Maserati long pulley half casting

[@ludditeneaderthal]

your "secret weapon" pattern lifter is yet another example of that ozzie "seat of the pants engineering" i admire so much!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Luddite, Yep, I can claim this secret weapon as all my own work from stuff on hand. I was well pleased with it... Martin

[@ludditeneaderthal]

brilliant in it's simplicity, i must say! i'm constantly overjoyed your nation has no world dominance agenda, as i'm convinced you crafty devils would assemble some game changer wonder weapon from old beer cans and recycled jam jars and subjugate us all if you did, rofl!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Luddite. No world dominance agenda? You might not think that if you listened to some of our ex politicians 😏 Don't know about old beer cans and jam jars but our lads did have a certain reputation with the bayonet Hmm beer cans and jam jars now that's got me thinking - today the tip tomorrow the world He He ho ho. ha ha.. Martin

[@ludditeneaderthal]

@@olfoundryman8418 lol, now I've put my foot in it!

[@skorpiworm]

What is that powder you put on top of every pour?

[@theonlybuzz1969]

At least you can say that you have overcome the difficulties of making the replacement part into a reasonable finish, it’s certainly better than what some other people who cast at home can perform . You make some great products with the facilities that you have, good on ya . Keep up the great job and we’re going to keep an eye out for your next video, cheers

[@olfoundryman8418]

Phil, Thank you for saying so. All it took was 60 years of practice😏... Martin

[@tobhomott]

Wow, that was a crazy molding job! Well done. The magic pattern lifting gizmo worked great.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Tobho, Yep, you ain't just whistling Dixie! It was a bit crazy - what one has to do for the old car fraternity. MY advice is that if an old car owner approaches you with a pattern in his hand do NOT answer the door! Always hard and never enough money to cover the effort. Yes thee lifting thingie did work well but If I really was a good moulder I would not need it!. ..Martin

[@shanemiller6947]

Thanks you are a very good teacher I'm learning may tricks from you 😀 I like your sand making tools will be building some like that keep on molding brother best wishes across the pond

[@olfoundryman8418]

Shane. Best wishes back from this side 😊... Martin

[@MrCzto]

A true master at work! Shame you have so little followers, if somebody should make money of his videos, then it's you! Please don't stop teaching us how it's done!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Christoph, Thank you for your comment. I too think the low follower base a pity, its not that I am trying to make money but rather that I am trying to pass on what I believe to be better ways of doing foundry stuff than some of the better know channels peddle. I need followers to achieve this aim - at least as many as the more popular foundry channels have as a minimum but I am nowhere near it! 😞. I think its a fact that most people watch YT to be entertained not to learn something - sad but true. they would rather watch molten metal poured into a watermelon than learn how to make a good casting The watermelon video will get millions of hits, my videos, eh, maybe a couple of thousand on average if I am lucky. No good whinging about it as it is what it is and I will just keep plugging away as long as I can... Martin

[@sblack48]

It's like banging your head against a wall - feels so good when you stop! Very interesting and educational. Looks like you pulled out every trick in the book.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rv4, When it was over and done and I had the castings in my hand, you are right, it sure did feel good. a few tricks pulled for sure but I know a few more.... Martin

[@sblack48]

Olfoundryman save the spoiled pulleys to throw at that customer if you see him coming towards your front door again!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rv4, Sounds like a plan!... Martin

[@headstocktailstock]

Excellent Martin [as usual!!]

[@rocky2615]

Absolutely enjoying your videos and thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge and wisdom

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rocky, My pleasure mate, and I am glad that you like the videos... Martin

[@stormtaker63]

I love watching you work, such an expert on this stuff. Keep them coming I'm learning a lot from you

[@olfoundryman8418]

Marty, I am trying but recent spinal problems have me at a bit of a loss. These videos I did before surgery and when the ones in the can run out I may not have any more -- we will see though - I have a few ideas for informative videos on casting that do not involve moulding and melting etc which at the moment I can not do.... Martin

[@stormtaker63]

@@olfoundryman8418 I am very sorry to hear this. I hope you get better. Maybe its time to do some video's with a apprentice, let them do all the heavy work. Your knowledge is priceless. What ever you decide I'll be watching. Good luck

[@olfoundryman8418]

Marty, Last visit to neuro surgeon (yesterday) was reasonably positive with the surgery having improved things in my neck. It is still a wait and see as to how much better I will get and there is in addition still further surgery that can possibly be carried out - many months before I face that possibility though. Its a let time pass thing... Martin PS. Re apprentice to find someone stupid enough to take it on yet smart enough to do it is the problem

[@bigstackD]

Damn Martin that Ramming tool is bloody awesome, saved you a heap of time and effort good thinking even the big popular casting channels don’t have the brains to make something like that😁👍🏻.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Bigstack, Well, I did not make the sand rammer either! See4 my reply to Amalgamous Proxy above. In truth though such rammers are best suited to bigger work where they really do save a lot of time. I got this one to ease the load on my hands after 8 operations on them I decided I needed something to take the strain off a little... Martin

[@dfross87]

8 operations before you decided to ease the strain?!? What if your hands had not recovered, and you'd never been able to grasp a cold glass of beer again? It just doesn't bear thinking about. Look after yourself Martin.

[@olfoundryman8418]

dfross, Thank you for your kind thoughts. It is possible to hold a glass between ones knees and roll back with ones lips on the glass! However unlike the vast majority of foundrymen who are known world wide to be great elbow benders I no longer drink - strictly tea only! True story... Martin

[@garymucher9590]

Not exactly know what they will be used for, but brilliant casting none the less. Your patience and persistence is commendable. You can tell you know what you are doing for certain. Thumbs Up!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Gary, All I know is that it is some sort of pulley that turns at engine speed (about 8000 rpm). Thanks for the "thumbs up"... Martin

[@rlewis1946]

New sub here from the Colonies! Fantastic skills and results. I hope your pouring assistant is well paid, of course. 😁👍👍 Best wishes, Roy Lewis Buffalo, NY

[@olfoundryman8418]

Roy, Thanks for the sub. Assistant doesn't get paid that well - hmm - perhaps that's why she complains a little 😏. "From the colonies" are "them" not fighting words in the US. I too am a colonial, from the great southern land.. Martin

[@sparkydave2783]

Lovely work Martin!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Sparky, Thank you, but to be honest it was not my best work. The customer was happy though and that is what really counts... Martin

[@shaneomacgardner4034]

G'day Martin, I've just discovered your channel and have learnt much- even after a LOT of viewing elsewhere to gain some knowledge on the subject... So a big thankyou is in order. Just a thought... when ramming around the feeders I wonder if a custom ram would help, maybe a ring shape with an internal diameter of a loose sliding fit around the feeder you're using. Just a thought, could help with positioning by ramming equally around the base. Or it could make a mess... 😅 Anyway good onya mate love your work 👍

[@olfoundryman8418]

Shaneo, Sadly, and even If I do say this from a possible self promotion point of view, much of the info on YT varies from not helpful to very wrong and downright misleading and its damn hard to know which is good info and which is not. A ring shaped rammer suffers from a couple of problems, firstly I have a large number of feeder formers of very different sizes. Secondly my feeder formers are tapered to a smaller diameter for about the lower third - not sure how a ring shaped rammer would handle that. Perhaps though a curved (as distinct from a ring) rammer might be of some use. I will have to try it .... Martin

[@WarGrade]

We all have bad days, even on a cast we have done time and time again! Nice work as usual mate.

[@olfoundryman8418]

War, If there were no bad days how would we know what a good day is? 😀.. Martin

[@petersilva4242]

Very informative,i hope to be half as successful as you one day,lol.what is the power you teaspoon on to the risers after pouring?. cheers mate, looking forward to the next lesson

[@olfoundryman8418]

peter,. 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 PS, Success is just a matter of practice and a desire to do it better each time..

[@arkadybron6120]

It would be nice to see a still of the final finished piece on your videos. Other than that though, they are exceptionally well made and interesting documents.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Arkady, I quite agree! I would like to see the finished piece too, but I don't usually do the machining so I never get to see it finished either! I always ask for finished photos but sometimes they are months later and thus after the video has been posited - if I ever do get them of course. I always try to put a still or two of the castings as they leave me and I think that most of my videos at least have these. The throttle bodies that I used to cast can be seen all finished and ready to fit (available for sale at) EFI Hardware... Martin

[@andydelarue9344]

Thanks for that , good to watch , please take the rest of the week off.cheers

[@olfoundryman8418]

Andy, Rest of the week definitely taken off!... Martin

[@EmmaRitson]

very nice work! enjoyed.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Emmas, Glad you liked it... Martin

[@peterxyz3541]

That air hammer!!!!!!! 👍🏼

[@olfoundryman8418]

Peter, Yep, - I love it although its better suited to moulds larger than I usually made... Martin

[@mkelleyp7]

Martin, hello from the States! I really enjoy your videos. The core making process is very interesting. What determines if you use CO2 or Heat in making the cores? I was amazed at how small the sprue was for such a big casting. Beautiful work!

[@olfoundryman8418]

MIke, The silicate CO2 process is a cold core making method, the CO2 gas sets off the sodium silicate mixed in the sand. It is a process that can be done in wooden core boxes so it more suits just a few castings. Silicate cores do not always store well so I like to use them within a day or two of making. They are a fairly strong core but still have to be handled with some care. The breakdown of the core after casting can be very difficult although I find that the addition of 0.5% glucose powder to the mix eases that problem. Silicate cores - at least as I make them - give out a fair bit of gas and require careful venting if the casting is not to be ruined by gas from the core. The process I use that involves heat is the shell core process - it uses a sand precoated (you buy it like that) with a plastic resin. When poured into a hot metal mould the heat first melts and then cures the resin. The cores are usually made (very easily) as a shell. This process produces a core that is hard and strong and can be handled quite roughly, it will store on the shelf for years and has lower gas output during casting and its hollow nature makes venting easy. Breakdown is good providing the core is a shell - smaller sections (of core) where the core may be solid can be a bit more difficult to remove from the casting. I prefer the shell process but it does require a hot (180 deg C) and therefore metal mould to make the core in. Its a question of will the job justify a shell core or are we stuck with a wooden core box and therefore a silicate CO2 one. There are other core processes out there some of which are even better but perhaps a bit more difficult for the hobby caster to use. Sprue size, Most foundries, amateur and professional alike, use sprues that are way too big (and usually too high too) Why have a 1 inch diameter sprue and then pour a 1/2 metal stream down it - what's that all about? Large sprues are the single most potent cause of poor casting quality. Good castings demand a small sprue that runs full during the entire casting process. Large sprues suck in air which leads to increased oxide and hydrogen levels in the metal. They also cause a lot of metal splash that can erode mould walls and cause miss-fills from the isolated bits of the splashed metal. Not to mention occasional large bubbles of trapped air and a greater tendency to miss runs from the chaotic rather than smooth front fills, plus general porosity and rough surface finish. Large sprues are evil and their use should be punishable by death - well at least the users box of matches should be taken away 😏 I have used that sprue to fill castings of 3 Kg (might take 25 seconds to fill the mould!) with great success - most people try to fill too quickly and thus pour way to fast. That sprue has a bottom diameter of 5/16 inch and a top diameter of 1/2 inch it is 4 inches high although not all of that height is used. Sprues are only part of the equation, you need a decent pouring basin on top of it (the one used here is not all that good!) and good gating below it - not always easy.... Martin

[@mkelleyp7]

Olfoundryman Thanks Martin for the great information. I look forward to your next project!

[@Volcker1929]

Very nice job sir.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Volcker, thank you... Martin

[@dpworks7751]

What is it that you put on top of the risers

[@olfoundryman8418]

DP, 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 job is to catch fire and generate a lot of heat, this helps to keep the feeders liquid for longer so they are better able to provide feed for the solidifying casting underneath.... Martin

[@dpworks7751]

Thank you

[@smallcnclathes]

Interesting to see no basin being used. Re that of which we spoke, 2 only at start

[@sass1ap]

What is the reason for putting the core in in two pieces instead of assembling the 2 core pieces and then dropping it in ?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Cap'n. No can do. The two cores do not touch each other in the mould, there is an anulus of metal between them. Believe me if I could have I would have 😊… Martin

[@TheJohndeere466]

I am trying to pour a block of aluminum 6" x 8" x 5" tall and its pretty much solid except for 2 cores. Its a cylinder head with the 2 cores for intake and exhaust. I am putting 2- 3" risers on the top about 3" tall but I am getting some holes down in the casting between the 2 cored holes. How could I prevent this? Maybe some of those insulated riser tubes like you use here. I assume the risers are getting solid before the center of the casting.

[@olfoundryman8418]

James, Have we not spoken about this before? 6*8*5 is a big chunk of metal, 2 off 3* 3 feeders are just not in the race - way, way too small a volume and size. Unless those cores are large and therefore take a lot of metal volume away from the 6*8*5 you have not got a hope and I would expect lot of porosity depending on the alloy - either dispersed just about all through the casting or if a narrower freezing range alloy, right in the center under the two small feeders and therefore I guess between the two cores. The way I see it you have 4 choices :- 1, lighten out that 6*8*5 by sculpting its outside - to me this seems to be essential - no cylinder head needs to be that solid ??? Or am I wrong? 2, Massively increase the size of the feeders. Remember they must be big enough to solidify AFTER the casting. The therefore have to be thicker and have a higher Volume/Mass squared ratio. Typically feeders are at least 1.25 times the thickness of the part. The use of insulating sleeves and even exothermic sleeves plus exothermic topping can drastically reduce the massive size increase needed. But remember that not only must the feeders stay liquid longer they must also contain enough liquid metal (as the casting goes solid) to feed that casting when the feeder itself is also partially solid by this time, so a small very hot feeder will not do either -it will simply be sucked dry before the casting is completely fed. 3, Chill the underside(?) of the casting 4, Some combination of the above 3 Good luck and let us know what you try and what happens.... Martin

[@TheJohndeere466]

@@olfoundryman8418 thanks for the reply. This will eventually be for a pulling tractor so it doesn't need water for cooling because it will only run for 20 seconds or so. I am just experimenting with this in aluminum. The final casting will be iron. This one I am casting is the size of 1 cyl. The final will be 6 cyl. Or 6 times this long. I will have a commercial foundry cadt the final one out of iron. I just need to make a pattern and am experimenting to see what works best while casting. The problem with a larger riser is it would be right above where the core prints are for the intake and exhaust cores. How could I make a chill? Just a large thick steel plate under the mold? How close would it need to be to the molten metal?

[@olfoundryman8418]

James, The chill can be aluminium, cast iron, steel, or even graphite. It has to be thick and heavy. The molten metal needs to sit against it. In this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZeVqZSbZ69sfqc I show the making of some chills. You either need to groove the chills like I do here or spray the (hot) chills with a gravity die coat. Grooved chills can be used cold, but sprayed need to be above 100 deg C. You can use ungrooved and unsprayed if hot but the surface finish you get will be bit ordinary. Try to lighten the sides of the casting and remember that you can use a 3 inch diameter connection to your feeders (as I assume that you are now) and rapidly taper the feeders up to 4 to 6 inch diameter at that diameter 2 to 3 inches above the casting feeder should be 4 to 5 inches high above the tapered section. This should not interfere with your core prints - it's a lot of metal to melt and cast though 😱... Martin

[@TheJohndeere466]

@@olfoundryman8418 Thanks again for the reply. I have a piece of 2" steel plate that I can put it the mold. One other thing, I am trying to mold this cylinder head with the head gasket surface up. I am coming into the side for the gates. It will eventually be machined on the head gasket surface, the valve cover surface and also on one side where the manifolds bolt on. Do you know which way a commercial foundry would mold it?

[@olfoundryman8418]

James, That 2" plate sounds to be worth a try. Clean the plate (no rust!) Heat it to about 200 deg C, preferably coat with a die spray but if not at least dust it lightly with some parting agent (or even talc) Put mould on top while plate is still hot pour petty much immediately. The only heads I have seen cast were via low pressure die at Nissan they were gasket face down, looking around on YT it would seem that most are cast this way.... Martin

[@damienmiller]

Great work. What is the heat treating process that you referred to at the end?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Damien, I do a sort of cheats T5 heat treatment. I water quench the casting as soon as its solid enough to safely remove from the mould, For thin work , say below 10 to 12mm the quench may not be necessary but castings should not be allowed to cool down in in the sand. Then after de-gating I age the castings at 165 deg C in a fan forced electric oven - (a domestic oven will do nicely, but it must be fan forced) for 8 hours - this is not actually a true T5 as that requires 8 hours at 225 deg C. But all I am chasing is improved machinability through increased hardness and the 165 deg C seems to work very well for that. One day though I must try it at 225 to see what difference I get. Note though, that I would NEVER use this heat treatment for safety critical work. For that I would send the castings out to be properly T6 heat treated. Also I would never attempt T6 myself as it is a very unforgiving process that requires good equipment with excellent temperature control and is know to inflict considerable "pain" on even good practitioners... Martin

[@ronyerke9250]

That pattern lifting tool (secret weapon) is pretty impressive. Can that "magic devise" also be used to install cores?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Ron, I built the device for a job where I have about a 5" lift with not too much draft It uses quiet high quality linear bearings ( I had them hanging around in my junk bin) They will probably work just fine until they fil up with sand 😀 I should not have needed them for this job but the pattern maker - a greatly skilled person - has a greater belief in my ability to lift patterns with little draft (on the ends in this cast) than I do! Could it be used to install cores - yes - if you could find a way of holding the core onto it an of lining the core and mould up properly... Martin

[@jkay3161]

i was wondering could you have fed the one core through the other then layed it in the mould just an observation

[@olfoundryman8418]

jkay, I did think about doing it the way you suggest. But I needed two hands to hold the long core and position it properly, that would have left the doughnut core just hanging on the long one. This risked damage to both cores where they touched. Also it would have been difficult to position the doughnut laterally properly and then it probably would have hung down on a bit of an angle making it very difficult to get in its core print properly. And finally the doughnut core has a little key that had to fit into a small notch in its core print meaning it had to be located circumferentially with some accuracy when loading - impossible to do while hanging onto the long core with both hands - I needed a third and perhaps fourth hand! … Martin

[@jkay3161]

I'd be willing to be the third and forth hand and learn from you only problem is I'm in the states and I don't think the family wants to move right now.

[@olfoundryman8418]

jkay, We have stupidly massive immigration anyway! Its ruining our cities as we are forced to move cheek by jowl just to fit these newcomers in when the majority of us do not want them and its all just to make a few people very rich! But we do have some advantages, no snow in winter for example however our politicians are as strange and as badly behaved (perhaps more so on both counts) as yours...martin

[@danharold3087]

Olfoundryman in the states people from the mega cities on the coasts, most notably California, are migrating to the inland cities. We don’t want them either.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Dan, Surprisingly no one seems prepared to talk about the BIG problem - population - there are just too many of us on this earth. I firmly believe that if our population was, say, half current levels most of our problems would damn near vanish. And yet this seems a sacred cow that we must not talk about. Our local governments are all about cramming in as many people as they can find. Our "target" of 25 million was reached 33 years early - yes 33 years - but our infrastructure is still 33 years behind, the lucky country no more... Martin

[@sass1ap]

This job looks like a hella pain in the arse, great job

[@olfoundryman8418]

Cap'n, Yeh, it was not my favourite job and it did not come out looking as good as I would have liked but about as well as I expected - the silicate cores give a bit of a rough finish.... Martin

[@stubbhub]

I'm curious about something - why not attach the two core pieces together and lay them into the mold as one piece instead of threading the long piece through the doughnut portion?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Mark. The long core and the doughnut core do not actually touch each other so they can not form one piece. There is clearance around the long core inside the doughnut core, this clearance fills with metal. I would have loved to have been able to load them in as one piece but alas, no, not possible.. Martin

[@stubbhub]

@@olfoundryman8418 Oh, OK, thank you sir. It just seemed to me that you could put the doughnut around the core and lower them in at the same time rather than attempt to feed the long core through the doughnut and possibly destroy the mold edges. You're the expert here, so by all means - carry on!

[@Preso58]

Magic work -again- . Just wondering about the pneumatic sand rammer. Is it a repurposed air chisel or a specialized foundry tool?

[@askquestionstrythings]

I know you can buy a specialized foundry tool, not sure if there are DIY repurposed option. The pneumatic sand rammers I've seen are in the $500 US price range.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Try It, Spot on, but mine was about $360.00 Australian. Japanese manufacture but bought via Amazon in the US. Some US companies make and sell a range of these starting a few years back at about $315.00 US retail. MOst DIY versions that I have seen lack the necessary stroke length to work properly... Martin

[@olfoundryman8418]

Mark, Specialised foundry tool, see my reply to Amalgamous proxy above. Air chisels do not have the 3 inch stroke that this device both has and needs... Martin

[@WarGrade]

BTW, nice lift assister, not seen you used that before

[@olfoundryman8418]

Andy, First time used in anger! It was actually made for a piston I have yet to make it has a 6 inch lift with not much draft. Luckily I had the two shaft, linear bearing, and casing assemblies to hand, just needed the quick frame and mounting blocks. I should not have needed it for this job but the pattern while beautifully made is very low on draft on the ends, so I thought it a good opportunity to try the lift out - sure did work nice... Martin

[@askquestionstrythings]

What are your thoughts on talc/cornstarch/calcium carbonate vs other parting dusts like graphite power?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Try It, The parting agent I use is calcium carbonate. it costs me about $2.00 per Kg for a 25 kg bag that would be about a life times supply for most hobby casters! 😀 Talc if bought at the local supermarket is about $10 per Kg so to me its a no brainer. There is some talk about Talc being not as benign as once thought and I know that at least some talcs contain silica dust - bad news. Also I do not like the cheap perfume in a lot of it. It is possible to buy talc in bulk for a much lower price, but then its a mineral sort of related to asbestos and one talc mine (in the US) was closed down as its output was found to contain asbestos. I am reasonably happy to work in the occasional cloud of calcium carbonate dust as some human body fluids dissolve it and what's a little extra calcium anyway - possibly a good thing - not so sure the same could be said about the talc. The talc sure seems to work Ok though. But rubbing it on the pattern as a lubricant to help the pattern come out is contrary to my experience which is that a little surface roughness (I get this from a matt paint) seems much better. Graphite is insoluble in the body and thus will build up and is know to cause a Black lung disease similar to that contracted by old time coal miners. I understand it is regarded as a carcinogen (but then what isn't?) I do use a little graphite in other areas but I would not be dusting it all over the place like I do with the calcium carbonate. I do not know anything of the corn starch - I would have thought it water soluble and therefore it would not work (on green sand) but I simply do not know anyone out there who does?... Martin

[@alarjak]

Loved your reaction when the phone rang...

[@olfoundryman8418]

Alarjak, Yep, Damn phone - always at the worst possible time 😏 … Martin

[@CerebralAilment]

Who's the oldfoundrywoman?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Cerebal, Sorry, she declines to be identified 😊.... Martin

[@MarkATrombley]

Why didn't you put the two cores together and put them into the mold as a unit instead of threading the one thru the other? I know there must be a reason but I don't see it.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Mark, Please see my reply to jkay3161, he asked the same most reasonable question... Martin

[@rabihhachem4813]

I have a big bronze door handle i need it 1 m length 7 cm width and 1 cm thickness what is the size of pattern should be made i dont want any shrinkage in my final cast

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rabih, That's one big mother of a door handle - a very big heavy mould and then there is the 6 Kg of bronze plus the feeders runners sprue and gates etc all up may be 10 Kg - BIG job - good luck with it. The ASM "source book on copper and copper base alloys" lists the following shrinkage allowances:- Copper 1/4 inch per foot Chromium Copper 1/4 Leaded red brass 3/16 Leaded yellow brass 5/32 to 1/4 Tin Bronze 3/16 to 7/32 Silicon bronze 7/32 Manganese bronze 1/4 to 5/16 Aluminium Bronze 7/32 to 11/32 Figures are in inches per foot so you will have to do some conversion to get them to something more useful!. For Brass and tin bronze I would use 3/16 per foot (1.56% but 1.5% is probably close enough) For aluminium bronze I use 1/4 inch per foot which is very close to 2% It may take a couple of goes to get it right as the mould material and how you ram it can have an effect particularly on something that long. I look forward to the video that I hope you are doing of it. It should be quite spectacular and so much better than someone wasting time by pouring metal into a watermelon!... Martin

[@rabihhachem4813]

I did the cast and the result was perfect and i had a small shrinkage but it is ok how can i contact you to show you the cast before making polish

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rabih, You can contact me on mmwestuppercase2hotkey.net.au. I very much look forward to seeing your casting - 1 metre long - that's quite impressive! What Bronze did you use and what shrinkage did you actually get?... Martin

[@rabihhachem4813]

Olfoundryman i tried to open the link but there is a problem i am not able to open it Do you have whatsap ??

[@olfoundryman8418]

@@rabihhachem4813 You have to substitute "@" for "uppercase2" … Martin

[@henrybartlett1986]

Brilliant.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Henry, Thank you for saying so. But to be honest it was not one of my better pieces of work., a bit on the complicated side for sure but it did not finish as well as I would have liked - customer was happy though and I guess that's what really counts... Martin

[@HereForChess]

Do you sell these boxes?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Here, No, sadly I do not sell them - the reason being that they would cost upwards of $200.00 per box 😱 were I to get any sort of reasonable return for the effort involved. Clearly at such a ridiculously high price I don't think I would sell many😏... Martin

[@HereForChess]

Olfoundryman makes sense, thank you

[@albertfunes5775]

Hi, I'm interested in the green sand formula, I already have 400 mesh silica sand, calcic bentonite, and a little bit of cornstarch, do I need something? What proporsions do you use? I would appreciate the information I am a student of mechanical engineering interested in aluminum casting.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Albert. 400 mesh is very fine, its flour, way too fine to use as a green sand. Are you sure its 400 mesh? With a sand in the range of 70 to 120 AFS fineness number I would use 7.5 to 10% bentonite. Thoroughly mixed in and when damp driven over walked on etc- anything to push the bentonite all over the sand grains (that's what mullers do)… Martin PS, What's the cornstarch for?

[@albertfunes5775]

I'm pretty sure it's number 400, even though I'm doing the test because it's the only one I have at the moment, the cornstarch is not the same as the corn flour you use to avoid the defects?

[@olfoundryman8418]

It will be interesting to see how that 400 mesh sand goes! Yes I do use corn flour to ty and avoid expansion defects. Wood flour is the more traditional but its a bit hard to get these days so I use about 1/4 to 1/2 % corn flour. To be honest it does not work as well as I might like. If I was to add say 1 or 2% I suspect it would work better but at that level it seems to produce an overall slightly rougher finish. Note that finer sands are more prone to these expansion defects... Martin

[@albertfunes5775]

thanks for the answers, very much encourage and I hope to see more of your videos that are so illustrative.

[@AmalgmousProxy]

Is that pneumatic tool something you modified/made for your needs or is a specific tool for doing this kind of work? P.S. That pattern lift jig is sweet!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Amalgamous. The pneumatic rammer is a specific tool It is Jet#01 (from memory) I paid about $360.00 Australian for it and it came from Amazon in the US freight was a remarkably low $16.00. It is about the smallest size of sand rammer that you canj get Other companies including a US one (from the windy city by name) sell them for about that price in a range of sizes they tried to get their local agent to sell me one with a $315.00 US retail fort $900.00 out here - then along came Amazon!!😀 The pattern lift sure worked well but I should not really need it, I should have enough skill to get a pattern out. 😏However this pattern while beautifully made was a bit light on draft on the ends. The pattern maker seems to think I am better at getting patterns out that I actually am so he doesn't put much draft on the patterns - he and I have had a quite word or two about this 😀.. Martin

[@eddiekilby]

Watch the long version but gave you thumbs up on boath nice work.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Eddie, Seems that so far and somewhat to my amazement most people are watching the longer version. Thanks for the thumbs up... martin

[@londonsmee]

How did you get the patterns out?

[@olfoundryman8418]

London, You can see me get the patterns out of the mould at 15.30 to 16.30 and 17.40 to 19.00. I use a special home made lifting guide that incorporates hardened shafting and linear ball bushings that run on the shafting... Martin

[@miatatommy2000]

But does it do 185?

[@olfoundryman8418]

mia, It's a Maserati - of course it does 😊.... Martin

[@Coffieman5150]

And possibly a dust collector of some kind. Breathing that much talc (parting powder) as often as I see you do, Cannot be good for your lungs. I enjoy your videos and I've learned a lot from them, please make more.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Coffieman, Its NOT talc! It is a proper commercial parting agent but it is actually just finely ground calcium carbonate. THis is a material I think well handled by the human body as many bodily fluids dissolve it. And if you pick up a little calcium through its use probably a good thing! I won't use talc as it often contains has a small percentage of crystalline silica. Also I know of at least one talc mine (in the US ) that has been closed because the talc contained asbestos. Also I find the cheap perfume in many talcs to be a pain and it costs $10.00 kg at the supermarket, the calcium carbonate costs $3.00 per Kg - a no brainer!/.. Martin

[@askquestionstrythings]

When I saw those castings come out for a moment I was thinking "oh no, the metal didn't fill arround the core" then I realised it was just flashing around the core from the pattern being 2mm too large.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Try, Yeh, the first time I saw that it gave me a bit of a fright too!... Martin

[@thompsonjerry3412]

Why cast this part instead of machining?

[@olfoundryman8418]

Jerry, I know where you are coming from but I have to confess to being a little concerned about the propensity in the CNC industry to get a big lump of environmentally and financially expensive aluminium and turn 90% of it into pretty much useless swarf. That said, the part was cast because that's what the customer wanted. The original was cast and on rare vehicles like these it is considered important to keep the "look"... Martin PS. I do own a CNC mill

[@daos3300]

@@olfoundryman8418 have to say i'm entirely in favour of the authentic cast look for older machine parts, something cold and soulless about cnc. it does have has a beauty of its own but just doesn't have the same feel. also as you said, ridiculous wastage considering the colossal amount of energy needed to produce and refine aluminium compared to pretty much all other metals, though the swarf does hopefully get recycled.

[@AA-69]

The minute a customer mentions KEY WORDS like... MASERATI... FERRARI.... VINTAGE.... BUGATTI... my calculator always went on the blink...One particular customer argued about a bill, Then told me it was "such a shame" as be had LOT of work for me !!.. He then stopped speaking to me for 365 days (he religiosity kept a diary)...Before asking if "I was busy" as he needed a vehicle recovered and repaired 😂... After that, Every job i worked on had a special tax added, called "TAM TAX"... Every time i drew blood, or hurt my self in ANY WAY.. I would swear, and my friend would shout "is that another score (£20) on Tams bill 😂🤣😂... The son didn't speak for 366 days, and his face was an even better picture come bill time , as his jobs on " dads bill" stopped and increased greatly 😚... NEVER QUERY YOUR MECHANICS BILL... just PAY... SMILE... and go elsewhere if you think you'll get a better deal.

[@rabihhachem4813]

Thanks for sharing

[@olfoundryman8418]

Rahib, My pleasure to share… Martin PS, Any luck with your furnace lid?

[@rabihhachem4813]

Olfoundryman yes i mAde a square one

[@rabihhachem4813]

I used fire brick it was my only option

[@boldford]

There's something to be said for air-set sand.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Brian, Yep, there is. indeed, it is said that any fool can make a mould with hard sand - but there is the once only use problem which makes it problematic for hobbyists and the version most accessible to hobbyists is CO2 an that has its problems....Martin

[@WarGrade]

Did I see you tighten that bloody rammer up again!!!

[@olfoundryman8418]

War, Did I tighten the rammer? I can't remember. This video was short some time ago so I may haver but I can guarantee that I have used to Loctite on the rammer (thanks!) but I can not remember if it was before or after this job!, Note that this was actually the last casting I moulded and there are still one or two old videos to be edited and uploaded so you may see me tighten it in them too! Don't despair the problem is now fixed!... Martin PS. I have used it on a kitchen tap that seemed to want to keep coming loose - it fixed than too

[@MoondyneJoe]

A nasty job, well done Martin lets see if we can dind you more of them eg!

[@olfoundryman8418]

Tony, Old foundryman's saying "if an old car owner turns up at the door with an ugly looking pattern DON"T open the door!" Sadly I keep forgetting this sage advice but it does make for some interesting times... Martin

[@MoondyneJoe]

Hi Martin and I bet you have done a few in your time as well But I also bet some you think are going to be a breeze can turn out to be a pain as well ?Hows the war wounds Martin I hope you are well on the way to being your old self again ?Tony

[@olfoundryman8418]

Tony, Yes sometimes the easy turns out anything but and you are right there have been a few of those over the years.War wound repair a damn slow business so far little improvement but we are not at the end of the road yet- I hope!.. Martin

[@vettepicking]

mate I wish you would get a simple exhaust fan for that talc dust, like your work to much.

[@olfoundryman8418]

Vette, Its not talc dust. It is a commercial parting agent and is in fact just finely ground limestone i.e. calcium carbonate. Unlike talc there are no suspicions of problems associated with its use. I understand it to be soluble in many body fluids - you might pick up a little extra calcium from its use but that is probably no bad thing. Personally I would not use talc in a fit... Martin

[@Coffieman5150]

I truly wish you would invest in a quality respirator of some kind, I'd gladly accept muffled audio in place of your health failing.

[@alarjak]

He seems more than fine for his age.