Casting a bronze kettlebell at home * PART TWO * casting a kettlebell

In this video I finally manage to cast two custom made kettlebells at home. They will be gifts for two great friends that have given up their time to lead our kettlebell sessions for the last nine months. Each kettlebell is custom made to a different weight but still keeping the same size. Each kettlebell is cast using a greensand mould. I use a kettlebell shaped pattern to make an impression in the sand for the molten bronze to fill.
The bronze is melted in my home made furnace and then poured (very carefully!) in to the kettlebell shaped impression!
After a lifetime of filing sanding and polishing it honestly looks like i've got two solid gold kettlebells - SO CHUFFED with these :)
I will make another custom kettlebell soon for myself, but this time it will be a bit heavier and a slightly different design - mainly because i've seen a competition kettlebell and they look SO cool - although mine will bw way smaller!
I'd like to thank Olfoundryman and SWDweeb (links below) for their invaluable advice and patience with me on this one! cheers fellas :)
How to make a kettlebell at home:
Part one: studio.kzbin.infoJOOW...
Part two: (this is part two! :)
#CastingAKettlebell #MakingAKettlebell #CastingABronzeKettlebell
LINKS AND CREDITS:
SWDweeb's channel (Perry):
/ @swdweeb
Kettlebell workout guy images:
Image by Taco Fleur from Pixabay pixabay.com/users/tacofleur-2...
The beast of a man in these pics (at the beginning) is actually a KZbinr called 'Cavemantraining', here is his channel it's amazing:
/ @cavemantraining
monster kettlebell - Ader Premier Monster Kettlebell- (92kg) - purchase here (not sponsored!)
www.amazon.com/Ader-Premier-M...

[@RichardGriffiths1]

That's not a kettbell...that's a work of art! Amazing work. Would have been great to see the reaction when you presented them

[@mikesiegel4039]

2020: COVID has ravaged the earth, kettlebells are nowhere to be found. We must return to the bronze age.

[@stjepo91]

is there a lack of kettle over there too?

[@aaronfarris3447]

Love it, happy to return back to that age I'll be a blacksmith and kettlebell coach by night

[@aaronfarris3447]

Absolutely adore the finished kettlebells!!! And enjoyed your bubbly personality. Hope your friends enjoyed the gift

[@kensmapleleafretirement]

That was amazing, great job... I appreciate your sharing your expertise... I've just subscribed. I came over from Perry's channel. He shouted you out, I was curious, so here I am. I am about as new as a person can be to casting. I am more of a Blacksmith but retired and I want to learn how to cast. Thank you, I will be watching... Be well...

[@JulianMakes]

Hi Ken, Welcome! Perry is awesome :)

[@johnparungao6844]

I went down a YT rabbit hole and it brought me here. This is amazing!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you so much John!

[@johnparungao6844]

@@JulianMakes Subbed BTW! You should post a video of your friends reactions to these awesome gifts!

[@rhdt]

Beautiful! I'm impressed by your progress. Thank you for sharing your findings! 👍

[@JulianMakes]

thank you so much Chris!

[@geometron3646]

Insane! Need to industrialise this process, give some youngsters some jobs, sell them out on Etsy/Amazon, these could go for 75-150 each depending on profit/volume! Aesthetics of using these would make every gym session a joy.

[@knorthcreative6701]

Absolutely beautiful!! I enjoyed watching the journey. Great craftsmanship

[@emilymiller1154]

This is so cool!! Loved the process - thanks for sharing

[@JulianMakes]

You are so welcome!

[@stromnessboy5171]

Really beautiful work, made all the more impressive by mastering the technical complexity of casting a hollow sphere. Well done, Sir! Well done!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you so much Stromness! this was a big one :)

[@KeithDonegan]

Brilliant stuff. I really want to learn how to make one now!

[@daslaundrynazi]

Very cool process. What an amazing and thoughtful gift.

[@JulianMakes]

thanks so much Mathis :)

[@marcdwyer912]

Fantastic craftsmanship well done

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you very much!

[@DavidDentonArt]

That was great Julian. They both look brilliant! And so shiny! I hope your instructors like them :)

[@JulianMakes]

thanks David :) yes they really did and it was a great suprise too!

[@IAMSatisfied]

Awesome project... Thanks for sharing! I was hoping to see you knurl the handles. 😉

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you so much! Oh god that would have been beyond me!

[@siddill5395]

Brilliant result and great entertainment. Thanks

[@JulianMakes]

sid dill cheers Sid!

[@tigerbomb508]

I wish I was one of your good friends, need one for train in jui jitsu. Absolutely brilliant work! Gorgeous!

[@tobhomott]

You're doing everything right. Amazing success! Congrats.

[@JulianMakes]

thank you Tobho Mott! :)

[@tricaexmachina2899]

I love this guy's energy

[@glumpy10]

Work of art mate. Absolutely Beautiful!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you so much mate :)

[@junglestrut]

absolutely gorgeous mate! cheers!!

[@rajhooblal5455]

Love your work Julian.

[@SciManDan]

Great stuff Julian. Loved it. What’s the next project?

[@JulianMakes]

cheers mate! not sure yet... i have some paintings i'm doing at the moment, so those might get posted next :) I need to start my nano-digger soon...

[@mrshodos]

Beautiful work!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you Tony!

[@jreda2000]

Nice job. Looks great.

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you!

[@jyotirani8232]

great

[@bossdog1480]

Good effort, came up a treat. Good to see something useful being made.

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@kennyj193]

Those are beautiful !

[@JulianMakes]

Cheers Kenny!

[@Isalys555]

awesome video! You can be proud of you :) The demolding part where you're happy as a child is very enjoyable !

[@JulianMakes]

haha thank you Isallys555 that's my favourite part! :)

[@MrRevengeracer]

wow, just wow dude, keep up the good work!

[@JulianMakes]

tom cow thank you so much Tom!

[@geoffreyacquaah272]

The polishing bit is very good and they are nice and shiny!

[@JulianMakes]

thank you Geoffrey, i do like a nice polish :) in fact i've just left the shed and i was polishing the thing i've cast (for 100th video) within an inch of it's life! cheers o/

[@jonathanbailey4904]

What was their reaction when you presented them?

[@marcostecmat]

Fantastic!

[@JulianMakes]

thanks so much Marcos!

[@thefunctionalbro]

wow its so PRETTY

[@JulianMakes]

thanks friend!

[@danielleifer4934]

Damn that’s a beautiful casting!

[@AlexanderWright1]

Those are awesome!

[@JulianMakes]

thank you Alexander!

[@Moerto16]

Stunning work!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@ranga8152]

This was such a good watch - kettelbells look wickeeeeeeeeeed

[@JulianMakes]

Ranjit Saimbi thanks ranjit!!!

[@user-ok1si9wx8r]

Very nice!

[@swdweeb]

Well done mate, well done!

[@JulianMakes]

Cheers mate, thanks for the help :)

[@slava_ua3083]

Very good job! Respect from Ukraine!!!

[@badhonebrahim7707]

u did worldclass work man

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you badhon!

[@badhonebrahim7707]

@@JulianMakes i just watched it again today man, still couldn't believe my eyes how beautiful it turned out to be.

[@capedmarauder]

Great work!

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bkailua1224]

Probably should fill the open space inside so if they get dropped on the ground they don't deform and dent.

[@AlyonaMoves]

If you need someone to give up her time for the next nine months to lead your kettlebell sessions let me know. Great craftsmanship! And I thought I'd never see better looking kettlebells than the primal gorilla ones. Don't ever consider stopping your regular uploads and before you know it, KZbin will be sending you more play buttons than you know what to do with.

[@JulianMakes]

Alyona Moves thank you so much Ayona!

[@opdgrow4life]

Absolutely amazing! These are the most beautiful kettlebells I've ever seen. How much you charge for a 46 kilo? 😂

[@luckygen1001]

Great kettle bell! How much was the bronze by the time it was shipped to your house? For your next casting adventure a successful iron casting.

[@JulianMakes]

cheers Lucky! after delivery an order of 10kg of bronze was costing me about £155! (ouch)... but i've since found a new source which is less than half that, but i have to order more at a time and delivery is more (it's a pallet). but it still works out WAY WAY cheaper. I'm definitly going to try iron one day. I need to upgrade the furnace first. i'm getting sick of the air compressor going all the time and it's pushing damp/wet air which really hinders my max temp. I might alter my furnace into one like Colin Pecks "Iron Casting Waste Oil Furnace" - i've just got his book, it's basically a oil drip furnace with conventional air blower (but the oil/air is preheated i think).

[@lower7215]

please make a video casting barbell plates or hexagon dumbbells

[@JulianMakes]

oooh there's a great idea thank you!

[@Cavemantraining]

Fantastic, that must be so awesome to make them.

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you so much Cavemantraining! Brilliant to find out those pictures at the start are of you! ive updates the links below to add your channel. Thank you so much for uploading the pics and i've subbed (your channel is awesome!)

[@Cavemantraining]

@@JulianMakes Thanks man, that's awesome.

[@jasoncdebussy]

The kettlebells are beautiful. What a fantastic present for your friends. How were they received?

[@JulianMakes]

oooh thank you! they bloody loved them! it was a super suprise!

[@peterm85]

Did you close them off? Just wondering if that lead would ever come off the bronze during use.

[@JulianMakes]

Hi peter! no i didn't in the end. i've not heard that they've come undone yet - i guess they might if they get dropped, but the inside surface of the bronze was very very rough so i'm hoping the lead has a really good hold. If they do seperate... i'd just push a load of epoxy round the join :)

[@smallcnclathes]

Only three minutes in and this is great! Nine minutes and that looks brilliant. Few videos on KZbin produce better than that. They are excellent, you have come a long way, you must have a good teacher.

[@swdweeb]

Yeah that American bloke has been a huge help ;-D

[@JulianMakes]

thank you so much!!! and lol yes i have several! :)

[@JulianMakes]

@@swdweeb you know it!

[@GuruJoeOG]

The only thing you need to do next time is calculate the backfill weight of brass and complete the job. If you leave lead exposed you have the chance of sending particles airborne (not great for deep lung exhalation/inhalation exercise). The brass looks great and your craftsmanship is superb.

[@AlliPrice371]

Maybe backfill with PU foam?

[@nashaelindseth8526]

Wow beautiful 👌🏽

[@JulianMakes]

nashae lindseth thank you Nashae!

[@anthonycraig274]

I would love bronze kettlebells

[@JulianMakes]

so would I :) i really should make some more (keep one for myself this time) and do a giveaway, what a great idea! Keep an eye out and i'll do just that. cheers Julian

[@anthonycraig274]

@@JulianMakes The only critique, maybe the handles could be wider, more room for double hold. The last project this exciting was gold AirPods. I only got half way through watching this last night. I had to comeback to finish watching it. What a fantastic project.

[@JulianMakes]

@@anthonycraig274 thanks so much Anthony! and i agree on the handles. I will make some adjustments :)

[@healthwealth.fitness7824]

Awesome work. Would you be interested in making a custom mold and kettle?

[@mamamheus7751]

Just because languages are my 'thing', maximally and maximumly are synonyms, so you were right both times. I love those kettlebells! Hope your friends loved them too :-) Just a thought, have you considered combining all of your artistic/technical skills and creating something which uses them all? Like a miniature village, (not too tiny) or something. You could even cast tiny working church bells! You could charge people to come visit :-) It would be amazing to do something like that. I've always dreamed of being that talented ::sigh::

[@JulianMakes]

Mam Amheus thank you Mam! They really did like them :) I’m not sure about a whole village (I’m not that patient) but I would love to make a bell. That would be a fun one. :)

[@capeto95]

Did you put something on the bottom to cover the hole?

[@JulianMakes]

i didnt in the end i had no time. i thing some epoxy might be a good idea for next time.

[@user-hd6ij7qy1l]

👍👍👍Very nice, good luck

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you

[@waveexistence3512]

I need to freaking do this

[@tigran1087]

very nice man. it turned out very nicely. let's make some weights more, let's say 16kg

[@thienphuphan9118]

Hello, I gona aks you something, Dose outer shell you made by cooper and core by lead? Thanks.

[@JulianMakes]

the outer shell is Bronze (copper and tin with a little aluminium) :) the center core is lead

[@thienphuphan9118]

@@JulianMakes thanks so much! They're great.

[@joesask857]

NICE

[@movewithjamie]

How did your class instructors like their new bells?

[@JulianMakes]

Omg they loved them! They were so surprised :)

[@movewithjamie]

Julian HG did you ever make more for yourself?

[@d3r4g45]

at home* has a furnace, metal workshop at home*

[@JulianMakes]

exactly! it's in my shed in my garden :)

[@fickyrisher]

That's a massive pair of big brass... Bell's😉

[@fickyrisher]

You would think that the lead would have warped the bronze shell? The end result is beautiful congrats

[@breadman5048]

Isn’t lead dangerous?

[@JulianMakes]

Shuaib Ahmed most things are. If you drop it on your foot it’s going to hurt! You probably mean the molten lead though, it’s fine as long as you don’t burn yourself, the temperature to evaporate lead into the atmosphere is vastly higher than its melting point, and I did it in a very drafty shed and only the twice and I’ve never done it since. If you were melting lead on a daily basis though I think it might be more of a concern :)

[@breadman5048]

@@JulianMakes yeah I just mean the health dangers, not burning yourself. you obv have some experience with this, but isn't everyone always afraif of lead poisoning?

[@tigran1087]

please make 2 dumbbells 10 kg each. like

[@bigstackD]

😁👌🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻🍻🍻🍻

[@JulianMakes]

cheers mate! :)

[@arkunk8510]

***At home***

[@JulianMakes]

yep! in my shed in my garden :)

[@perrychills]

Please use gloves while grinding, amazing results.

[@JulianMakes]

Great idea mate I did cut myself

[@mikesiegel4039]

@@JulianMakes I'm thinking you might want a respirator while pouring lead too? Beautiful work!

[@d3r4g45]

paraffine wax is your friend

[@RKCjsstevens]

Absolutely awesome abs beautiful.

[@JulianMakes]

Thank you!

[@sherzodbekganiyov1882]

Гиря серебристые а вот твоя рука золотые