy job so little fear of problems, others jobs I have done, well, some sure did inspire fear of failure, a fear at times sadly realised... Martin
Amazing video, thank you! What is that last bit you poured on the center of the mould as you finished pouring? Looked like sand, caught on fire a bit... What was that for?
Alien, Glad that you liked it. The material you refer to is an exothermic compound called "Ferrux NF" It is made by "Foseco". Its job is indeed to catch fire and thus give out heat. This helps to keep the metal in the feeders onto which it was placed stay liquid for longer and thus be more able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying (and therefore shrinking) casting below. Hope this helps. Martin
Hey mate love Ur vids very informative.im just getting into casting.just using leftover weld grade bar & plate and Tig rod ends from welding jobs.would this be machinable after casting & I'm in Brisbane QLD.know of anywhere I can get proper refractory cement that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.just using cement and sand atm for ally but is breaking down after bout 10-15 melts.just got a bunch of brass to do my next project and am pretty sure it won't hold up to the extra heat.cheers mate
Peter. Generally left over plate etc will not make very good machining aluminium. If you wish to be very crude (I don't advise it) you could add about 3% copper to the aluminium should machine Ok but will corrode badly. Best method is to use only alloy wheel as your metal source water quench from the sand as soon as its just solid enough to get out of the mould and then age in a fan forced oven at 165 deg C for 8 hours this is what I do and it works well (note I don't actually use old wheels rather I buy certified ingot of the alloy used for wheels (601 in Australia called 356 in the US) Sadly the cost of refractory materials is a fact of life - they have never been cheap. The cost for castable refractory for my furnace was about a weeks wage way back in 1971/2 BUT I am still using the same furnace with that same refractory lining thousands if not tens of thousands of melts later so the good stuff is worth it! But as always shop around and note that some of those who handle such refractories as a bit of an extra tend to make a bit too much extra from it. Most refractory suppliers even the big ones will sell to hobby people. If you have trouble let me know I have contacts down here who may have contacts up there... Martin
Nice work friend. I completely agree with you when you say that many videos without content are highly applauded while others with enormous educational interest are devalued. Personally, I am very attentive to all your work gestures because I always learn a lot from you. Congratulations. Two questions: What type of foundry sand are you using? What powder do you put on the liquid metal, and what is its function? Thank you very much
Belarte, Yes, for serious Utubers like me the education versus entertainment thing is a concern. But we can do little about it - it sort of is what it is. If you learn something then I have succeeded and am happier for it. The sand I use is a natural green sand, essentially straight out of the ground apart from a little sieving to remove any coarse bits. We are (were) fortunate here in Melbourne in that there was a lot of suitable sand occurring naturally. The best had now gone and the quarry where my sand came from 40 years ago is now filled in with rubbish. The reddish powder I add to the top of the feeders is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" it is made by "Foseco". Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat thus keeping the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide liquid feed metal for the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
Gheral, Ah, my most common question 😊. The powder that I put on the top of the feeders is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" , it is made by Foseco. Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat that helps keep the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to provide feed for the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
Wade, Is it my accent? English not being your main language? Or the sound quality. Can't do much about the first two but this is an early video and my sound recording equipment has improved a lot since then so hopefully you will find my later videos easier to understand..... Martin
Hello Martin, Just finding this two years after it was published. I haven't watched a lot of your videos... yet I noticed that you ram quite hard. Much harder than I have been. Is this proper technique for all pieces or are the there some shapes that you would ram it less firmly? As you know I'm a newb and just trying to learn. Thanks putting these videos out, they are very informative for a guy like me Perry
Perry, I have watched you latest and much more successful hammer video. I would like to make quite a few comments but think it best if I do that via a private message lest anyone else take my intentions/comments wrongly. One has to be so careful what one says or a war of words can start! I will also address this issue of ramming when I do the private message, But for now , yes, I do vary the ramming force depending on a few factors. Unfortunately ramming is a bit like water content of green sands - learned by practice and trial and error rather than described scientifically in a book or by voice. Give me a few days I have rather a lot on at the moment in fact I am like a lizard drinking - flat out! I will come back to you soon.... Martin PS. Thanks for liking the videos it is my hope that they are informative. PPS. We were all newbs once!
Luciano, Thank you for your comment. Here in Australia the alloy is designated "601" in the US its called "356". Its the same alloy as that commonly used for alloy wheels.
Michael, Yes, My concern was that if I had not done this the feeder would not have been high enough (i.e. it would not have contained enough metal) to guarantee a well feed casting. Alternatively I could have extended the feeder and sprue higher with premade shell core extension pieces as I do with most of my throttle bodies. The labourer is indeed well trained but she MUST be obeyed... Martin
Ethan, When you have done it as often as I have it sort of becomes automatic and thus relatively quick. However by old time industry standards I was quite slow! A book on foundry practice published around 1911 lists the time to make a 13" * 17" mould 8.5" thick done by hand moulding on a bench as taking 4 minutes 20 seconds. Considering that the mould I use here is 8 " * 10" and 7 "thick and it takes me about 15 minutes I am well off the pace. How those old timers did it is beyond me! Mind you they did not live to a ripe old age, infirm by 50 dead by 60!... Martin
I am glad that you enjoyed the video. The powder that I put on top of the risers (I should really call them "feeders") immediately I have finished pouring the mould is "Ferrux NF" it is an exothermic compound made by "Foseco". It catches fire and reacts giving out a lot of heat, this keeps the risers liquid for longer so that they are better able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying casting
Olfoundryman Thanks, do you recommend any product or method that avoids the porosity of aluminum? I am an engineering student, and I have to make a 16v head, and the porosity greatly affects my work
Daniel, A rather big question. Firstly let me say that cylinder heads are difficult to cast successfully - the core work is particularly troublesome. It is a big ask to take one on as a relatively inexperienced foundry man. I believe that most cylinder heads cast commercially are porous and are impregnated with resins to prevent leakage (even those on up market German cars!)When you say "porosity" do you mean that due to shrinkage or that due to Hydrogen gas (or both!)? Are you trying to melt the metal and cast the head entirely by yourself with your own equipment or are you getting a commercial foundry to do the mould making, melting, metal treatment, pouring etc.? Let me know and I will try to answer your question
I'm doing my own piston head, and when I finish casting realized that some form pores, a little bigger ones ... and try again ... Some forums say it is related to gases that when solidifies the aluminum part, are trapped in it ... So, some others say that there is substance in these gases rise soon, while aluminum is liquid, avoiding porosity, others leave a space below the piece, as you left on the side of it, so it has more room to pass on these gases. Here they sell a special green sand for this mode, and it is very expensive, so I figured you ultiliza up some stuff in the middle of the sand, to avoid compaction, or even if that powder that you use after mold filling (FERROX) Translated by Google
Daniel, It will take me some time to prepare a proper answer for you - I am busy for the next day or two so can I ask you to be patient. You say "Here they sell a special green sand for this mode" Can I ask please where "here" is and who sells this special green sand and what they call it? Is it possible for you to post a photo of the porosity that you got in your casting together with a couple of photos of a general view of the casting plus how you gated it ?
Hi Martin, I really like your videos, learning a lot, I hope that you are doing well. You positioned the pattern down into the drag by 10mm or so, was this to gain more height in the riser/feeder?
mungo, Thank you - I just wish more people would like my videos 😊. Sadly not doing as well as I would like - old age is a crock of crap! Yes, I put the pattern down into the drag by about 12 mm to gain a bit more feeder height and thus enough feeder volume to feed the casting properly, you will notice that I also used a feeder (and sprue) extension of about 30 mm for the same reason.... Martin
Agustin. The powder is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" It is made by "Foseco". It's job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat this keeps the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to feed the solidifying casting underneath... Martin
Hey mate, love the videos, I’ve been watching heaps of videos over the years, as I want to get into casting myself, but somehow managed to miss yours. I’ve learnt so much from your videos, such amazing quality casting compared to some of the rubbish out there. I have a couple of questions, do you ever use degassing tablets instead of the argon lance? And in one video you used a flux after degassing, do you always use flux, and what is it exactly?
Mario, Yes, sadly I am not as well known (or watched) as I would like to be 😊. I have in the past used degassing tablets. Many years ago I used Hexachlorethane tablets but these are now illegal (at least here in Australia) because they damage the ozone layer. I have used the tablets that produce nitrogen gas and these are readily available although some people seem to sell them for a kings ransom. I did not like these because they reacted too violently ejecting about 50 mm of metal out of the top of the crucible and all over the inside of my furnace. Such turbulence is quite likely to increase gas levels! Also they did not react for very long, perhaps only 2 to 3 minutes and as you will have observed I degas fot 7 to 8 minutes because that's as long as it takes unless you are using a good rotary degasser in which case 4 to 5 minutes is all that is needed. My advice to hobbyists is not to bother with degassing - just use good clean and dry metal (no paint no grease or oil no water no corrosion etc) melt quickly and cast without undue delay. Gas bubbles in castings are usually very small and difficult to see and are often just flowed over by machining. What most think are gas are often just trapped air through bad gating. I do use a flux it is Coveral 11 and it is made by Foseco it is what is called a drossing off flux and is used to clean the top of the metal of oxides etc before pouring. Stop saying that you want to get into casting and get out there and do it 😊.... Martin
Ryan, The short answer is that nothing will happen. But not wishing to leave you in the lurch I offer the following comments. If I guess right you have probably melted a whole lot of cans and cast yourself some bar stock and then found when trying to machine the bar that it is rather like chewing gum to machine i.e. it gives a rough torn finish because it sticks to the tool with at least the tenacity that the well known brown stuff sticks to a blanket with. Considering the horrendous cost of bar stock and plate it is a great idea to cast your own - I do it quite often, always casting extra so I have a few pieces in stock, apart from the cost saving I can make whatever size I wish. However it’s a bit like the old joke of the Irish man who when asked how to get to Dublin replied that “he would not be starting from here”. And sorry to be such a wet blanket but I would not be starting by melting soda cans if I was after some machinable material! There are two broad classes of Aluminium alloys, wrought: e.g. plate, bar, sheet, extrusions, and cast e.g. sand cast, gravity die cast and pressure die cast. The classes are quite different and neither class will substitute for the other very well if at all. You could never extrude a casting alloy for example. Cans are obviously a wrought material and while you can melt them and make a casting with the resulting liquid the uses to which that casting can be put are limited and machining is not one of them. Cans are actually made from two alloys 5004 which is 1% each of Manganese and Magnesium used for the body of the can and 5182 1% Manganese and 4% Magnesium for the lid - neither of these alloys is heat treatable so on heating to say 170 Deg C absolutely nothing (of any use) will happen. In addition cans have a lot of surface for very little metal which means a lot of oxide in your resultant casting while this may actually help machinability a bit as it may act as a chip former it is very bad for strength and ductility, and general casting usefulness. My suggestion is that you take all the cans to a scrap metal dealer and sell them and whilst you are there see if you can buy a scrap alloy car wheel (or two) from him, these are made from356 alloy (called 601 here in Australia). This is a very easy alloy to cast and if you water quench it as soon as it is just solid enough to handle and then heat it to 170 Deg C (about 340 deg F) in a fan forced oven for at least 4 hours (6 to 8 hours preferred) cool naturally afterwards. A domestic fan forced electric oven will do quite well (if your wife/girl friend/ mistress/ mother doesn’t mind :)) But NOTE. ONLY use the wheels - do not be tempted to add any other type of Aluminium. Please let me know how you get on.
Ryan, I left a bit out of my reply - Just before "A domestic fan forced Electric oven etc." I meant to say "After this heat treatment the casting will machine very well indeed."
Olfoundryman wow, thanks for the great reply. :) but, no, i've yet to melt anything, it's just been a long-standing idea of mine to do it if ever i get the time and a couple of extra bucks together. my wife and i own a trophy/plaque shop, and i can see a lot of interesting things i can do commercially with this process. since we take pride in what we do, i wouldn't pass off an inferior product to a loyal customer.
Ryan, Ah, well, I never was that good at guessing:) From time to time I have done the occasional memorial plaque in Silicon Bronze. The patterns for this I get photo engraved by a man who makes rubber stamps.For trophy type work spin casting into rubber moulds seems to be the go - check out Tekcast's web site lots of info there. I looked at going into spin casting Zinc alloys in Silicon rubber moulds and I still think that there is money to be made there - I did a few jobs but - foolishly perhaps - never pursued it properly - too old now! :) Keep saving the dollars and you will get there - good luck.
Olfoundryman hey, i'm no young buck myself, lol. i'll check into the spin casting, thanks. :) i do get requests for memorial plaques every now and then, and i have to sub that work out, of course. and it pisses me off to do it, lol.
Thanks for subscribing. The sand I use is a natural moulding sand. It came from a quarry a few miles from where I live. It is quite fine and contains perhaps 15 to 20 % of some natural clay. All I do is dry the sand so I can sieve it to remove the few match head sized quartz pebbles that seem to be in it. Then I temper it with water using a rake and shovel on my shed's concrete floor, I do not have a muller, but I do pass the sand through an aerator. I do not add anything to my backing sand but the facing sand that I use against the pattern has about 0.5% of corn flour added as an anti expansion defect additive (wood flour is more traditional but the corn flour is easier to get) I will have a video out soon on how I prepare the facing sand. And hopefully also one on the aerator which I consider to be more value than a muller in my sand preparation.
Matt, As I guess you have realised I get asked that question rather a lot 😊. No, I do not make my own greensand - it is a natural sand essentially straight out of the ground. Here in Melbourne where I live about 1/3 of the city is underlain by sands although most are too coarse to be of use there were many areas that were suitable. Most are worked out now but I got about 5 or 6 cubic meters of sand from one of the last about 30 years ago. Its not the best sand around, those quarries were long ago used up. All I do is dry the sand and sieve it to remove the few large grains and bits of ironstone that it contains. Then I add the required water and run it through my aerator and its good to go. For facing sand I grind 1/2 used sand and 1/2 new sand until its quite fine.... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 That's amazing, the cast is quite smooth? I guess there's natural clay in our sands here in Melbs that helps hold a shape? No clumping kitty litter needed heh?I'm just starting out btw, loving your videos, thanks a lot.
@@mattstumblovski, Yes, there is clay in these natural sands, typically they run about 15% plus clay. Am I correct in assuming that you are in Melbourne? I am in North Croydon. The Melbourne sand belt runs from about BlackRock out to past Cranbourne. There are several quarries on it but most are for coarser grades of sand. There were in addition hilltop outcrops of quiet suitable sand at various place throughout Melbourne. The railway cutting just on the non city side of Camberwell station looks to be through a fine clay containing sand. The Melbourne end of Box Hill station seems to be on a deposit of it too....Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 Interesting. I had to pull out Google Maps eh. I'm in Bundoora, so over your general region I guess. I'm still setting up, am wanting to cast objects & ornaments & stuff, wall plaques etc. I may start with whatever fine-grade sand I can find at Bunnings & the ol' clumping cat litter? See how I go from there. Petrobond & delft clay are so expensive lol. Anyway thanks Martin, hope to see some more videos from you down the track! :)) ~~ Best regards, Matt
@@mattstumblovski Ornaments and wall plaques etc - been there done than! Buggars to cast as they are usually thin and all edge. Hard to cast - lots of miss fill and hard to clean up and polish. One problem with "Bunnings sand" is that it tends to be washed which means that it is pretty much the one grain size this does not make for a strong sand. I looked into their sand and found that some of it was not even sand but the best I found was their paver sand this is the sand that you sweep into the gaps between pavers after you have laid them, this did seem to be real sand and it was quite fine - good luck... Have a look at Google earth of our sand belt - you will see areas of yellow orange where the current sand quarries are. I can give you a lump of my sand (new) and you can do the rounds of these quarries show it to them and ask if they have anything like it......Martin
Thank you for describing your layout. Another maybe myth that I wanted to know if it is good or not. It was a German foundry. They mixed something that looked like lighter fluid mixed with dry clay. And air brushes onto the surfaces where the pattern was and right before they cast aluminum they lite it let it burn off and then put it together. I don't know if it is to heat mold to reduce shrinkage or to make a ultra smooth surface? Or is it a 6000 year old myth lol ?
Kevin, No not a myth, It was probably not lighter fluid but Isopropyl alcohol although methylated spirits will do nicely. Such washes are painted sprayed or even hosed onto the mould surface mainly to smooth it up a bit. Companies like Foseco make a range of these mould washes and I think some are based on bentonite and talc plus perhaps silica flour or other fine refractories and graphite based washes are often used too. Its generally not done to heat the mould just to smooth it up but that said if flamed off just before pouring it may (in the case of green sand) dry the immediate mould surface and thus reduce the chilling effect of the mould so the metal may run a bit further - old timers often skin dried the moulds with gas torches until closing just before pouring, For plaque work to ensure a good fill of the lettering I have oven dried the moulds for some hours immediately before pouring.. Martin
Kevin, For big letters I had a friend with a set of magnetic letters and a vacuum forming machine I used to vacuum form the sign and use this as a pattern. I used to have smaller letters but gave what I had to Luckygen1001. For plagues I do the artwork and take it to a company that makes rubber stamps they photo engrave the sign for me using a material that is an intermediary in the production of rubber stamps I back this up with some thin plywood and use it as the pattern. It allows me to use any font I like and any letter size I like but the smallest that I use is about 4 mm high letters. I will email you a photo of one of the plaques...Martin
Hi Martin, thanks for the offer of the details for your molding boxes,I don't think my email reached you, I'm puzzled by you putting parting powder on the top of the sprue & the sand after removing the pattern,what's the reason for it? btw since you told me the way to ram the sand when you've got lettering for plaques,I've cast quite a few plaques since & never had a "double take" on the letters since[big thanks] Regards Graham.
Graham, The email not reaching me may have been my fault - I tend to get a bit overwhelmed at times and some messages I have received fall off the edge of the desk before I answer them. If this happens again just try again and fell free to sound a bity grumpy about it. Double take is almost always because people ram too close to the pattern - you see people doing this all the time and no doubt wondering why they get the double image just FILL the box with loose sand before starting to ram - problem solved. Glad the advice was of help. As soon as I get the sprue, feeder formers, and pattern out of the mould I like to dust the just exposed surfaces with parting agent in the hope that it will prevent any loose grains of sand flying around (while cutting gates and runners for example) from sticking to the mould surface and causing the dreaded loose grain defect on the casting surface. The presence of the dusting of part makes and such grains easier to blow off the surface and also you can tell which bits you have blown off as the whiteness of the part is largely removed. In truth I am none to sure as to how effective it is as I still get some loose grain but not as much , I note, as I see other people getting. I hate going to all the trouble to make a nice mould and have the casting spoiled by lots of loose grain...Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 Thanks Martin,your a really good guy,so helpfull to everyone with good sound info,I've noticed a few people casting now obviuously learned from your goodself!! keep em coming Regards Graham.
User, The material that I add to the top of feeders is an exothermic compound. it is called "Ferrux NF" and is made by "Foseco". Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat thus enabling the feeders to stay liquid for longer so they are better able to provide feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath..... Martin
I assume that you mean the white powder than I put on the pattern and the mould halves. It is a commercial green sand parting agent, but it is nothing more than finely ground Calcium Carbonate. I am glad that you find the channel useful... Martin
What are your thoughts on blind riders? I read in a navy foundry book the following "An idea of the relative efficiencies of open and blind risers may be gained from the fact that open risers do not usually deliver more than 20 percent of their volume to the casting, whereas blind risers deliver as high as 35 to 40 percent. For the same casting, blind risers can be made much smaller than open types."
Kevin, I have used blind risers but I do find them a bit problematic. That so called efficiency gain is only realised if the blind riser remains open. If you refer to fig 145 page 114 of the Navy manual you can see what happens if the riser closes off - complete disaster! Looking at fig 147 (same page) they use a small sand core that will get very hot and keep the riser open whilst letting atmospheric air pressure into the riser. However if a metal skin freezes over the sand core - disaster! I have use a teat of sand moulded into the top of the riser to concentrate heat and keep it open. This works for alloys subject to hot spot shrinkage (short solidification range alloys eg aluminium bronze). However looking at fig 147 one of the main problems of blind risers can be seen - to feed to the top of the casting metal has to be sucked up against gravity i.e. it violates one of the rules of feeding "use gravity to assist by keeping risers at least in part above the casting". It thus encourages the formation of shrinkage porosity and of more gas to come out of solution and form gas porosity. Fig 147 is not something I would ever attempt. Fig 148 clearly shows a failure of a blind riser however the description for why it failed is a bit sus in my opinion (I think it just did not contain enough metal) However the suggestion to extend the blind riser to the top mould surface and thus make it a non blind riser would have worked, I might though have been tempted to connect it top of that raised doughnut section in some way and maybe even to have used two risers diametrically opposite.. My use of blind risers is usually restricted to a "bump" on the top of gates just to be sure that the extra heat at the gate area does not cause some local hot spot porosity, typically this would be on plate like castings plaques etc. Generally I use open top feeders and use an exothermic compound on the top to improve efficiency but I do not get too concerned about having too much feed as within reason its better to have a bit too much that not enough. Be aware that the Navy book while containing much good information also contains a lot of the dreaded 6000 year old technology, the difficulty for many people is knowing which is which! I would recommend John Campbell's "Complete Casting Handbook" It has quite a lot more information on various forms of feeding including the perils and uses of blind risers and a whole lot else besides and it does NOT contain any of the 6000 year old crap...Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 thank you Martin I am finding there is a lot of rubbish out there. I am learning a lot from your wisdom thank you for being patient with us. 😊 do you think a video on the basic myths ie 6000 year old myths may help us guys that don't have enough experience to ask the right questions out? I thank you once again. K
@@olfoundryman8418 second question is there anything I can use as an exothermic substance I can make myself. I think thermite is to fast a reaction. The foundry supply house only has large quantities. Ie a 50 gallon drum of the stuff.
Kevin, Yes, unfortunately there is a lot of rubbish out there, I am aghast at what I see on YT and very worried when I see people copying said rubbish. Sometimes I get so upset by it that I have no option but to switch off and there are YT foundry types - popular ones too - that I simply will not watch for I cannot bear to see the science and arts of foundry butchered so much. A video on the Myths, Hmm a big topic and not one I am sure I am competent enough to undertake it would also upset a lot of people 😏 some of whom I have seen to get pretty angry with people who upset them or their idol! However I will give the idea some thought... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 maybe I will keep asking my crazy questions and that may dispel some myths. 😊 Do you know of low cost what to identify what aluminum you are working with? I seen some chemical text. Did not know how accurate it was.
Kieth, No, I have not retired. And you have not missed any videos, my last two were about 6 months ago. Unfortunately I have had (and am still having) a bit of a battle health wise. Because of a combination of back issues, strength, balance, and fatigue I have trouble standing for even a few minutes or walking short distances. Hard to make videos when you are in lots of pain. It is my intention to return to making videos as soon as able. I have to finish the moulding box series and then I have lots of ideas for what I hope will be helpful and informative videos, So as they say "stay tuned". Thank you for asking.... Martin
killi, The spoonful on the top of the feeders is an exothermic compound, its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat. This keeps the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath. It is called "Ferrux NF" and it is made by Foseco… Martin
I am not exactly sure what you are describing. But the size is certainly within my range. Do you have a pattern or are things still at the drawing stage? I can arrange to have a pattern made but it would not be cheap as I do not do that sort of thing myself. I am assuming that you are in America - I am in Melbourne Australia.
Ok, I think I have a better idea of what you want. If you can come up with a pattern I certainly can cast it for you. If you can come up with a detailed design in lieu of a pattern I can get a pattern made for you and then cast form that but as I indicated before that would be quite expensive
terra, The powder I put on the feeders as soon as I have finished pouring is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" it is made by "Foseco". It catches fire and generates a lot of heat, this keeps the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide feed to the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 ok thanks that explains alot! And the fireworks I'll remember that trick I really appreciate your videos And the hard work you put into them.
user, I use 15 PSI to blow the moulds off - I have a cheap little pressure regulator in the line for just this blow gun.. But even then I try to point the gun away when squeezing the trigger as the first air can come with a destructive rush. I also start the air with the gun away from the mould. I avoid pointing the air directly at any delicate parts of the mould and with things like text I keep the gun a long way from the mould surface. I guess the use of air like this is a bit of an acquired art.... Martin
Ron, Not much! I gave a separate cheap little air pressure regulator in the duster air line just where it comes off the supply. I set this at about 15 Psi but even then I am deliberately careful how I trigger the air duster lever. I don't just squeeze it full open instantly rather I open it a bit slowly. Even so I can quite easily blow bits of the mould away unless I am quite careful where I aim the air blast. I would think that different sands and different moulds may need / withstand different pressures. Like much of mould making its sort of an acquired art. I suggest that you make up a mould or two and include a delicate one and practice, vary the air pressure and how you use the air duster and see what happens, you will pretty quickly get the hand of it... Martin
TY. I'm sure glad VegOilGuy mentioned you on his channel. You seem quite knowledgeable, and not at all nasty like some "pranksters" (I'm being quite generous here) that I've encountered.
Ron, Bless Vegoilguy! Actually I know him quite well we are cooperating on a few things that might eventually turn into what we hope will be helpful videos. Yep "pranksters" unfortunately they seem to abound on all the social platforms. In truth I have been fortunate, I have only ever had one cause me some trouble and I suspect that was more a misunderstanding than anything malicious. However one does have to be careful of what one says and about whom one says it. I could go on at great length about the bad info put out by some YT foundry types, but if I did I would just upset people and they would then take no notice of what I am trying to show. I think too that some people just have so many subs and get so many comments that they a re unable to even read them let alone reply. And even if they do manage a reply it has of necessity to be short and sometimes this may get mistaken for being a bit too "short" to the point of rudeness if you know what I mean. Its an area where one does need to be careful particularly because its not a face to face conversation and one therefore can miss the clues that face to face gives to meaning... Ah. life was not meant to be easy...Martin
Olfoundryman 👍 I've been long impressed by how fast a well-practiced hand can do what I would have much more difficulty doing. You make it look pretty effortless, even though that what you're doing is quite complicated, especially for beginners.
Rob, for a mould this size (abou 8 *10 inch) price varies according to how easy the job is and if it requires cores - from about $40.00 to about $70.00.... Martin
Raj, It is a natural green sand dug straight out of a quarry a few miles from where I live. All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains add the required amount of water and pass it through my sand aerator / mixer and its good to go...... Martin
Raj, It is a natural green sand dug from quarry a few miles from where I live, All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains add the required amount of water and pass it through my sand aerator / mixer and it is good to go. The facing sand goes through and addition step of grinding to make it finer. One of my other videos covers the preparation of this facing sand and another covers the mixer aerator..... Martin
Daniel, Thank you for your two comments. The time to make the video was my pleasure. Yes, I did make the flasks. They are the fourth iteration of my cast aluminium flasks - if I were younger there would be a fifth iteration for I have some improvements in mind. These flasks were cast as individual sides using a tilt cast aluminium die (yes, that's right - I cast aluminium into an aluminium die!) The die was made from pieces of a continuously cast aluminium ingot. I could quickly alter the die to get different length sides and yet leave the pin lugs in the middle of each side. I cast enough sides for 22 boxes in one day - that's about 200 sides. With the help of a friend the ends were all machined in a milling machine to get the ends square. When bolted together the top and bottom faces were milled. The dowels are Thompson 60 case 1/2 inch hardened shafting. Dowels are heat shrunk in one box half and are a very slight clearance in the other box half, note that there is a dowel hole one end of the box and a dowel slot at the other. This hole / slot arrangement is very important.
Jamie, No, sorry I do not sell the flasks. Interesting thought, but considering the time involved in making them - casting and machining the eight sides that make up each flask, bolting them together and then drilling and reaming the pin holes etc. they would be very, very expensive. At a rough guess, and don't hold me to it, way more than $200.00 per flask with some sort of minimum of the number of flasks (probably 10). (I can hear you saying "ouch" :)) Then of course I am in Australia and shipping would be involved if you are elsewhere. Unfortunately making (good) flasks is not easy and it pretty much is a labour of love - you just have to suffer through it! Many of the ones I see in use out there are a bit - er, well - ordinary. Initially I made wood flasks and then using them cast aluminium flask sides - took forever! Then I made a gravity die and cast enough sides for 20 flasks in the one day! Still had to machine and fit them though! If you live close to me (Melbourne Australia) and are prepared to come here and roll up your sleeves I can help you cast and machine the sides for a somewhat (considerably) lower price. Flasks are a pain!
Faustino, The sand is a natural straight out of the ground green sand. I got it from a quarry about 40 Km from where I live. All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains temper it with the required amount of water and its good to go. Sadly the quarry is now closed down.... Martin
+Clarke E Thank you for your question. The sprue (located on the right hand side of the mould in this case) is where I pour the metal into the mould. I do not hot top it. I do use a commercial hot topping compound - Ferrux NF by Foseco - on the feeder (located roughly in the middle of this mould.) I do not know what this product contains, but it does work well. It is important to use a hot topping compound that is correct for the metal being cast. If one was to use, for example, a compound designed for iron castings it would probably not ignite if used on Aluminium , similarly a compound designed for aluminium would ignite and burn too quickly to be of use on an iron casting. I only use a few grams on each casting and a 25 Kg bag lasts me some years. Thus its contribution to the cost structure is insignificant particularly when compared to the time and effort to make and pour the mould. Olfoundryman
Thanks, I haven't added anything to my sprues but I see those like yourself adding something after the pours and just wanted to improve my knowledge, any steps that I can take to improve my quality are well worth trying and this is something I definatly want to study more on. I will search Ferrux, that should put me in the right direction, thanks again and hope to see more of your videos
+Clarke E Always happy to answer any questions that you may have. I have been at this foundry work game about 60 years (groan) and I figure I have learnt enough to know how little I know. There is always something new to discover!Hot topping definitely improves the feeding of castings but you still need to have a good sized riser/feeder as well. Typically I use a feeder that contains 30 to 50% of the metal poured - the thicker the casting the higher the figure. So on that basis your stepped pulley was a bit light on for feeder.I do have more videos on the way and a new camera to take more with so , as they say, stay tuned! Old foundry men never die they just melt away Olfoundryman
+Olfoundryman yes that pulley was an experiment that I planned to recast but luckily all the voids were not going to pose a problem with function. I will start using your rule as for enlarging the feeder and riser. I can see how that would dampen out turbulence and increase pressure to the cavity of the mold. I spent most of my life as a machinist so I never saw the foundry end and never went to one but have always been puzzled and fascinated with how castings and cores were developed so about a year ago I decided to build a furnace and try my luck at it. As I was building it I started getting deeper and deeper into the chemistry end (I didn't do well at all in chemistry) to the point I realized this stuff is way over my head but I had went too far to turn around at that point so I'm determined to at least have fun with it as I try and fail
+Clarke E I was going to warn you that casting metals is very addictive but I see I am already too late - you are obviously hooked! That stepped pulley is not exactly an easy job, bravo to you for taking it on. Top pouring of castings tends to give somewhat ordinary results because of the turbulence involved. And I know that it is difficult to try and bottom run a casting like that one but there is a quite reasonable alternative that I use on some jobs. Place a ceramic foam filter in the mould just above the top of the casting proper and thus almost in the bottom of your feeder, pour through this filter. This plus the bigger feeder should give you much better results. Foseco (and lots of other people) can supply these filters.If as I judge by some of your videos and posts you intend using that sand for iron castings you need to add about 2% of coal dust to it.The Chemistry/Metallurgy involved is not that bad unless you get deep into it and that is not really necessarybut some basic knowledge in these areas is a big help and with it you will not only avoid a lot of mistakes but solve probles quicker.Having fun with it while you persist to the point of success sure is the key. Olfoundryman, Old foundry men never die their cores just sag.
Sumit, It is not usual to cast things like gold rings in sand moulds. Such things are usually cast via the investment casting process. This is not something that I do, but I understand that a company called "Kerr Corporation" make a range of materials for casting things like this
Alex, The powder that I put on the feeders as soon as I have finished pouring is an exothermic compound not unlike thermite. It is called "Ferrux NF" and it is made by "Foseco"... Martin
Karim, Sorry, but I am not sure which material you mean. Can you give me a time in the video when I use it or where I use it and then I should be able to answer your question.... Martin
Robert, I am aware that many people use petrobond sand that costs (here) about $4.00 per kg, and they tend to take care of every grain of sand - most of them don't seem to have much to play with either (50 to 100 Kg seems to be about it) so they do need to exercise great care in not wasting any of it. I use a natural green sand that cost me about 10 cents per Kg and I have at least 1500 kg left. So I don't have to waste time corralling every little grain of sand - some falling to the floor is not a problem and in any case it's a smooth concrete floor that I break all the moulds out onto after casting anyway before adding more water and reprocessing the sand for the next day's castings. The only problem I have with sand falling to the floor is that it gets under my feet 😊.... Martin
I am not certain what you mean by "composition of mass" some problem with translation perhaps. But if you mean what is the composition of the metal I am casting it is in US terminology 356 alloy, I buy certified ingot having long ago realised that the use other sources of metal (like scrap) causes a lot of problems that I do not have time for... Martin
Steve, You are not the first person to make such a comment. In truth I have struggled to find a good camera position - I have tried it in front out front to the left to the right over my shoulder - everywhere but underneath the bench. And this, vertigo inducing though may it be, is the best I could do. I do not make anything from YT (I am not monetarised) so I do not have the revenue to get the additional cameras that would allow some alternative views throughout the video as the process unfolded. Sorry my friend, but that's just the way it is.... Martin
Thanks. I tried Petrobond but hated the oily feel, the smoke and the stink that went with it! Did not notice much better finish quality either. The finish you get is fantastic! :-) Thanks for all the great videos
Never tried Petrobond myself - at $4.00 per Kg locally it is a bit expensive! (I work with about 400 Kg of sand) But one sure can see the smoke when people pour into it and I have seen other people comment re the smell. I did not know of the oily feel but I can understand that it could be a bit annoying. I used to have people tell me that it was the only way to get a good finish - guess not! But my finish comes at a cost as it relies on very fine specially prepared sand. This sand has very little permeability and unless I am very careful to vent my moulds I suffer a lot of trapped mould gas defects - typically rounding out of sharp edges due to gas pressure stoping the metal running right into intricate areas, rounded out lettering is typical. Just a thought was your Petrobond bought or home made? If the latter then maybe the base sand was not fine enough - my understanding of Pertobond is that the freedom from water means much less mould gas and therefore the ability to use finer lower permeability sands that should - because and only because of their fineness -give a finer finish. I.e. it is the fineness of the sand and not the fact that it is the petrobond process that gives the good finish.The videos are my pleasure and I am glad that you like them.
The Petrobond (four 5 gallon buckets) was given to me when I bought a small furnace. It was a new bought product and it did have a fairly fine grain about the same as the regular casting sand I use. I only used it for a few pours and was done with it. The smell stunk up my shop and if you ever set Styrofoam or plastic on fire you know the smell. For me it was overpowering and it lingers forever. Even the castings smell bad. I have used sand and bentonite for years and perhaps I am biased towards it. The oil in Petrobond gets all over you, your hands and your tools. It leaves everything slimy feeling. Maybe if I had stuck it out and continued to use it I would be singing praises to it too but I found it easy to stay with traditional sand.
From time to time I make memorial plaques in Silicon bronze (lovely stuff!) I was seriously contemplating buying the minimum quantity of petrobond to try I out as it is said to be the bees knees for plaque work. But in view of your comments I might just reconsider! Incidentally as a very crude measure of sand grain size I use an ordinary micrometer - my back up sand measures 0.006 inch and my facing sand slightly smaller at 0.005 Inch - of course this measurement is of the largest grain present and gives no idea of the distribution of sizes present.
Saim, Perhaps, and indeed I have struggled with camera angle and have tried several different ones and I have not yet found one that I am completely happy with. I have settled on this particular angle at least for the moment as it gives much the same view as I see or as someone else would see if they were making the moulds. Unfortunately it does not give much idea of "depth" and if I could afford it I would have a second and perhaps third camera so I could cut to other views as appropriate. However I make no money from this. I am in the business of making parts not videos. I can not therefore afford to take endless time with framing , camera angle, close ups etc. It is the making of the part experience that I am sharing rather than making a Cecil B Demille epic to which the part and the knowledge, experience, technology and skills used to make it are secondary as so often seems the case with many videos that I have watched - in short I make parts not videos and its the parts that have to be good... Martin PS. What angle would you suggest?
How on Earth you only have 15k Subscribers while this Channel being literally a Gem of Knowledge?!
i'm an Arab from Kuwait and Honest to God i've learned so much from your channel than our Teachers at the foundries, Discovering your Channel is like finding that needle in the haystack, Thank you for sharing your knowledge and Experience, me being far away from you yet still learned much more than those closer to me at our foundries, Thank you so much man, a simple thanks wouldn't suffice
David, thank you very much for your wonderful comment. I could read comments like this one of yours all day 😊. Why only 15K subs? Well, yes I wonder that too as have several other commentors over the years. There are many reasons but perhaps the main one is that people watch UT to be entertained not to be educated. Look at the great success of some of the channels who just melt down stuff into ingots - no technical merit at all but a million subs and endless views. One of them makes a very good living doing this rubbish - I do not hold this against him but it does nothing to advance foundry skills - I could cry 😰. There are some genuine foundry channels that have perhaps 20 times the subs that I do (In my opinion they do little to advance foundry skills either quite the reverse in fact). These people have been on UT since the beginning so they have a big head start on me and it seems UT tends to promote those with more subs/views/activity so I am unlikely to ever catch up, more likely I will fall further behind relatively speaking. Some of these people are very much into self-promotion - they blog, face book, and forum all they can - it all helps I am sure. Also they tend to put out way more videos than I. But for me the greatest thing is not the number of subs but the realization through comments like yours that I have been able to help people like yourself....Martin
Thanks for sharing. Those castings sure had a good surface finish. Better than most anything you see most days.
A little bit more time and knowledge makes a world of difference.
You did notice the Silver Gray hair l suppose ?
I just found channel yesterday and subscribed ! After looking at many foundry channels on YT ,I think that yours is one of if not the best I've seen.
Thanks for your effort in creating these videos.
Dick, Thank you for your subscription and in particular for such a nice comment. The effort in making these videos is my pleasure but comments like yours make the pleasure all the greater. I have been fortunate in my life to have become a Metallurgist and to have worked in several foundries. In addition I have cast as a hobby for about 60 years, and for some 20 years of that, for a living. The foundry industry is very traditional - many of the techniques that I use - small tapered sprues for example - were shown to be very beneficial over 60 years ago yet a lot of the industry and most hobbyists have yet to embrace their use. This traditionality overflows onto YT with a lot of practitioners working from old information and seemingly from a position of lack of scientific knowledge and therefore using techniques that could be, well, without wanting to be rude, improved. Unfortunately, and my videos are in part an attempt to overcome this, many YT viewers wishing to cast them selves copy these old techniques and thus perpetuate techniques that could be better. It is my strong desire to see the industry, commercial and hobby alike, move ahead to better methods and thus improve their own product. Is my channel one of the best foundry ones on YT? Well, I would like to think so but then I am a little biased :). I am conceitedly content to put on the rose coloured glasses and think that I may be one of the better ones but from a technical point of view Bob Puhakka's channel is probably the best I have seen.Thank you again for your comment and I hope that I have provided you with information of use, for such was my intent.
Love watching someone who has calmly mastered their techniques. Well done sir.
Atomic, Thank you very much for your nice comment. I have to admit though that I am not always quite that calm, I have been know to throw things around a bit when a tough and demanding job goes wrong -:)... Martin
So you've mastered the fine art of editing as well...
Dave, "So you have mastered the fine art of editing as well" Ah good sir, I would it were so, but I think not....While I will admit to the cutting roof floor being thick with "film", compared to masters of videoing and editing like , for example, Clickspring I pale into insignificance...Martin
Thank you for providing this work Oldfounryman... your question and answers section looks to be solid gold in a lot of ways.. a beautiful thing... have watched luckygen1001's videos for years; somehow today is the first time I've had your's in queue... subscribed...love you both, and all like you.. thank you for another real look at a man in love with his trade.
Hope you and Lucky have got to hang out and be friends.
Jim. Thank you for your comments, Yes luckygen and I have sat down and had a good foundry conversation over quite a few cups of tea. It was a pleasure to talk with a kindred spirit such as he. Not only has he been at this casting thing for over 30 years and we therefore have much in common but enough in difference to make it interesting to both of us but he also shares a similar distain for some of the less knowledgeable but sadly more popular YT practitioners -no names no pack drill 🙂. Lucky lives perhaps 80 miles away in a reasonably sized country town which sadly for him has lousy internet service. He tries to call in when ever he comes to the big smoke and hopefully he will do so again soon... Martin
Made really quick work of that job! Loved the vid, subscribed!
Havoc, Thank you for your comment and your subscription. I am glad that you liked the video - you do tend to get quick when you have done it a few (thousands of :)) times.
I don't think I have been more impressed.
Mitchell. Thank you It is niceto get comments like this... Martin
I'm watching as many videos as I can I can't believe I didn't find you sooner. I restore old iron and make petter for replacing missing and broken bits. Exelent molding work learning a tun
Chris, Thank you for your comment and for the subscription too. I have not been on YT as long as some of the other foundry type channels and that is probably why you did not find me sooner. I am most happy that you are learning something from what I put on YT. When I first started watching YT I was, as a metallurgist and long time foundry man, aghast at what some channels showed as "foundry work". In some cases it amounted to little more than a complete butchery of the arts and sciences involved in the production of good castings, in response I find myself compelled to try to counter such bad information with a little of what I have gleaned over the years, and if other people learn from my efforts I am well pleased..... Martin
Came up in my suggested videos, so thought I would leave a comment to let you know
Yep, my most popular video - Thanks for letting me know... Martin
great great video....thank you for taking the time to make it..
Thank you so much for making these vids !
Thomas, My pleasure...Martin
Great surface finish!
Wow I can't believe I have just found you, Just purchased a Devil Forge and about to melt some stuff. Thanks for the heads up on Ali scrap. Subscribed now Cheers Allan in Perth WA
Allan, Thanks for your comment and for the sub. Happy casting from Melbourne... Martin
That saw blade is awesome! :-D
It is just a standard power hacksaw blade. Used of course. But it is the best thing that I have ever found for striking the moulds off.The only thing you need to be careful of is that used blades are sometimes a bit curved from use and may therefore not strike off the mould flat.
What an easy way to find the centre line thanks for great video
fujape2, Finding the parting line is very easy with this casting. I am glad that you liked the video.... Martin
Martin sorry to hear of your problems health is not something to take for granted. Maybe a series of arm chair videos with a white board or drawings I would love to know more about the science of sprews . There is such a wealth of knowledge you possess I’m gealous. But more over take care of yourself first I’ll pray for you. Your Saskatchewan friend Keith
Keith, I am looking at "arm chair" type videos but everything I want to cover seems to require at least a little non arm chair work and at the moment that is rather difficult. Thanks for your good thoughts... Martin
Great works Daniel. Could you please tell me what is the powder you added to riser after pour aluminum in to flask (at 10:16). Thank you very much.
Vo, The reddish powder that I put on top of the feeders immediately after casting is an exothermic compound called "Ferrux NF" it is made by Foseco. Its purpose is to catch fire and keep the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath... Martin
Cool, thanks for the lesson. Greetings from Russia
Aist, Thanks for the comment, greetings back at you from Australia... Martin
That's what I call no fear mold making. Nice work.
MD, Thank you for your comment. No need for fear here, if a mould stuffs up just break it out and start again, easy!
Seriously this was an easy job so little fear of problems, others jobs I have done, well, some sure did inspire fear of failure, a fear at times sadly realised... Martin
Your mold is only as good as your pattern allows it to be.
Amazing video, thank you!
What is that last bit you poured on the center of the mould as you finished pouring? Looked like sand, caught on fire a bit... What was that for?
Alien, Glad that you liked it. The material you refer to is an exothermic compound called "Ferrux NF" It is made by "Foseco". Its job is indeed to catch fire and thus give out heat. This helps to keep the metal in the feeders onto which it was placed stay liquid for longer and thus be more able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying (and therefore shrinking) casting below. Hope this helps. Martin
Hey mate love Ur vids very informative.im just getting into casting.just using leftover weld grade bar & plate and Tig rod ends from welding jobs.would this be machinable after casting & I'm in Brisbane QLD.know of anywhere I can get proper refractory cement that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.just using cement and sand atm for ally but is breaking down after bout 10-15 melts.just got a bunch of brass to do my next project and am pretty sure it won't hold up to the extra heat.cheers mate
Peter. Generally left over plate etc will not make very good machining aluminium. If you wish to be very crude (I don't advise it) you could add about 3% copper to the aluminium should machine Ok but will corrode badly. Best method is to use only alloy wheel as your metal source water quench from the sand as soon as its just solid enough to get out of the mould and then age in a fan forced oven at 165 deg C for 8 hours this is what I do and it works well (note I don't actually use old wheels rather I buy certified ingot of the alloy used for wheels (601 in Australia called 356 in the US)
Sadly the cost of refractory materials is a fact of life - they have never been cheap. The cost for castable refractory for my furnace was about a weeks wage way back in 1971/2 BUT I am still using the same furnace with that same refractory lining thousands if not tens of thousands of melts later so the good stuff is worth it! But as always shop around and note that some of those who handle such refractories as a bit of an extra tend to make a bit too much extra from it. Most refractory suppliers even the big ones will sell to hobby people. If you have trouble let me know I have contacts down here who may have contacts up there... Martin
Nice work friend.
I completely agree with you when you say that many videos without content are highly applauded while others with enormous educational interest are devalued. Personally, I am very attentive to all your work gestures because I always learn a lot from you. Congratulations.
Two questions: What type of foundry sand are you using?
What powder do you put on the liquid metal, and what is its function?
Thank you very much
Belarte, Yes, for serious Utubers like me the education versus entertainment thing is a concern. But we can do little about it - it sort of is what it is. If you learn something then I have succeeded and am happier for it.
The sand I use is a natural green sand, essentially straight out of the ground apart from a little sieving to remove any coarse bits. We are (were) fortunate here in Melbourne in that there was a lot of suitable sand occurring naturally. The best had now gone and the quarry where my sand came from 40 years ago is now filled in with rubbish.
The reddish powder I add to the top of the feeders is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" it is made by "Foseco". Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat thus keeping the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide liquid feed metal for the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
Great video! Thanks for sharing.
One question, what's that powder that you add on the riser at the end that catches fire?
Thanks!
Gheral, Ah, my most common question 😊. The powder that I put on the top of the feeders is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" , it is made by Foseco. Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat that helps keep the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to provide feed for the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
Judging by the pace of your work, let me guess you've done this at least twice before 🤣👍
Ferko, Yeah, just once or twice 😊....Martin
Nice work..I only understood about 1 in 15 words though.
Wade, Is it my accent? English not being your main language? Or the sound quality. Can't do much about the first two but this is an early video and my sound recording equipment has improved a lot since then so hopefully you will find my later videos easier to understand..... Martin
Hello Martin, Just finding this two years after it was published. I haven't watched a lot of your videos... yet I noticed that you ram quite hard. Much harder than I have been. Is this proper technique for all pieces or are the there some shapes that you would ram it less firmly? As you know I'm a newb and just trying to learn. Thanks putting these videos out, they are very informative for a guy like me
Perry
Perry, I have watched you latest and much more successful hammer video. I would like to make quite a few comments but think it best if I do that via a private message lest anyone else take my intentions/comments wrongly. One has to be so careful what one says or a war of words can start! I will also address this issue of ramming when I do the private message, But for now , yes, I do vary the ramming force depending on a few factors. Unfortunately ramming is a bit like water content of green sands - learned by practice and trial and error rather than described scientifically in a book or by voice. Give me a few days I have rather a lot on at the moment in fact I am like a lizard drinking - flat out! I will come back to you soon.... Martin
PS. Thanks for liking the videos it is my hope that they are informative.
PPS. We were all newbs once!
Thank you Martin, You can email me at swdweeb@gmail.com when ready.
Hi!! Great video, thanks for sharing!! Which alloy did you use?
Luciano, Thank you for your comment. Here in Australia the alloy is designated "601" in the US its called "356". Its the same alloy as that commonly used for alloy wheels.
Thak you very much!! i will search for it here in Argentina! I think here we know as AA4010, is an Al Si (7%) Mg(0.3%) alloy. Thank you again!
They came up nice. I assume you packed out that flask due to the height of the pattern?
BTW your labourer does a good job 🙂👍
Michael, Yes, My concern was that if I had not done this the feeder would not have been high enough (i.e. it would not have contained enough metal) to guarantee a well feed casting. Alternatively I could have extended the feeder and sprue higher with premade shell core extension pieces as I do with most of my throttle bodies.
The labourer is indeed well trained but she MUST be obeyed... Martin
That is the fastest I've seen anyone do this
Ethan, When you have done it as often as I have it sort of becomes automatic and thus relatively quick. However by old time industry standards I was quite slow! A book on foundry practice published around 1911 lists the time to make a 13" * 17" mould 8.5" thick done by hand moulding on a bench as taking 4 minutes 20 seconds. Considering that the mould I use here is 8 " * 10" and 7 "thick and it takes me about 15 minutes I am well off the pace. How those old timers did it is beyond me! Mind you they did not live to a ripe old age, infirm by 50 dead by 60!... Martin
Olfoundryman you have that down. just starting here. watching you do this teaches some one a lot. your casts came out perfect. have a good one.
What is this powder that you use after filling the mold with aluminum ?, thanks for posting, I am Brazilian and I really enjoyed the video!
I am glad that you enjoyed the video. The powder that I put on top of the risers (I should really call them "feeders") immediately I have finished pouring the mould is "Ferrux NF" it is an exothermic compound made by "Foseco". It catches fire and reacts giving out a lot of heat, this keeps the risers liquid for longer so that they are better able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying casting
Olfoundryman Thanks, do you recommend any product or method that avoids the porosity of aluminum? I am an engineering student, and I have to make a 16v head, and the porosity greatly affects my work
Daniel, A rather big question. Firstly let me say that cylinder heads are difficult to cast successfully - the core work is particularly troublesome. It is a big ask to take one on as a relatively inexperienced foundry man. I believe that most cylinder heads cast commercially are porous and are impregnated with resins to prevent leakage (even those on up market German cars!)When you say "porosity" do you mean that due to shrinkage or that due to Hydrogen gas (or both!)? Are you trying to melt the metal and cast the head entirely by yourself with your own equipment or are you getting a commercial foundry to do the mould making, melting, metal treatment, pouring etc.? Let me know and I will try to answer your question
I'm doing my own piston head, and when I finish casting realized that some form pores, a little bigger ones ... and try again ... Some forums say it is related to gases that when solidifies the aluminum part, are trapped in it ... So, some others say that there is substance in these gases rise soon, while aluminum is liquid, avoiding porosity, others leave a space below the piece, as you left on the side of it, so it has more room to pass on these gases. Here they sell a special green sand for this mode, and it is very expensive, so I figured you ultiliza up some stuff in the middle of the sand, to avoid compaction, or even if that powder that you use after mold filling (FERROX) Translated by Google
Daniel, It will take me some time to prepare a proper answer for you - I am busy for the next day or two so can I ask you to be patient. You say "Here they sell a special green sand for this mode" Can I ask please where "here" is and who sells this special green sand and what they call it? Is it possible for you to post a photo of the porosity that you got in your casting together with a couple of photos of a general view of the casting plus how you gated it ?
Hi Martin, I really like your videos, learning a lot, I hope that you are doing well.
You positioned the pattern down into the drag by 10mm or so, was this to gain more height in the riser/feeder?
mungo, Thank you - I just wish more people would like my videos 😊. Sadly not doing as well as I would like - old age is a crock of crap!
Yes, I put the pattern down into the drag by about 12 mm to gain a bit more feeder height and thus enough feeder volume to feed the casting properly, you will notice that I also used a feeder (and sprue) extension of about 30 mm for the same reason.... Martin
What Is the powder you use after pouring the aluminum and what Is it for. Nice work, I have a foundry myself and its very good work.
Agustin. The powder is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" It is made by "Foseco". It's job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat this keeps the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to feed the solidifying casting underneath... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 thank you sir i will get some to try it out.
Hey mate, love the videos, I’ve been watching heaps of videos over the years, as I want to get into casting myself, but somehow managed to miss yours. I’ve learnt so much from your videos, such amazing quality casting compared to some of the rubbish out there. I have a couple of questions, do you ever use degassing tablets instead of the argon lance? And in one video you used a flux after degassing, do you always use flux, and what is it exactly?
Mario, Yes, sadly I am not as well known (or watched) as I would like to be 😊. I have in the past used degassing tablets. Many years ago I used Hexachlorethane tablets but these are now illegal (at least here in Australia) because they damage the ozone layer. I have used the tablets that produce nitrogen gas and these are readily available although some people seem to sell them for a kings ransom. I did not like these because they reacted too violently ejecting about 50 mm of metal out of the top of the crucible and all over the inside of my furnace. Such turbulence is quite likely to increase gas levels! Also they did not react for very long, perhaps only 2 to 3 minutes and as you will have observed I degas fot 7 to 8 minutes because that's as long as it takes unless you are using a good rotary degasser in which case 4 to 5 minutes is all that is needed. My advice to hobbyists is not to bother with degassing - just use good clean and dry metal (no paint no grease or oil no water no corrosion etc) melt quickly and cast without undue delay. Gas bubbles in castings are usually very small and difficult to see and are often just flowed over by machining. What most think are gas are often just trapped air through bad gating. I do use a flux it is Coveral 11 and it is made by Foseco it is what is called a drossing off flux and is used to clean the top of the metal of oxides etc before pouring.
Stop saying that you want to get into casting and get out there and do it 😊.... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 shall do, already made my foundry, need to start accumulating the accessories, green sand, flux,etc etc. thanks again
@@marioricciardiello6508 share green sand recipe
what happens if you heat treat something made from soda cans? would it even make a difference or harm the casting?
Ryan, The short answer is that nothing will happen. But not wishing to leave you in the lurch I offer the following comments.
If I guess right you have probably melted a whole lot of cans and cast yourself some bar stock and then found when
trying to machine the bar that it is rather like chewing gum to machine i.e. it gives a rough torn finish because it sticks to the tool with at least the tenacity that the well known brown stuff sticks to a blanket with. Considering the horrendous cost of bar stock and plate it is a great idea to cast your own - I do it quite often, always casting extra so I have a few pieces in stock, apart from the cost saving I can make whatever size I wish. However it’s a bit like the old joke of the Irish man who when asked how to get to Dublin replied that “he would not be starting from here”. And sorry to be such a wet blanket but I would not be starting by
melting soda cans if I was after some machinable material! There are two broad classes of Aluminium alloys, wrought: e.g. plate, bar, sheet, extrusions, and cast e.g. sand cast, gravity die cast and pressure die cast. The classes are quite different and neither class will substitute for the other very well if at all. You could never extrude a casting alloy for example. Cans are obviously a wrought material and while you can melt them and make a casting with the resulting liquid the uses to which that casting can be put are limited and machining is not one of them. Cans are actually made from two alloys 5004 which is 1% each of Manganese and Magnesium used for the body of the can and 5182 1% Manganese and 4% Magnesium for the lid - neither of these alloys is heat
treatable so on heating to say 170 Deg C absolutely nothing (of any use) will happen. In addition cans have a lot of surface for very little metal which means a lot of oxide in your resultant casting while this may actually help
machinability a bit as it may act as a chip former it is very bad for strength and ductility, and general casting usefulness. My suggestion is that you take all the cans to a scrap metal dealer and sell them and whilst you are there see
if you can buy a scrap alloy car wheel (or two) from him, these are made from356 alloy (called 601 here in Australia). This is a very easy alloy to cast and if you water quench it as soon as it is just solid enough to handle and then
heat it to 170 Deg C (about 340 deg F) in a fan forced oven for at least 4 hours (6 to 8 hours preferred) cool
naturally afterwards. A domestic fan forced electric oven will do quite well (if your wife/girl friend/ mistress/ mother doesn’t mind :)) But NOTE. ONLY use the wheels - do not be tempted to add any other type of Aluminium. Please let me know how you get on.
Ryan, I left a bit out of my reply - Just before "A domestic fan forced Electric oven etc." I meant to say "After this heat treatment the casting will machine very well indeed."
Olfoundryman wow, thanks for the great reply. :)
but, no, i've yet to melt anything, it's just been a long-standing idea of mine to do it if ever i get the time and a couple of extra bucks together. my wife and i own a trophy/plaque shop, and i can see a lot of interesting things i can do commercially with this process. since we take pride in what we do, i wouldn't pass off an inferior product to a loyal customer.
Ryan, Ah, well, I never was that good at guessing:) From time to time I have done the occasional memorial plaque in Silicon Bronze. The patterns for this I get photo engraved by a man who makes rubber stamps.For trophy type work spin casting into rubber moulds seems to be the go - check out Tekcast's web site lots of info there. I looked at going into spin casting Zinc alloys in Silicon rubber moulds and I still think that there is money to be made there - I did a few jobs but - foolishly perhaps - never pursued it properly - too old now! :) Keep saving the dollars and you will get there - good luck.
Olfoundryman hey, i'm no young buck myself, lol. i'll check into the spin casting, thanks. :)
i do get requests for memorial plaques every now and then, and i have to sub that work out, of course. and it pisses me off to do it, lol.
hi
what is kind of the sand you are using and tell me if you added anything
thank you.
Thanks for subscribing. The sand I use is a natural moulding sand. It came from a quarry a few miles from where I live. It is quite fine and contains perhaps 15 to 20 % of some natural clay. All I do is dry the sand so I can sieve it to remove the few match head sized quartz pebbles that seem to be in it. Then I temper it with water using a rake and shovel on my shed's concrete floor, I do not have a muller, but I do pass the sand through an aerator. I do not add anything to my backing sand but the facing sand that I use against the pattern has about 0.5% of corn flour added as an anti expansion defect additive (wood flour is more traditional but the corn flour is easier to get) I will have a video out soon on how I prepare the facing sand. And hopefully also one on the aerator which I consider to be more value than a muller in my sand preparation.
cool....
Airborne, Thank you.... Martin
What is the powder you poured on the riser after you cast? Lol only joking. Great video, awesome to see you work! Do you make your own greensand?
Matt, As I guess you have realised I get asked that question rather a lot 😊. No, I do not make my own greensand - it is a natural sand essentially straight out of the ground. Here in Melbourne where I live about 1/3 of the city is underlain by sands although most are too coarse to be of use there were many areas that were suitable. Most are worked out now but I got about 5 or 6 cubic meters of sand from one of the last about 30 years ago. Its not the best sand around, those quarries were long ago used up. All I do is dry the sand and sieve it to remove the few large grains and bits of ironstone that it contains. Then I add the required water and run it through my aerator and its good to go. For facing sand I grind 1/2 used sand and 1/2 new sand until its quite fine.... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 That's amazing, the cast is quite smooth? I guess there's natural clay in our sands here in Melbs that helps hold a shape? No clumping kitty litter needed heh?I'm just starting out btw, loving your videos, thanks a lot.
@@mattstumblovski, Yes, there is clay in these natural sands, typically they run about 15% plus clay. Am I correct in assuming that you are in Melbourne? I am in North Croydon. The Melbourne sand belt runs from about BlackRock out to past Cranbourne. There are several quarries on it but most are for coarser grades of sand. There were in addition hilltop outcrops of quiet suitable sand at various place throughout Melbourne. The railway cutting just on the non city side of Camberwell station looks to be through a fine clay containing sand. The Melbourne end of Box Hill station seems to be on a deposit of it too....Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 Interesting. I had to pull out Google Maps eh. I'm in Bundoora, so over your general region I guess. I'm still setting up, am wanting to cast objects & ornaments & stuff, wall plaques etc. I may start with whatever fine-grade sand I can find at Bunnings & the ol' clumping cat litter? See how I go from there. Petrobond & delft clay are so expensive lol. Anyway thanks Martin, hope to see some more videos from you down the track! :)) ~~ Best regards, Matt
@@mattstumblovski Ornaments and wall plaques etc - been there done than! Buggars to cast as they are usually thin and all edge. Hard to cast - lots of miss fill and hard to clean up and polish. One problem with "Bunnings sand" is that it tends to be washed which means that it is pretty much the one grain size this does not make for a strong sand. I looked into their sand and found that some of it was not even sand but the best I found was their paver sand this is the sand that you sweep into the gaps between pavers after you have laid them, this did seem to be real sand and it was quite fine - good luck...
Have a look at Google earth of our sand belt - you will see areas of yellow orange where the current sand quarries are. I can give you a lump of my sand (new) and you can do the rounds of these quarries show it to them and ask if they have anything like it......Martin
Thank you for describing your layout.
Another maybe myth that I wanted to know if it is good or not. It was a German foundry. They mixed something that looked like lighter fluid mixed with dry clay. And air brushes onto the surfaces where the pattern was and right before they cast aluminum they lite it let it burn off and then put it together. I don't know if it is to heat mold to reduce shrinkage or to make a ultra smooth surface? Or is it a 6000 year old myth lol ?
Kevin, No not a myth, It was probably not lighter fluid but Isopropyl alcohol although methylated spirits will do nicely. Such washes are painted sprayed or even hosed onto the mould surface mainly to smooth it up a bit. Companies like Foseco make a range of these mould washes and I think some are based on bentonite and talc plus perhaps silica flour or other fine refractories and graphite based washes are often used too. Its generally not done to heat the mould just to smooth it up but that said if flamed off just before pouring it may (in the case of green sand) dry the immediate mould surface and thus reduce the chilling effect of the mould so the metal may run a bit further - old timers often skin dried the moulds with gas torches until closing just before pouring, For plaque work to ensure a good fill of the lettering I have oven dried the moulds for some hours immediately before pouring.. Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 thank you. Did you make your own letters if so how or did you buy them. What sizes do you recommend to cover most jobs?
Kevin, For big letters I had a friend with a set of magnetic letters and a vacuum forming machine I used to vacuum form the sign and use this as a pattern. I used to have smaller letters but gave what I had to Luckygen1001. For plagues I do the artwork and take it to a company that makes rubber stamps they photo engrave the sign for me using a material that is an intermediary in the production of rubber stamps I back this up with some thin plywood and use it as the pattern. It allows me to use any font I like and any letter size I like but the smallest that I use is about 4 mm high letters. I will email you a photo of one of the plaques...Martin
Hi Martin, thanks for the offer of the details for your molding boxes,I don't think my email reached you, I'm puzzled by you putting parting powder on the top of the sprue & the sand after removing the pattern,what's the reason for it? btw since you told me the way to ram the sand when you've got lettering for plaques,I've cast quite a few plaques since & never had a "double take" on the letters since[big thanks]
Regards Graham.
Graham, The email not reaching me may have been my fault - I tend to get a bit overwhelmed at times and some messages I have received fall off the edge of the desk before I answer them. If this happens again just try again and fell free to sound a bity grumpy about it. Double take is almost always because people ram too close to the pattern - you see people doing this all the time and no doubt wondering why they get the double image just FILL the box with loose sand before starting to ram - problem solved. Glad the advice was of help.
As soon as I get the sprue, feeder formers, and pattern out of the mould I like to dust the just exposed surfaces with parting agent in the hope that it will prevent any loose grains of sand flying around (while cutting gates and runners for example) from sticking to the mould surface and causing the dreaded loose grain defect on the casting surface. The presence of the dusting of part makes and such grains easier to blow off the surface and also you can tell which bits you have blown off as the whiteness of the part is largely removed. In truth I am none to sure as to how effective it is as I still get some loose grain but not as much , I note, as I see other people getting. I hate going to all the trouble to make a nice mould and have the casting spoiled by lots of loose grain...Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 Thanks Martin,your a really good guy,so helpfull to everyone with good sound info,I've noticed a few people casting now obviuously learned from your goodself!! keep em coming
Regards Graham.
and what is it that you're spooning on top after you pour
User, The material that I add to the top of feeders is an exothermic compound. it is called "Ferrux NF" and is made by "Foseco". Its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat thus enabling the feeders to stay liquid for longer so they are better able to provide feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath..... Martin
What white powder?? Please replay i am subscribe this channel very usefull
I assume that you mean the white powder than I put on the pattern and the mould halves. It is a commercial green sand parting agent, but it is nothing more than finely ground Calcium Carbonate. I am glad that you find the channel useful... Martin
foarte intereant .......... as face dar am putin spatiu
Laurie, I am glad you found it interesting .. No space - you need to build a bigger shed... Martin
What are your thoughts on blind riders? I read in a navy foundry book the following "An idea of the relative efficiencies of open and blind risers may be gained from the fact that open risers do not usually deliver more than 20 percent of their volume to the casting, whereas blind risers deliver as high as 35 to 40 percent. For the same casting, blind risers can be made much smaller than open types."
Kevin, I have used blind risers but I do find them a bit problematic. That so called efficiency gain is only realised if the blind riser remains open. If you refer to fig 145 page 114 of the Navy manual you can see what happens if the riser closes off - complete disaster! Looking at fig 147 (same page) they use a small sand core that will get very hot and keep the riser open whilst letting atmospheric air pressure into the riser. However if a metal skin freezes over the sand core - disaster! I have use a teat of sand moulded into the top of the riser to concentrate heat and keep it open. This works for alloys subject to hot spot shrinkage (short solidification range alloys eg aluminium bronze). However looking at fig 147 one of the main problems of blind risers can be seen - to feed to the top of the casting metal has to be sucked up against gravity i.e. it violates one of the rules of feeding "use gravity to assist by keeping risers at least in part above the casting". It thus encourages the formation of shrinkage porosity and of more gas to come out of solution and form gas porosity. Fig 147 is not something I would ever attempt. Fig 148 clearly shows a failure of a blind riser however the description for why it failed is a bit sus in my opinion (I think it just did not contain enough metal) However the suggestion to extend the blind riser to the top mould surface and thus make it a non blind riser would have worked, I might though have been tempted to connect it top of that raised doughnut section in some way and maybe even to have used two risers diametrically opposite.. My use of blind risers is usually restricted to a "bump" on the top of gates just to be sure that the extra heat at the gate area does not cause some local hot spot porosity, typically this would be on plate like castings plaques etc. Generally I use open top feeders and use an exothermic compound on the top to improve efficiency but I do not get too concerned about having too much feed as within reason its better to have a bit too much that not enough. Be aware that the Navy book while containing much good information also contains a lot of the dreaded 6000 year old technology, the difficulty for many people is knowing which is which! I would recommend John Campbell's "Complete Casting Handbook" It has quite a lot more information on various forms of feeding including the perils and uses of blind risers and a whole lot else besides and it does NOT contain any of the 6000 year old crap...Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 thank you Martin I am finding there is a lot of rubbish out there. I am learning a lot from your wisdom thank you for being patient with us. 😊 do you think a video on the basic myths ie 6000 year old myths may help us guys that don't have enough experience to ask the right questions out? I thank you once again.
K
@@olfoundryman8418 second question is there anything I can use as an exothermic substance I can make myself. I think thermite is to fast a reaction. The foundry supply house only has large quantities. Ie a 50 gallon drum of the stuff.
Kevin, Yes, unfortunately there is a lot of rubbish out there, I am aghast at what I see on YT and very worried when I see people copying said rubbish. Sometimes I get so upset by it that I have no option but to switch off and there are YT foundry types - popular ones too - that I simply will not watch for I cannot bear to see the science and arts of foundry butchered so much. A video on the Myths, Hmm a big topic and not one I am sure I am competent enough to undertake it would also upset a lot of people 😏 some of whom I have seen to get pretty angry with people who upset them or their idol! However I will give the idea some thought... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 maybe I will keep asking my crazy questions and that may dispel some myths. 😊
Do you know of low cost what to identify what aluminum you are working with? I seen some chemical text. Did not know how accurate it was.
Martin I miss videos from you are you retired now or am I just not seeing them
Keith
Kieth, No, I have not retired. And you have not missed any videos, my last two were about 6 months ago. Unfortunately I have had (and am still having) a bit of a battle health wise. Because of a combination of back issues, strength, balance, and fatigue I have trouble standing for even a few minutes or walking short distances. Hard to make videos when you are in lots of pain. It is my intention to return to making videos as soon as able. I have to finish the moulding box series and then I have lots of ideas for what I hope will be helpful and informative videos, So as they say "stay tuned". Thank you for asking.... Martin
WHAT ARE YOU STRESSING FOR??
Sorry, can't help it - its just the way I am.
What was the powder you put on the riser?
killi, The spoonful on the top of the feeders is an exothermic compound, its job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat. This keeps the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to provide liquid feed metal to the solidifying casting underneath. It is called "Ferrux NF" and it is made by Foseco… Martin
can you cast a half or 3/4 inch thick 2 1/2 X 7 with a 2/16 to mount onto a belt with assessed txt "SMO" an in the "O" a Gothic cross
I am not exactly sure what you are describing. But the size is certainly within my range. Do you have a pattern or are things still at the drawing stage? I can arrange to have a pattern made but it would not be cheap as I do not do that sort of thing myself. I am assuming that you are in America - I am in Melbourne Australia.
Olfoundryman I'll see what I can do on that
I await with interest.
Olfoundryman okay I posted a rough draft video hopefully it's more help I apologize I may ramble a bit
Ok, I think I have a better idea of what you want. If you can come up with a pattern I certainly can cast it for you. If you can come up with a detailed design in lieu of a pattern I can get a pattern made for you and then cast form that but as I indicated before that would be quite expensive
What is the powder you put on the molten metal for?
terra, The powder I put on the feeders as soon as I have finished pouring is an exothermic called "Ferrux NF" it is made by "Foseco". It catches fire and generates a lot of heat, this keeps the feeder liquid for longer so it is better able to provide feed to the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 ok thanks that explains alot! And the fireworks I'll remember that trick I really appreciate your videos And the hard work you put into them.
what air pressure do you use
user, I use 15 PSI to blow the moulds off - I have a cheap little pressure regulator in the line for just this blow gun.. But even then I try to point the gun away when squeezing the trigger as the first air can come with a destructive rush. I also start the air with the gun away from the mould. I avoid pointing the air directly at any delicate parts of the mould and with things like text I keep the gun a long way from the mould surface. I guess the use of air like this is a bit of an acquired art.... Martin
How much pressure do you use with your air duster?
Ron, Not much! I gave a separate cheap little air pressure regulator in the duster air line just where it comes off the supply. I set this at about 15 Psi but even then I am deliberately careful how I trigger the air duster lever. I don't just squeeze it full open instantly rather I open it a bit slowly. Even so I can quite easily blow bits of the mould away unless I am quite careful where I aim the air blast. I would think that different sands and different moulds may need / withstand different pressures. Like much of mould making its sort of an acquired art. I suggest that you make up a mould or two and include a delicate one and practice, vary the air pressure and how you use the air duster and see what happens, you will pretty quickly get the hand of it... Martin
TY. I'm sure glad VegOilGuy mentioned you on his channel. You seem quite knowledgeable, and not at all nasty like some "pranksters" (I'm being quite generous here) that I've encountered.
Ron, Bless Vegoilguy! Actually I know him quite well we are cooperating on a few things that might eventually turn into what we hope will be helpful videos. Yep "pranksters" unfortunately they seem to abound on all the social platforms. In truth I have been fortunate, I have only ever had one cause me some trouble and I suspect that was more a misunderstanding than anything malicious. However one does have to be careful of what one says and about whom one says it. I could go on at great length about the bad info put out by some YT foundry types, but if I did I would just upset people and they would then take no notice of what I am trying to show. I think too that some people just have so many subs and get so many comments that they a re unable to even read them let alone reply. And even if they do manage a reply it has of necessity to be short and sometimes this may get mistaken for being a bit too "short" to the point of rudeness if you know what I mean. Its an area where one does need to be careful particularly because its not a face to face conversation and one therefore can miss the clues that face to face gives to meaning... Ah. life was not meant to be easy...Martin
Olfoundryman 👍 I've been long impressed by how fast a well-practiced hand can do what I would have much more difficulty doing. You make it look pretty effortless, even though that what you're doing is quite complicated, especially for beginners.
bagus........banget.
Ahmad, Thank you for your comment. I am glad that you liked the video.... Martin
What would something this size cost to have cast?
Rob, for a mould this size (abou 8 *10 inch) price varies according to how easy the job is and if it requires cores - from about $40.00 to about $70.00.... Martin
what kind of sand in used in this process
Raj, It is a natural green sand dug straight out of a quarry a few miles from where I live. All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains add the required amount of water and pass it through my sand aerator / mixer and its good to go...... Martin
Raj, It is a natural green sand dug from quarry a few miles from where I live, All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains add the required amount of water and pass it through my sand aerator / mixer and it is good to go. The facing sand goes through and addition step of grinding to make it finer. One of my other videos covers the preparation of this facing sand and another covers the mixer aerator..... Martin
did you make your flasks?
Daniel, Thank you for your two comments. The time to make the video was my pleasure. Yes, I did make the flasks. They are the fourth iteration of my cast aluminium flasks - if I were younger there would be a fifth iteration for I have some improvements in mind. These flasks were cast as individual sides using a tilt cast aluminium die (yes, that's right - I cast aluminium into an aluminium die!) The die was made from pieces of a continuously cast aluminium ingot. I could quickly alter the die to get different length sides and yet leave the pin lugs in the middle of each side. I cast enough sides for 22 boxes in one day - that's about 200 sides. With the help of a friend the ends were all machined in a milling machine to get the ends square. When bolted together the top and bottom faces were milled. The dowels are Thompson 60 case 1/2 inch hardened shafting. Dowels are heat shrunk in one box half and are a very slight clearance in the other box half, note that there is a dowel hole one end of the box and a dowel slot at the other. This hole / slot arrangement is very important.
Daniel, I do not know why the reply I just made has a line through some of the text - it shouldn't have ignore the line.
and do you sell these flasks? :D
I tell you, nobody sells them online. Wood or AL. I'd buy to save myself so much time.
Jamie, No, sorry I do not sell the flasks. Interesting thought, but considering the time involved in making them - casting and machining the eight sides that make up each flask, bolting them together and then drilling and reaming the pin holes etc. they would be very, very expensive. At a rough guess, and don't hold me to it, way more than $200.00 per flask with some sort of minimum of the number of flasks (probably 10). (I can hear you saying "ouch" :)) Then of course I am in Australia and shipping would be involved if you are elsewhere. Unfortunately making (good) flasks is not easy and it pretty much is a labour of love - you just have to suffer through it! Many of the ones I see in use out there are a bit - er, well - ordinary. Initially I made wood flasks and then using them cast aluminium flask sides - took forever! Then I made a gravity die and cast enough sides for 20 flasks in the one day! Still had to machine and fit them though! If you live close to me (Melbourne Australia) and are prepared to come here and roll up your sleeves I can help you cast and machine the sides for a somewhat (considerably) lower price. Flasks are a pain!
Ha, Yes I hear ya. I'd be happy with just wood. But me and wood don't seem to get along very well.
It's awesome to see pros do'n their thing man!
Where did you get the sand?
Faustino, The sand is a natural straight out of the ground green sand. I got it from a quarry about 40 Km from where I live. All I do is sieve it to remove the few largish quartz pebbles that it contains temper it with the required amount of water and its good to go. Sadly the quarry is now closed down.... Martin
Oh ok, thank you, great video by the way
are you using magnesium to hot top the sprues
+Clarke E
Thank you for your question.
The sprue (located on the right hand side of the mould in
this case) is where I pour the metal into the mould. I do not hot top it.
I do use a commercial hot topping compound - Ferrux NF
by Foseco - on the feeder (located roughly in the middle of this mould.) I do
not know what this product contains, but it does work well. It is important to
use a hot topping compound that is correct for the metal being cast. If one was
to use, for example, a compound designed for iron castings it would probably
not ignite if used on Aluminium , similarly a compound designed for aluminium
would ignite and burn too quickly to be of use on an iron casting.
I only use a few grams on each casting and a 25 Kg bag lasts
me some years. Thus its contribution to the cost structure is insignificant particularly
when compared to the time and effort to make and pour the mould.
Olfoundryman
Thanks, I haven't added anything to my sprues but I see those like yourself adding something after the pours and just wanted to improve my knowledge, any steps that I can take to improve my quality are well worth trying and this is something I definatly want to study more on. I will search Ferrux, that should put me in the right direction, thanks again and hope to see more of your videos
+Clarke E Always happy to answer any questions that you may have. I have been at this foundry work game about 60 years (groan) and I figure I have learnt enough to know how little I know. There is always something new to discover!Hot topping definitely improves the feeding of castings but you still need to have a good sized riser/feeder as well. Typically I use a feeder that contains 30 to 50% of the metal poured - the thicker the casting the higher the figure. So on that basis your stepped pulley was a bit light on for feeder.I do have more videos on the way and a new camera to take more with so , as they say, stay tuned! Old foundry men never die they just melt away Olfoundryman
+Olfoundryman yes that pulley was an experiment that I planned to recast but luckily all the voids were not going to pose a problem with function. I will start using your rule as for enlarging the feeder and riser. I can see how that would dampen out turbulence and increase pressure to the cavity of the mold. I spent most of my life as a machinist so I never saw the foundry end and never went to one but have always been puzzled and fascinated with how castings and cores were developed so about a year ago I decided to build a furnace and try my luck at it. As I was building it I started getting deeper and deeper into the chemistry end (I didn't do well at all in chemistry) to the point I realized this stuff is way over my head but I had went too far to turn around at that point so I'm determined to at least have fun with it as I try and fail
+Clarke E
I was going to warn you that casting metals is very addictive but I see I am already too
late - you are obviously hooked!
That stepped pulley is not exactly an easy job, bravo to you for taking it on. Top pouring of
castings tends to give somewhat ordinary results because of the turbulence
involved. And I know that it is difficult to try and bottom run a casting like
that one but there is a quite reasonable alternative that I use on some jobs. Place
a ceramic foam filter in the mould just above the top of the casting proper and
thus almost in the bottom of your feeder, pour through this filter. This plus
the bigger feeder should give you much better results. Foseco (and lots of
other people) can supply these filters.If as I judge by some of your videos and posts you intend
using that sand for iron castings you need to add about 2% of coal dust to it.The Chemistry/Metallurgy involved is not that bad unless you get deep into it and that is not really necessarybut some basic knowledge in these areas is a big help and with it you will not only avoid a lot of mistakes but solve probles quicker.Having fun with it while you persist to the point of success sure is the key.
Olfoundryman,
Old foundry men never die their cores just sag.
where do you buy the refractory land?
Lorenzo, Which particular Refractory do you mean. Or do you mean the moulding sand that I use... Martin
He means the petrobond sand you are using....the us navy PB SAND its clean sand, bentonite clay, automotive oil....and another adative
Killi, Its not petrobond. I use a natural green sand.. Martin
ye sand kaise taiyar ki jaati hai .please reply...
Sumit, Unfortunately I can not understand your comment as it does not appear to be written in English, so I am unable to reply properly.
How to make sand which is used in casting such as gold rings? Pls reply
Sumit, It is not usual to cast things like gold rings in sand moulds. Such things are usually cast via the investment casting process. This is not something that I do, but I understand that a company called "Kerr Corporation" make a range of materials for casting things like this
what kind of powder ? the thermite?
Alex, The powder that I put on the feeders as soon as I have finished pouring is an exothermic compound not unlike thermite. It is called "Ferrux NF" and it is made by "Foseco"... Martin
@@olfoundryman8418 Thanks for the answer, I thought so, good Luck and more interesting videos)))
What is the ⬜ material
Karim, Sorry, but I am not sure which material you mean. Can you give me a time in the video when I use it or where I use it and then I should be able to answer your question.... Martin
Why do you let sand fall off your table?
Robert, I am aware that many people use petrobond sand that costs (here) about $4.00 per kg, and they tend to take care of every grain of sand - most of them don't seem to have much to play with either (50 to 100 Kg seems to be about it) so they do need to exercise great care in not wasting any of it. I use a natural green sand that cost me about 10 cents per Kg and I have at least 1500 kg left. So I don't have to waste time corralling every little grain of sand - some falling to the floor is not a problem and in any case it's a smooth concrete floor that I break all the moulds out onto after casting anyway before adding more water and reprocessing the sand for the next day's castings. The only problem I have with sand falling to the floor is that it gets under my feet 😊.... Martin
composition of mass ?
I am not certain what you mean by "composition of mass" some problem with translation perhaps. But if you mean what is the composition of the metal I am casting it is in US terminology 356 alloy, I buy certified ingot having long ago realised that the use other sources of metal (like scrap) causes a lot of problems that I do not have time for... Martin
The camera perspective give vertigo.
Steve, You are not the first person to make such a comment. In truth I have struggled to find a good camera position - I have tried it in front out front to the left to the right over my shoulder - everywhere but underneath the bench. And this, vertigo inducing though may it be, is the best I could do. I do not make anything from YT (I am not monetarised) so I do not have the revenue to get the additional cameras that would allow some alternative views throughout the video as the process unfolded. Sorry my friend, but that's just the way it is.... Martin
Petrobond?
Petrobond? No, it is a natural green sand from a quarry about 20 miles from where I live.
Thanks. I tried Petrobond but hated the oily feel, the smoke and the stink that went with it! Did not notice much better finish quality either. The finish you get is fantastic! :-) Thanks for all the great videos
Never tried Petrobond myself - at $4.00 per Kg locally it is a bit expensive! (I work with about 400 Kg of sand) But one sure can see the smoke when people pour into it and I have seen other people comment re the smell. I did not know of the oily feel but I can understand that it could be a bit annoying. I used to have people tell me that it was the only way to get a good finish - guess not! But my finish comes at a cost as it relies on very fine specially prepared sand. This sand has very little permeability and unless I am very careful to vent my moulds I suffer a lot of trapped mould gas defects - typically rounding out of sharp edges due to gas pressure stoping the metal running right into intricate areas, rounded out lettering is typical. Just a thought was your Petrobond bought or home made? If the latter then maybe the base sand was not fine enough - my understanding of Pertobond is that the freedom from water means much less mould gas and therefore the ability to use finer lower permeability sands that should - because and only because of their fineness -give a finer finish. I.e. it is the fineness of the sand and not the fact that it is the petrobond process that gives the good finish.The videos are my pleasure and I am glad that you like them.
The Petrobond (four 5 gallon buckets) was given to me when I bought a small furnace. It was a new bought product and it did have a fairly fine grain about the same as the regular casting sand I use. I only used it for a few pours and was done with it. The smell stunk up my shop and if you ever set Styrofoam or plastic on fire you know the smell. For me it was overpowering and it lingers forever. Even the castings smell bad. I have used sand and bentonite for years and perhaps I am biased towards it. The oil in Petrobond gets all over you, your hands and your tools. It leaves everything slimy feeling. Maybe if I had stuck it out and continued to use it I would be singing praises to it too but I found it easy to stay with traditional sand.
From time to time I make memorial plaques in Silicon bronze (lovely stuff!) I was seriously contemplating buying the minimum quantity of petrobond to try I out as it is said to be the bees knees for plaque work. But in view of your comments I might just reconsider! Incidentally as a very crude measure of sand grain size I use an ordinary micrometer - my back up sand measures 0.006 inch and my facing sand slightly smaller at 0.005 Inch - of course this measurement is of the largest grain present and gives no idea of the distribution of sizes present.
Wrong angle camera
Saim, Perhaps, and indeed I have struggled with camera angle and have tried several different ones and I have not yet found one that I am completely happy with. I have settled on this particular angle at least for the moment as it gives much the same view as I see or as someone else would see if they were making the moulds. Unfortunately it does not give much idea of "depth" and if I could afford it I would have a second and perhaps third camera so I could cut to other views as appropriate. However I make no money from this. I am in the business of making parts not videos. I can not therefore afford to take endless time with framing , camera angle, close ups etc. It is the making of the part experience that I am sharing rather than making a Cecil B Demille epic to which the part and the knowledge, experience, technology and skills used to make it are secondary as so often seems the case with many videos that I have watched - in short I make parts not videos and its the parts that have to be good... Martin
PS. What angle would you suggest?
I'm petarn work