drago_arms

Charlotte, i've been looking at making my own green sand however finding some of the materials has been tough and i don't really want to grind down kitty litter for the bentonite! thanks for the book recommendation, i'll check it out! ThomasPowers, I've tried lost wax casting using paraffin wax (crazy) i made a silicon mold then cast the wax into the silicon then the solid wax into a plaster mold, it lost much of the detail and the other investment I've looked at is similar to dentist alginate however that costs a little too much for my budget!

Hello all, for the last few months I've been experimenting with home foundries! As a bit of a back story, i'm doing a class 12 project on metallurgy and have over the past year researched and created a forge, electrical arc furnace, and a functional gas-can foundry. in regards to the use of the foundry i have been experimenting with low temperature metals (lead/zinc) to creating fishing sinkers and little fish trophies (zinc). some of the problems I've been finding are that the plaster moulds i'm using are too fragile and crack after the first use i have tried adding sand however that made the models very un-detailed, any solutions/alternative mould recommendations? also as a side note, i know the dangers of lead, i wear welding gloves, goggles and a respirator whenever i'm working with it! Pictures included to show what i've done so far: including lead fish casting x2 failed zinc casting, sprue was too narrow and plaster too cool? melting lead in my crucible over the foundry the foundry side view of the forge front view of the forge (no fan/ash trap) the forge is also painted hammerite green at the sides and back

Frosty, I shall look into muffle furnaces, and unfortunately I don't have access to an induction forge however I have seen and read a LOT about them :) I was considering making one of these:

arftist, i greatly appreciate your recommendations i am reading multiple books on the subject currently but will make sure to read the ones that you have described. I understand the risks and would not even start a pattern i was not 100% confident in. I am fully aware that plaster moulds are mixed with dried sand then fired until COMPLETELY dry, i was not aware of the metal mesh however i shall look more into it. As to the solid Fuel, i may have to consider gas. Perhaps i could explain the Process of splitting titanium and follow your advice on 'mastering' other 'lesser' (if i may use that term) alloys. I am fully aware of the enormity of the task which is why i chose it, (others in my year are getting pilot licences) Unfortunately it is the end of this year not the next :). Once again thank you all for all of your advice it is massively beneficial!

801c is 1473.8f, i assumed that good quality dense compacted coke/coal would be able to keep up at least 801c for say 2 hours? Again i understand the fact that metal casting is possibly the most dangerous form of metalworking. njanvilman my castings will be very small, not working with large amounts of metal here all will probably be all less than 0.5 kgs (1.1 lb)i'm using scrap that i have been given and have bought. Not sure what you mean by patterns as i'm not going to be using green sand, however i will be using and investment lost-PLA (possibly toxic fumes i know)casting in completely dry fired gypsum plaster (for aluminium). and casting in old dry cuttlefish bones for pewter and lead. Any more questions or advice? Arftist what advice would you have to start/learn casting, or would you recommend that i just don't do it? :) thank you for your time :D

Wow ok, thank you all for your answers! 1) nobody special: thank you for the comprehensive response i will be sure to incorporate a drain hole and also be very careful with the castable, I had read about the side effects of Kao-wool and had decided not to use any because of the possible long term health detriments. 2)ThomasPowers thank you for the recommendation i shall check it out! 3)arftist I understand that the Metalysis FFC Cambridge process is a patented process which is why i wrote to them explaining my goals - what i didn't mention in my original post is that this is my final year project for school- completely no intention to sell/profit from using the process! I also understand fully the legal ramifications of selling said metal. Hopefully this 'un-dubifies' the idea :) . The reason i want to smelt titanium is because i have access to it (3rd most common metal element on earth or so i've been told), if i had access to alluvial gold nuggets i'd use a much simpler refining technique!

Hi there, no i have not had any experience with casting before however i am only casting under supervision of a metal fabricator who has had casting experience. They have got a good pouring dolly which keeps you far away from the molten metal and i would only be pouring on dry sand. The moulds will be cuttlefish and plaster of paris for aluminium, pewter and lead. The titanium never actually melts so it's not going to be poured. The hottest thing will actually be the salt at 801c. As for safety, leather gloves, aprons, long tongs, enclosed boots, full face mask and various anti-splatter bits to keep stray metal (god forbid) out of shoes and clothes. I will be using a commercially bought crucible (not one i construct myself). This is not going to be a high temperature foundry but i would like to build it so when i gain more experience i can move on to various other high-temperature bronze and other copper alloys. Hopefully this has quenched (no pun intended) your safety consciousness :) thank you for the response!

if you don't want to click the links there's a brief description of both products below the links

Hello all, i've done a load of research into making a foundry, I've gone the way of the LPG tank lined with a heat resistant cement. However when i go to buy the cement i get blown away by the sheer variety of products i can buy. I wanted an expert opinion on two products: http://www.morganthermalceramics.com/sites/default/files/datasheets/1_alumor_60.pdfo- and http://www.morganthermalceramics.com/sites/default/files/datasheets/1_alcast_super.pdf The choice is between the Alcast_super which is a castable with max temp. of 1300c and the Alumor_60 which has a service temp of 1650c. I am going to be splitting titanium in a molten salt electrolyte using the Metalysis FFC cambridge process, melting aluminium for casting, melting lead, melting various scrap copper/bronze. What castable would you choose/recommend? Do i need separate crucibles for different metals or can i re-use one safely? extra info: coke/coal powered furnace, 5cm thick insulation probably, air forced.