Casting an aluminum bell - full version

[@olfoundryman8418]

Ah, the sweet taste of success. Particularly love the logo. Well done my friend well done... Martin

[@swdweeb]

Thank you sensei ;-)

[@RockCreekEnterprisesNM]

I watched them both, and I prefer the long version. I like how you sped up non talking/ non important parts but slowed back down for explanation. Oh yeah, Nice job!! Merry Christmas

[@swdweeb]

Yeah I’m with you on that, me too;-)

[@jrsemporium5579]

Tisk tisk.... No trial close....Also true grit one of my all time favorites... That and open range!! Awesome bell!! I can’t wait to see you do one in bronze!!

[@swdweeb]

Yeah they did a great job on the remake of True Grit. Open Range is with Duvall and Costner right? I think that is the only one of Costner's movies that I liked. I love the opening to the final shoot out in that one ;-)

[@jrsemporium5579]

swdweeb also I started to prep the coins you made me... I promise to cast them in either brass or bronze before 2019 is over😂😂

[@swdweeb]

Tell you what, I'll race you to see who casts your coins first ;-)

[@jrsemporium5579]

swdweeb Lol you’re on!

[@nallasivam3612]

lovely and this is not bell it is your passion...sounding well like bell

[@swdweeb]

You’re right ;-)

[@mikebarton3218]

Can't wait to see the next bell. Nice one mate...

[@swdweeb]

Hopefully... hopefully... right after Christmas. Thanks

[@SkullyWoodMetal]

Congratulations! What a great achievement and inspiration. You have me wanting just to pour my first casting.

[@swdweeb]

Do it man... all it takes is time and money... and money ;-) Thanks for the comment. I really appreciate it. Let us know when you do that firwst casting. It can't be any worse than my first one ;-)

[@SkullyWoodMetal]

@@swdweeb I have only cast ingots so far. I will be posting a video of my furnace on Friday AM.

[@swdweeb]

Super, I'll watch for it

[@jamesallen2681]

Watched them both, excellent job

[@swdweeb]

Thank you James

[@askquestionstrythings]

Ramble on my friend, Ramble on. It's about time you did the bell... now you just need to do it with aluminum bronze.

[@swdweeb]

You know me, can't keep my mouth shut :-D Tin bronze is the plan, 80Cu/20Sn.

[@franglish9265]

@@swdweeb is the tin bronze more resonant? I wonder why Aluminium-bronze isn't used, perhaps it is not suitably resonating.

[@swdweeb]

@@franglish9265 That I don't know. If my flask holds together after I re-pour the tin-bronze, I'll pour an aluminum bronze bell and we can ring all three.

[@kevinwatson5833]

Awesome job sir great looking bell i now have bell envy

[@swdweeb]

Gee.. generally the bell-shaped nature of my upper torso doesn't inspire such things but... ;-) Thanks Kevin

[@johnmccanntruth]

Congrats! Good job on the bell, I’m ready to see the next one.

[@swdweeb]

Sure John, easy for you to say :-D Thanks

[@tobhomott]

Awesome result! I like that the 'talky' version had a good explanation of how the lettering/logo can be done in a sand mold, which many watching may not have seen before. The short version was fun too though. Anyhow, the bell sounds pretty good... y'know, for an aluminum bell...😉 The bronze one is gonna sound and look great! Looking forward.

[@swdweeb]

I hope so, if not, I'm blaming it on the bronze recipe that you gave me ;-) Thanks bud. Truth be told I like the talky version much better myself. I don't think we're alone as it has more than twice the views of the quickie.

[@askquestionstrythings]

I like your little lettering mold, interesting use of 3D printing for a complex shape like that family logo.

[@swdweeb]

Even using the printer, it was a bit of a challenge to do. I ended up projecting a flat 2-D image onto the bell's outer surface then cut away much lf the bell after I did that.

[@viewer7200]

turn it on a lathe and get a proper chime ... now, it barely rings. also check the correct alloy for best vibration .

[@swdweeb]

Only two problems with that; I still don't have a lathe 😒 and that bell is long gone. I poured it 5 years ago to work on technique. I never intended to actually use it as a bell.

[@viewer7200]

@@swdweeb ok, you`re the boss... I remember that many years ago one of our cooking pots had an aluminum lid, about 12 in in diam. and It had an amazingly long tone. That is why I made a search for aluminum bells. The rim of that lid was very thin, maybe that`s what gave it a pleasant sound. Good work, anyway.

[@swdweeb]

@@viewer7200 I don't know about being the boss, I've got A LOT to learn. I've seen people pouring aluminum bells but I've never really paid too much attention to the thickness of the walls. You're probably absolutely correct that thin walls will ring better. I've poured other flat thin parts in aluminum that actually ring pretty nice... nicer than this bell anyway 😀

[@sarigiannis2002]

I knew you would find inspiration again! Great video and awesome skills! Revolting casting character!

[@swdweeb]

Thanks. Revolting casting character??

[@sarigiannis2002]

@@swdweeb all cast from above bells you cast from below!

[@swdweeb]

Ah... revolting as in going against the next norm. I read it as revolting like something that is disgusting :-D. English is so wonderful ;-)

[@MoondyneJoe]

Congrats Perry nice Job, very impressive it will be interesting to hear the tone difference between Aluminium and bronze Tony from Western Australia

[@swdweeb]

Thanks Tony. Yeah, I'm interested to hear it as well

[@CraigLYoung]

Kudos and Merry Christmas!

[@swdweeb]

Merry Christmas to you as well Craig. Thanks

[@askquestionstrythings]

Nice sounding bell. excellent pour.

[@swdweeb]

Now you're just being polite ;-) According to my guitar tuner it is an out of tune "b"

[@askquestionstrythings]

swdweeb who am I to argue with a tuner, I'm so poorly trained in music that I can't tell. but it's nothing a little metal reduction wouldn't fix. From what I've seen Bell casters usually machine the inside on a lathe to tune the bells.

[@swdweeb]

@@askquestionstrythings Yeah, I've seen that too. If only I had a low-speed lather and the the instrumentation know what my metal removal was doing :-)

[@askquestionstrythings]

@@swdweeb I guess it depends on how far out of tune it is. I don't think you could go wrong if you chucked it up from the top nub in your drill press, run it at the lowest speed and use a coarse sanding sponge (maybe 60 or 80 grit) to take some off the inside. Take it out, check it with the guitar tuner, and see where it lands. Chuck it up again and make another adjustment, repeat until your happy with the sound. Just a guess from videos I've seen and the U.S. bell my father has (similar size to the one you made) that you want to focus removing metal about 1/3 down from the top and at the bottom lip.

[@RockingJOffroad]

Wow that came out nice! It will make a nice dinner bell!

[@swdweeb]

Ha! Does it look like I've ever missed a dinner? ;-) Thank you!

[@markfryer9880]

Nice job Perry

[@swdweeb]

Thanks Mark :-)

[@WhatDennisDoes]

I just realized we have very similar welding tables. :) Interesting problem with the logo, I never thought about that before. It came out great! Can't wait to get back on my foundry project.

[@swdweeb]

Wait, your welding table is covered in junk too?? :-D Yeah, I've seen that technique of pressing the letters in after its rammed in a couple of videos for real bells.

[@GaryForgingOn]

Very Nice work. That is a beautiful bell.

[@swdweeb]

Thanks Gary

[@jondoes8222]

I have made 25 12 inch farm bells and 2 16 inch ones. I pour from the top and use no sprues. It works like a charm in aluminum with a zinc alloy.. Since i do mine outside on the ground, I only need one cope box. After mold is set i pack very wet sand around the box to catch any run away metal. It works 99 percent. I use dowel rods to keep everything aligned.

[@swdweeb]

Hey Ron. When you say 12 inch and 16 inch, how is that measured, The diameter of the rim or the height of the bell?

[@BrianDaleNeeley]

Congratulations! Bells aren't the easiest things to cast (or so I've heard). Not that I've heard of that many bell casting stories.

[@swdweeb]

What?? That's all I hear guys talking about in the gym locker room. ;-) I don't think they're the easiest thing to pour but quite honestly this really wasn't all that hard to do. Lifting all of that sand was the hardest part.

[@gavsgarage22]

rambling is awesome! i prefer to see the melt aswell though, the ring of the bell will sustain longer once its freely mounted on string or similar, your fingers are absorbing the vibration

[@swdweeb]

That is definitely the case if I move my hand down the bell towards the rim. Personally, and realize that I know nothing, I think the sustain is due to three factors, the shape, the thickness and I expect the real culprit, the material. We'll find out if I'm able to cast the same bell using tin bronze soon.

[@gavsgarage22]

@@swdweeb try drilling a hole through the top part and hanging it on a rope, should be much better, keep up the great videos!

[@timrauscher3965]

I wonder if the different metals would pour differently, hence your observation of the others who would pour from the top.

[@swdweeb]

WE'll find that out when I cast the bronze version. I really don;t plan to do it any differently

[@timrauscher3965]

@@swdweeb great, I'll be looking for it.

[@diydarkmatter]

nice job would love to see you do one in brass .

[@swdweeb]

queue the "Jaws" music... it's coming ;-) Hopefully next week.

[@diydarkmatter]

@@swdweeb awesome subbed and bells rung looking forward to it

[@swdweeb]

Just checked out some of your videos. Man you're making me hungry and I just finished breakfast :-D Thanks brother.

[@diydarkmatter]

@@swdweeb i dont really do cooking videos much but there fun and more work then you think no room for mistakes lol . thanks for checking my channel out very cool of you .

[@hansolo5967]

You know what. When I saw your posting of a new video. I instantly checked and saw both versions. Long and Short. And I told myself. Dude fuck it! I want it all! Now. So yes ofc I would watch the long=normal version. I want it all. I did and I have to say Very nice work. Well done. I had my doubts with the imprinting of the logo into the finished mold. But hell yeah worked perfectly. Again good job and merry christmas.

[@swdweeb]

Thanks Han! I've seen that technique in other videos of real bell makers making real bells. ;-) Merry Christmas to you and Leia as well :-D

[@justsaying833]

Looks awesome fantastic great job man just wow

[@swdweeb]

Why, thank you.

[@fasted5822]

Great work !!

[@swdweeb]

Thanks!

[@dhc4ever]

Well done Quasimoto, continued employment during the festive season. 😉 I was wondering why you were vidieoing the end of your table and the fasinating collection of used grinding discs you've collected, oh its a bell, nice. Merry Christmas Perry to you and your family and a happy new year. Looking forward to your next adventure. Cheers

[@swdweeb]

yeah yeah... ;-) I get so focused on screwing up what I'm working on that I forget to check on the camera that I'm screwing up. Merry Christmas to you and yours as well :-D

[@emmanuelwilson252]

My men bigstackD ask me to come here,so thumbs up mate 👍👍👍

[@swdweeb]

BigD is a great guy. Thanks for coming by.

[@cecil6711]

Excellent work sir. :-) I am a south paw as well. (We are in our right minds. lol)

[@williamfindspeople4341]

Imagine what it was like to cast the Liberty Bell no wonder if cracked LOL

[@swdweeb]

I cant even imagine the effort involved to cast a bell of that size. Just melting that much bronze boggles my mind.

[@samiam7]

More bells!

[@swdweeb]

I agree! ;-D

[@moisesojeda5647]

i probably missed it but where/how did you get the mold?

[@swdweeb]

I modeled the bell and then printed it on a 3-D printer

[@GeekGuyMJ]

Success! Great job friend! I know you wanted to do that for a while.

[@swdweeb]

Thanks. I'm looking forward to the bronze casting

[@SV_Try_Magic]

dont bells usually have a ring at the top to hang them?

[@swdweeb]

Depends on the bell. Some do, some have canons, some simply have a hole in them

[@csorgatz]

You didnt say what your reason was, for pouring in the opposite direction then the professionals do?

[@swdweeb]

If you're referring to pouring from the bottom up, it is entirely about reducing turbulence in the metal while it fills the bell. Turbulence results in porosity. I've got other videos on that phenomenon like these kzbin.info/aero/PLU1QP34Dv8Y6-qXska4MOagRMSVWan40k but there are "professionals" that see the benefit as well. This is a great video from a bell foundry in Austria kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2K1aJSMg7yVrbM. They fill from the bottom.

[@valsforge4318]

Way to go!!!

[@swdweeb]

Thanks!

[@vrhovskizvonovi4063]

what is this white dust? baby powder?

[@swdweeb]

It probably was. I used to use that but I don't now. I use silicon-free diamond part parting compound now.

[@vrhovskizvonovi4063]

@@swdweeb Ok thanks for answer :)

[@swdweeb]

Just looked at your channel and am interested in some of your videos. I'll have to watch after I get off work today.

[@smallcnclathes]

Not a lot of sustain because the bell is hanging on to human? Better if it was suspended?

[@swdweeb]

I suppose, but how do hand-held bells ring? I might mount this one just to see. You're not the first to suggest that I suspend it.

[@junioryhmmbsamer9882]

Nossa adorei.

[@swdweeb]

Te agradece!

[@t-seriesbollywoodsong4042]

Ap gold se ak toloar banake dikaie

[@ronyerke9250]

👍 🎅

[@swdweeb]

Thanks Ron

[@junkyardzombie13]

Is there anything you can use to take up space of the sand. Not around the piece, but in some of the outter bits? Just to save weight?

[@swdweeb]

Sure, blocks of wood could be screwed into the corners or something. I think I've already done that in this flask, I can't remember.

[@junkyardzombie13]

@@swdweeb I think you said you had those ridges. You have quite the back of got videos to work through.

[@swdweeb]

@@junkyardzombie13 I'd ignore some of the early casting stuff, like anything before Sept 14 2018. Nothing but bad technique in there. That should help reduce the load :-D

[@junkyardzombie13]

@@swdweeb sometimes watching mistakes helps understand more when you see it perfected.

[@swdweeb]

@@junkyardzombie13 True enough, but the mistakes like big open sprues, "choking", bad runner and gate design,... aren't pointed out as mistakes and people could get the idea of "this is the way I should do it" when in fact they shouldn't. As I write this, the thought crossed my mind that I should simply mark a lot of those as private so they can't be viewed. I'll have to think about that.

[@theannoyedmrfloyd3998]

You're not a dweeb.

[@swdweeb]

The name comes from the fact that for the first 30+ years of my career I either wrote software or managed software development. I still write it for fun... now if that doesn't make be a dweeb I don't know what does. Maybe I'm a renaissance dweeb :-D

[@bearsharkp3901]

Bro. Do work. Thinking out loud last night I says eh I think I could cast a bell how would you make the molds. I decided that the flask would be really tall. I never considered gabe a cope and drag that are not symmetrical. Kind of a duh moment but then that's why we post stuff and help people get out of thinking traps.

[@swdweeb]

Indeed. Thanks. There are other practical points, it was heavy as it was, making a tall drag...aye yi yi. Then of course, I pretty much ran out of sand with what I had ;-)