Turning Scrap Aluminium Into a Lathe Handwheel | Metal Casting

G'day everyone,
In this video I will be recycling a bunch of scrap Aluminium off cuts that have been laying in the scrap bin for the past few years. After most projects there will be a bunch of off cuts that are too big to simply throw away, but are either too small or have holes in them which makes then unsuitable to be used as raw stock.
Since I have the new forge/foundry I will now be able to melt down the scrap and make parts from the castings. in this video I will be casting a new aluminium handwheel for the mini lathe cross slide.
#metalcasting #diy #machining
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
0:44 - Making The Handwheel Casting Pattern
4:08 - Making The Sand Casting Mold
6:08 - Metal Casting The Handwheel
7:47 - Attempt 2 and 3
10:00 - Cleaning Up The Casting
11:52 - Machining The Centre
12:55 - Making The Handle
14:16 - Assembly and Final Thoughts
Lathe: Sieg C3 7x14 mini Metal Lathe
Mill: Sieg X2.7l
Turning Scrap Aluminum Into a Lathe Handwheel

[@TheDoItYourselfWorld]

Thanks for showing both success and failures for others to learn from. I also like that you actually talk in your videos. I hate non talking videos because you can miss so many details.

[@DwarSel]

Casting scrap into a blank and then machining it is my favorite iteration of "fine, I'll do it myself!" 👍

[@smkole2]

Awesome upgrade. Great mix of machining and casting. Looking forward to the next one.

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

First. I like your videos and your manner of presenting them. I have a few questions and some comments. I have done a lot of casting and learned a lot from Ol Foundryman. I was making many of exactly the same mistakes as you were. Sand looks to wet. Is there any bentonite clay ( can be had from kitty liter) in your sand? Second. Sprue should be about 6mm in diameter and when you are pouring your mold. You want the sprue completely full of molten metal to avoid cavitation or air entrainment in your casting. Your pouring basin is a great idea. And it will work. Third, the quicker you pour after you have melted your metal the less porosity you will have. In other words just melted and get the metal into the mold. Wait a little monger to open your molds. This is only figure by experience and looking at your riser. It is a colour and a shrinkage thing. This comes from experience. I buggered it up a lot to. I loved watching you do this as a casting. It's the least waste of metal. Oh, you had too little draft angle. But you know this already. Keep up the great videos. I love watching them. P.S. either place some heavy weight son your cope and drag or clamp them together, you will have less leaking of the metal. Isn't it amazing how molten aluminium has the same viscosity as water? It's very close to the same anyway.

[@rallen7660]

I've tried lost EPS foam casting, and I'll not go back to wooden patterns unless I absolutely have to. For one-off projects it's just so easy to make the part in foam, ram it up, and leave it in the sand, and pour the aluminum. There's lots of little tricks, of course, but it's actually more simple than making a wood pattern.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Mark, Thanks for the plug! 😊. Yes, the lad here has some problems down no doubt due to inexperience - in time, and with effort, he should learn and improve. His sand does look truly awful - too coarse and looks to be a washed and therefore a one size grade sand - not the best for moulding. Running and feeding methods definitely need work as does the metal used - junk in junk out and all that after all... Martin

[@TheDoItYourselfWorld]

The comments here about about as good as the video to learn from. Thanks for that. I am watching and learning as I prepare my first furnace for casting aluminum.

[@TheEphemeris]

Trial and error is the best teacher. It's great seeing your failed attempts and what you learned from each attempt. No one does things perfectly the first time, and the magic of editing can hide that fact, but I respect and really admire that you didn't take that easy route. I like that you showed your process, for you to learn, for others to follow. It's brilliant, keep up the good work mate

[@XeronHD]

Hey Mate great videos! You should check your cutting Tool insert, at minute 10:20 you can see that the Insert isnt tight. Good Job go on like that !!!

[@artisanmakes]

Yeah someone else pointed it out, the torx screw is mostly stripped out, waiting on a replacement for it. Cheers and thanks for watching.

[@ego73]

Right on! Very satisfying video! Great that you've expanded your content to include foundry work. Keep it coming, eh.

[@wizrom3046]

Enjoyable video. For a simple piece like that it might have been easier to use a one sided "bucket mould" where the entire large diameter of the wheel was the sprue. It would have been much easier to make the mould and pour it, although you would need to machine out the face cavity of the handwheel.

[@markkoons7488]

This video is really useful to beginners. Thank you.

[@garymucher4082]

Now that you've accomplished this type handle, cast another with spokes in it and machine that one. It will give you even more experience and look great too. Just an idea... Thumbs Up!

[@TechGorilla1987]

You handled this beautifully and dialed in the proper choice of materials for the project.

[@BSMikkel]

I really enjoyed this video. Now comes the talk with the missus on why we need a lathe.

[@loch1957]

Very nice job for first attempt

[@JeremyMakesThings]

I recently did my first “real” casting project, and I started ramming it up with the drag upside-down too. For a process that’s basically just 1)make a hole in the sand and 2) pour metal in the hole, there’s a lot to go wrong.

[@dennissheridan1550]

To add to Kravchenko's post, it is a standard practice to paint wooden patterns to give them a slick surface for better separation from the mold. Wood has grain and, especially oak and mahogany, have pores that the sand can get a grip on and tear out the sides of the mold.

[@colemine7008]

That was very enjoyable to watch.

[@TalRohan]

Awesome I would be well chuffed with that for a third casting. nice job indeed

[@Quagmire0815]

14:48 this amount of Backlash is impressive 😳

[@artisanmakes]

The leads screw nut just needs some adjustment. In any event backlash really isn't an issue on a manual lathe

[@cullendolan5619]

Great upgrade. I think you have the nicest mini lathe on KZbin

[@tune3garage]

I love the way you break those woodchips

[@SirHackaL0t.]

I’ve just started watching the video and wondered why you used that lovely piece of hardwood instead of softwood. Cheers for the video :)

[@Pushyhog]

for what l do, you saved my lil lathe with your ac motor conversion. Thanks! Finally enjoy useing the lathe. Gonna buy a longer bed for it.

[@artisanmakes]

I'm glad it worked out for you

[@paul_domici]

Just Awesome!!!

[@josephalexander3884]

Excellent. Nice work. Thank you.

[@WeCanDoThatBetter]

That was quite a fair amount of work. The result looks excellent! Really nice handwheel.

[@robertwalker7457]

This is a terrific outcome for a first attempt, it looks like an expert did it. Thanks.

[@IvanGarcia-ib7rr]

We all have that scrap projects bucket, what i will do its save it and once per year go to the scrap yard to sell the pieces that are not useful for some bucks to reinvest in my workshop its a good way to recicle and also to have an extra bucks

[@spacedmarine708]

Looks like it was made for it 😁

[@jasonpohl2931]

Came out greatt! Well done

[@Cybernetic_Systems]

I’ve been going through your back catalogue and loving it! The polished finish on the handwheel looks incredible!

[@Smallathe]

Very cool handle and casting!

[@merlin1943]

Really good !!

[@sacriptex5870]

cool! your patience payed of, thats fun much better than video game

[@SirHackaL0t.]

That looks amazing. It came out so well. Nice job. 👍

[@pentachronic]

Sweet! Love it!

[@pentachronic]

I would have tried 3d printing the shape of the handle and then epoxy fill and lathe to final 'cast' dimensions. Might be easier than wood ?

[@artisanmakes]

I dont own a FDM 3d printer. An any event this is cheaper and faster

[@65BAJA]

That really turned out nice. Especially with the polishing at the end. Myfordboy's channel is a great resource for casting info.

[@Brian18741]

great project 👍

[@joaoquadros8675]

Amazing video!!

[@ianbertenshaw4350]

That is a pretty good result for a first attempt at sand casting ! Well done !

[@cannonroberts5129]

Nice job

[@user-et6wk8vx4c]

Отличная работа!

[@MrLukealbanese]

Nice work AM, a very good result.

[@gregwmanning]

Looks just like a bought one! Very well done MySiegBoy

[@ColCurtis]

You should try to make your feeder with a larger cross section than the thickest section on your part so the feeder solidifies last.

[@davidwalters4014]

Very interesting content!

[@mbs1234567]

Machining it from a solid billet is time consuming? Funny! Nice project. Cheers, Mike

[@jadymulqueeney]

Thanks, really interesting, especially the parts that don’t work. I learn more from mistakes than perfect results.

[@MattysWorkshop]

Gday, Great job and the handle polished up nicely, thanks for sharing, Cheers

[@MurrayC]

Very nice result, casting looks like hard work though!

[@nickclarke587]

Old alloy car wheels make brilliant casting alloy, just chop em up with a whizzer (angle grinder).

[@SculptyWorks]

Those look so familiar! 😉 Good job on them! 👍

[@GoPaintman]

Wow! That came out amazing! Very well done. I’ve been using casting to make blanks for shapes that are normally expensive to get.

[@IcDave99]

Very interesting to see your process :)) Love your videos :) Greetings from Austria!

[@mattscimeca4288]

Looks like your green sand might be a little dry, try hitting it with a couple sprays of water and mixing it up. Plus, tamp down with extra force. Should make the gates a little easier to cut.

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers, I did do that for number 2 and 3. It passed the clump test, but what really improved it for later casts was adding more clay. It is a real home brew batch and I haven't nailed down the exact recipe as of yet.

[@ColCurtis]

I get my casting aluminum from old vehicle rims. To get it to machine nicer I quench the aluminum after it solidifies then I put it in the oven at 180 C for up to 9 hours

[@Lucas_sGarage]

Wood lathe user here, a recommendation is that u avoid using your metal tools since u can damage the wood, I suggest clamping a bar in the tool holder and using a wood lathe tool and your hand to move it (like in a traditional wood lathe, also, once u have the wood rounded and more or less balanced, u want to run the lathe as fast as u can without making the whole thing shake, and also, wear a face shield because wood isn't like metal and can explode. also, in your green sand, try to use a thinner one, the one that u are using looks pretty rough,, go into a pet store and grab a bag of aquarium sand, and maybe a bit more clay in your mix, I hope that this helps :)

[@ShaneGadsby]

You can also switch to the super sharp inserts designed for aluminium!

[@Lucas_sGarage]

@@ShaneGadsby that's a very good option as well

[@musicauthority7828]

The wood sure makes a lot of chips.

[@mealex303]

top job

[@richardashburner2097]

Top job with satisfying result! Beware of “talcum powder “. I used some on an engine for oil leak detection and it smoked and smelled like burnt flour. Looks like “talc” can be cornflour, a mixture or talcum powder.

[@artisanmakes]

Thanks for the heads up, I wasn't aware of that. I checked my bottle and it says it's pure crushed mineral clay, so I think I should be safe. In any event if it were made from Corn flour the workshop would have smelled like my kitchen when casting the metal. Cheers

[@aaronbuildsa]

At 1 minute in .. I absolutely expected the hacksaw to come out to cut the wood stock to length! ;)

[@drekzy0]

Very nice! Keep up the great work ;-)

[@mrjibrhanjamalkhan2144]

Nice

[@ArcAiN6]

A couple of things: 1) the surface bubbles are due tot he greensand being too wet. Dry your sand a little and try again, also, use a wire to poke steam vents to give the steam somewhere to escape. 2) Porosity issues are generally caused by gasses dissolved in the metal. mix 50%/50% borax, and household table salt, wrap it in aluminum foil, and push it to the bottom of the crucible, and mix well just before skimming the dross, and pouring 3) Just an observation from what i can see, your greensand also appears to be very clumpy, i would suggest mulling it a bit more before use to evenly distribute everything. A sieve or screen mesh is also a good idea on parting / mold surfaces so you get the finest details you allowable.

[@artisanmakes]

Yeah for sure, we got flooded pretty badly around the time I did this and most things were water logged..probably didn't put as much time into getting everything dry, but that's my fault :)

[@middleway1885]

Yummy!

[@Horus9339]

That is really nice, maybe a bronze spacer/bearing between the handle and the wheel would set it off. Either way that is a really beautifully crafted addition to the lather. Excellent work.

[@jacobbellwood6184]

I had to make a hand wheel a long time ago but I only so many tools at the time and no scrap either so bought enough material for 2 and turned them up so that I have a spare for when the second breaks.

[@gremlinsports]

The holes you were getting were air pockets. caused by either to much moisture in your green sand or not keeping your sprue full. Not the metal itself gas porosity in extreme cases is generally only about 1mm in size.

[@roguecnc788]

Kiwi accent gets me every time

[@noviceartisan]

Get an IR thermometer to monitor the aluminium temps in the crucible before pouring :)

[@noviceartisan]

an when you pour, only pour in the basin, don't move it to the spout!

[@jackdawg4579]

Got to admit you are gamer than i , I would have gone for a simple cylinder and machined my part out of it knowing my machining skills are at least adequate, I have zero casting experience! Your wood blank polished up have also been a nice look for a wheel

[@WatchmakerErik]

Very cool project. Not gonna lie I would have been tempted to just install the wooden master. It came out looking good.

[@mealex303]

you need finer sand for sure

[@artisanmakes]

Yeah, this stuff isn't the finest but for coarse, low detail casting it seems to work just fine. I'm still working my way through various sand castings so Im not going to say anything definitive, but on the whole this stuff has been working fine, and it is very cheap. Cheers

[@iguanapete3809]

Good vid. I would have just poured it into a coffee can, pealed away the can when it cooled and machine off everything that isn't a wheel.

[@smashyrashy]

Nice! But now you'll have to make the other handle too lol

[@TigerCarpenter]

what a satisfaction it must be to make the handle all the way from the raw materials and finally someone did the wood turning on the metal lathe, as I was wandering if that is advisable or possible at all. now I can think of putting my lathe to turn some wooden parts as well.

[@an2thea514]

Woodturning is completely possible on a metal lathe, it is just not advisable.

[@TigerCarpenter]

@@an2thea514 the wood dust would damage the metal lathe? Why it's not recommended?

[@an2thea514]

@@TigerCarpenter a metal lathe is covered in oil. Wood dust would end up in that oil making a very slow grinding paste. The inserts are not sharp enough. Try Aluminium HSS tools instead. In general, freehand turning is also possible, but more limited than on a wood lathe. If you'd like to use it to turn, make sure to cover the ways and clean. Plus, use highly positivy tools.

[@TigerCarpenter]

@@an2thea514 yes thanks for a good advice. I think I'll occasionally would like to make a wooden mockup of some prototypes before I waste a lot of metal material

[@MF175mp]

Most of the time small parts like this are actually cheaper and faster to machine from solid

[@MF175mp]

Casting is only cheaper in mass production

[@THusbands]

Great video. Looks like your green sand might need sieving or buying some finer sand. Should make the molding easier

[@feynthefallen]

Keep calm and request Trial by Error...🤣

[@philmenzies2477]

Nice job. I thoroughly recommend "The complete book of Sand Casting" by CW Ammen for beginner tips

[@craigallan7263]

Great work, love seeing how you go about improving the basics. Quick question, where did you source your green sand from and also is it constantly reusable??

[@artisanmakes]

Thanks. The green sand is a home brew recipe that I'm still ironing out. It's a mix of sand and ground up clay which I source from cat litter. It seems to work fine for rough castings but I'm still working out the ratios of clay to sand. It's currently about 10% clay and it's probably not enough. Total cost is about $15 for 24kg which is very cheap and yes it's reusable.

[@tinayoga8844]

The problem with kitty litter is that it needs to be ground into a powder to work effectively. Then the powder must be mixed with the sand and water. The clay needs to coat the grains of sand. This is done by a squeezing action. There needs to be a shear force applied. Normally all of this is done with a sand muller. The sand used makes a difference. Silica sand is normally used. Sand grains can be more round, or more not round and with sharp surfaces. The random sharp shape allows the to more easily lock with each other. This gives your sand more strength. The size of the sand crystals also play a factor. Large grains make stronger green sand, but the finished surface will be rougher. Finer sand will give better shape to fine details, but very fine sand (with the clay) will make it harder for the steam to escape from the sand.

[@craigallan7263]

Thanks for the feedback. Just in the beginning stages of making my own foundry. Can’t wait. Love the channel.

[@johnsantiago8220]

Really enjoyed the video! I am preparing to dive into metal casting and was curious what books you would recommend.

[@KX36]

I think porosity from steam from overly wet sand.

[@joell439]

👍👍😎👍👍

[@joesikkspac7904]

Some WD-40 greatly improves the cutting ability of the tools and the finish when cutting aluminum.

[@vivigarr]

That insert moving at 10:19 like that is quite the yikes! Also you may be interested in experimenting with some inserts such as an R or W type insert for interrupted cuts that cast surfaces tend to have. It will provide more support and not wear you D type inserts as fast. Not sure how the mini lathe can handle them though. Great job though! I got a Vevor 8.7x29.5" (220mm x 770mm) mini lathe myself but I haven't be able to use it because the handwheel is so sucky and the apron just can't move after a certain point or be tight closer to the headstock. The milled surface on the bottom has a taper :(

[@darrellhart9363]

Looked like your casing sand was too dry as most of the sands I have used has some oil in it, and also use a screen to sift the sand nears the mold makes for a smoother cast. Another trick is the use of haft round piece's next to the mold for better channels and less contamination in or around the part done right it can look like a professional did the finish part. A medal casing frame would be a big help fat in the meddle narrower at the top and bottom, and the sand needs to stick together not easily fall apart next to the mold helps it be smother. Borax in the mix to free up the slag scrape off before you poor and I think that covers the basics. I am sure a few more people will add bits and piece's.

[@Bob_Adkins]

Handwheels are worth making, they're very pricey.

[@ThanasisThomas]

Could this be done with lost foam method?

[@davidrule1335]

12:30 fear jaw git tagged.

[@Marcuslobenstein]

Would the wooden mold not be strong enough? :)

[@haberg6839]

You could allso make 3d printed positive instead of wooden one. Less mess and its easyer to make it. Just let it print over night

[@honeycuttracing]

A for effort. Go watch Windy Hill Foundry, he goes over lots of things step by step, noticed that sand where you poured the aluminum was loose and sucked down, that has to be a clean tight packed area!

[@artisanmakes]

Yes absolutely, this was early casting and I still hadn't nailed down the green sand mix yet. I solved quite a bit of this by adding more clay to the mix. Cheers

[@johnathancorgan3994]

Seeing wood being turned in a metal lathe really triggers my inner Quinn 😏

[@tdck2978]

I've got to get me a forge where I have the spare money.

[@JosephBrown-tg7cl]

Ft To😊

[@rlhanks]

Do you save your chips to return them to the forge for a later project?

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

Chips make for pretty terrible scrap metal. Large surface area = tons of oxide = tons of dross and lower mechanical properties.

[@ego73]

@@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart Gotta admit, though, that very problem DOES prod the hobbyist into investigating some metallurgy.. I wonder if soaking chips in a mild pickle bath [oxide reducer] would help.

[@autumn5592]

@@ego73 Aluminium will oxidise quickly in the foundry. It's not an issue with the oxide already on the metal, it's the issue of forming inside the foundry. Aluminium oxide has about twice the melting temp of normal aluminium, so you can't melt it down, so it will just result as dross. You could reduce oxides by using some flux, preventing contact with oxygen, but overall not worth it. Also, by dropping it into a molten puddle already, since you don't have to wait for it to heat up, and there will be no oxygen interaction. Little chips like this just don't seem worth it to save, in my opinion.

[@ego73]

@@autumn5592 I stand corrected. Cheers.

[@jpiccari]

That's not a hacksaw....

[@robertbutler8004]

Why did you bother marking the centre of that timber block when your lathe was going to find the centre anyway?

[@artisanmakes]

To help dial it in, I'm using the independent 4 jaw

[@josephwaldner7752]

Take this with a grain of salt I'm about as experience with casting as you are but the green sand look a little wet

[@artisanmakes]

As I said in this video, there is a lot that I couldn't cover here, In a future video I'll cover the whole sand mixtures that I have tested.

[@josephwaldner7752]

@@artisanmakes project idea, now you can cast drive wheels for a belt grinder, maybe the Phil Vandelay version, would be fun to see your take on that

[@TheMorpheus017]

hey! Your insert is not tight on 10:23 :)

[@artisanmakes]

Good catch :)