Iron casting at home || RotarySMP

[@LCalleja]

cant wait to see part 2 :)

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Luke, that makes you and me and everbody :) No pressure!

[@JCWren]

Casting looks like one of those things where I'd spend $2K USD buying everything needed, making one casting, and going "OK, that was cool" and then tripping over the equipment for the rest of my life. It's much better to just watch you doing it :)

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, I can agree with that :)

[@bobapthorpe]

I probably spent closer to $500 to DIY a simple burner and furnace that melts a small amount of aluminum. Plumbing fittings and a MIG welding tip for the burner, a recycled "party" helium cylinder for the furnace shell, Kaowool and sand from the local ceramic supply store. If your goal is experience, $500 is cheap and the DIY furnace and burner can be repurposed as a forge. "OK, that was cool" is perfectly good motivation :)

[@RotarySMP]

@@bobapthorpe I have no idea what I have invested in my foundry. I just nickel and dimed it over the years, so the value is secret from me (and the finance minister :)

[@notsonominal]

Turning 3d-printers from a hobby to a tool is a true superpower!

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, it is fun combining these processes.

[@iTeerRex]

3D printers are a must have tool now.

[@RotarySMP]

@@iTeerRex Absolutely.

[@marcus_w0]

While everyone else on youtube melts aluminium, maybe bronze or copper with their hobby furnace - my boy goes straight to cast iron. Kudos!

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Marcus. I have done a few iron castings over the years. It is way harder than Aluminium.

[@steamfan7147]

Getting good castings on the second attempt is better than most commercial foundries can manage, well done! I have a friend that spent a couple years living in Mexico City. He made me jealous because he sent me some pictures of his local casting supply house. It seems there is a thriving small commercial and artist foundry community there, so much so, this place was like a supermarket for metal casting. They had everything there, even some of the chemical binders and mould washes that are controlled elsewhere. All of it, just right there to walk in and buy cash and carry and at reasonable prices.

[@RotarySMP]

That would be my dream supermarket!

[@robertfontaine3650]

Love the idea of iron casting but that some serious heat to manage.

[@RotarySMP]

HI Robert, yeah, it is quite a challenge.

[@Watchyn_Yarwood]

Your trap door in the moulding table is genius!

[@RotarySMP]

It really makes it easier to control the sand, with the storage directly below.

[@steveggca]

The important thing is that your logo came out flawless😁 Nice castings

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Steve. Yeah, those patterns worked really well. Luke designed them well.

[@flikflak24]

wrong. the important thing is that he ( and we as well ) learned from the fist time and didnt commit the same mistakes the secend time you mean the first or secen time casts xD

[@steveggca]

@@flikflak24 Hi flik other than the obvious humour, the fact that the makers marks came out so crisply is an indicator of how well the casting was done.

[@GeoffMcMasters]

Oh man, spoiler alert should have been issued. I haven’t the time to watch the full video so I some how decided to read the comments. I guess my bad. Have a great day! 😂

[@flikflak24]

@@steveggca not necessarily since there could easily be pretty good/big voids inside. only way to know is to look inside them all the way through ( destroktely which is the easy cheap way or by xray penetration ( yes they do have x-ray machines that can look through metal with the exception of lead ) whice is more expensive but you get your cage and able to eat it to )

[@dermozart80]

Yeeeeeahhhh finally a CASTING VIDEO!!! (The original reason I followed this channel)

[@RotarySMP]

Sorry it took a while to get this one out. About a year.

[@dermozart80]

@@RotarySMP don’t worry. We will still watch all the other stuff!

[@RotarySMP]

@@dermozart80 Thanks for your support.

[@Dellpodder]

I love watching the backyard casting process, especially for iron. That is truly an impressive result that you acheived, especially the fine details on the logos!

[@RotarySMP]

I was really happy with that result.

[@624Dudley]

Another quality soundtrack! 👍 Oh, and the casting was good too. 😄

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Doric, thought yo might like that :)

[@stevensmart8868]

Super kudos for iron casting in the back yard.those second ones turned out great. Excellent work Mark, thanks for the video.

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Steven. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@TheDistur]

Oh wow you cast iron too. Cool stuff! I've poured some aluminum just into tin cans and made stuff from those but that's about it.

[@RotarySMP]

It is a lot harder to get iron casting to work at this scale, but I have been chipping away at it for a few years to get there.

[@RickRolling-tc7vb]

Neat! Thanks Mark and Luke, I'm learning a lot with you guys, and I'm having great fun at the same time. Always good to share your mistakes, really helps us to understand the challenges and the process - and it's a great lesson in resilience as well. Nothing's perfect and you would be foolish to think this stuff is easy.

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Rick, yeah, iron casting is really not easy. Much more challenging to get it right than with aluminium, but much more satisfying when it works.

[@AutoBeta2T]

I really enjoyed this. Thanks for sharing both the failures and success. Hopefully, there will be a machining video of them in the future.

[@RotarySMP]

I hope so too! Luke is on to it.

[@joell439]

Mark, those came out great. I’m really impresssed that even have time and energy to do very time consuming projects ‘on the side’ 👍😎👍

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Joel, well, those castings have been seasoning for a year :)

[@robert_g_fbg]

Glad that helicopter wasn’t spying with infrared camera. Yours was probably the hottest spot in town that day! Cheers, enjoyed the casting vid

[@RotarySMP]

Yep, it is a pretty intensive BBQ :)

[@SuperAnodyne]

Judging by the nice and dark smoke when you switch over to oil you must have the most supportive neighbors in Austria 😂 thank you for drizzling up the Prozess to make it more understandable. ……… here in salzburg they often do thermal camera searches on the two city mountains during the night to get rid of homeless people…….

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Christian, luckily they were away :)

[@SuperAnodyne]

I always imagine the face of my neighbors on sundays when is say don‘t worry it will settle in while injekting pressurized frying oil into a furnace 😂 it might even work if I would disguise it as a barbecue…….😊 great outcome by the way👌🏻

[@RotarySMP]

@@SuperAnodyne Thanks. the closest neighbor behind me used to be a 92 year old, and her house was far away. Once she passed, they put houses on that section and the nearest neighbors are much closer. I don't do this often, and aim for them being away on vacation.

[@thanos_vgenis]

@SuperAnodyne do they really?😢

[@vandyFixer]

Another great vid...As usual. I too am enjoying the 37th Americas Cup...Go ETNZ and you are correct about Mozzy sails. Great insight into the regatta. There is a great channel by an actual retired foundry man from Melbourne..olfoundryman. He mainly casts aluminium but he goes into a lot of detail on the whole process, well worth checking out.

[@RotarySMP]

I have watched all his casting videos. They have been a great resource of how to do things properly.

[@philhermetic]

Enjoyed that! Always fancied a bit of cast iron pouring, but I doubt my workshop problem neighbour would approve! I have done copper and aluminium in an electric furnace, indoors of course! I notice you do not use a riser or pierce any gas holes, riser gives good indication of when the mould is full, and also allows fast gas escape, can make a big difference. I was of the lucky generation that did sand casting of aluminium at school, and runner and riser were the order of the day! Cracking video, and good castings! Phil

[@RotarySMP]

I normally use a riser as well. Guess I forgot here, lucky the sand was porous enough to let the air out.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Good on you for your persistence; those came out very nicely.

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Jim, I am pretty happy with them.

[@kisoia]

Very nicely done :) thanks for the video

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks for your kind feedback.

[@Paddington60]

Oh yes please Luke, some images or video of whatever they are! Don't think I have seen any casting with those Bob fellows, they sure do seem to help. Not sure I have noticed spitzensparkles from the cast iron as it is poured. Very well done and thank you Mark!!

[@RotarySMP]

Those sparkles are the best indication that the melt is hot enough. You can see them in the furnace already, so it is a bit help. Not sure why I was too impatient wit the first melt?

[@bobweiram6321]

Awesome video! It's exceedingly rare to see iron casting videos on KZbin. For the machine parts, it's a much better material than the typical aluminum used. With today's CAD software and 3D printing, the idea of building a lathe or mill isn't out of reach for the home shop anymore. I would attempt it, but I have a ton of half completed projects all over the place.

[@bobweiram6321]

Btw, there's no link to the channel of the person who will be machining the parts.

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Bob, Luke doesn't have a channel, but I am encouraging him to start.

[@davidbrown8365]

Thanks for making these videos. Enjoyed this one. As usual!

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks for you kind comment David.

[@jakobha4682]

Little tip to see if the iron is hot enough to poor, I experienced that if the iron throws sparks it’s good to cast most of the times if the iron doesn’t “spark “ means that it got some chunks and ist good for pouring (it helps a lot to put the propan in a bucket of warm water to keep it from freezing up ) Keep up the work Greetings from Germany

[@RotarySMP]

You mean like I mentioned here kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWLXnWZjpq94faM :) The propane is only for the furnace preheat. Once it is hot the rest of the melt is down with a waste oil burner.

[@RustyInventions-wz6ir]

Very interesting. Thanks. I really need to try my hand at casting

[@RotarySMP]

You should, it is a satisfying skill.

[@merlinchampenois6754]

loving the casting episodes !

[@RotarySMP]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@Rostol]

please tell me you watched the bloke from mozzy sails on the actual AC40. talk about a dream come true. (i'd probably crash it on the first tack/gybe) so awesome, what an opportunity. what? me jealous ? nahhh this greenish skin tone is my natural one.

[@RotarySMP]

Those boats look super unstable and difficult to sale. All the teams have had their moments, and these are the best competitive sailers. I would love to go out for a ride on a foiling yacht.

[@brianmunyon5669]

Those look great.

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Brian. I am really happy with them.

[@0815Racing]

Looks a bit like a machinist level to me, the castings came out amazing

[@RotarySMP]

Yep, and I am really happy how they came out.

[@claeswikberg8958]

Ohh machinist levels

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Claes. Yep :)

[@chrismayer8990]

I love your casting videos! I learn something every time! I've been wanting to try iron casting for years. So far I've failed because I don't have an oil burner.

[@RotarySMP]

The oil burner was really simple. Just an old firex with a pneumatic coupling on it. I use my compressor to pressurise it. Then just a shut off valve and needle valve. by preheating the furnace, the oil vaporises as it goes in.

[@JulianMakes]

very very nice job!

[@RotarySMP]

Thank you very much Julian.

[@Preso58]

They turned out great! Evidently, you have to be able to cast iron before you're considered a real man! I'm still on the "coward's metals"😅

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Preso. It is a quite a lot hard to get Iron to cast well. The industrial cast refactory on the hot face was the key.

[@notsonominal]

12:52 this is my motto when placing bets on how many times you dip electrodes in your videos;)

[@RotarySMP]

:)

[@brendanshorter5550]

Brilliant, just the kind of thing I want to try casting.

[@RotarySMP]

Go for it Brendan.

[@brendanshorter5550]

@@RotarySMP need to make a NOBOX7 burner.

[@chrismayer8990]

@@brendanshorter5550 NOBOX7 burner? 🤔

[@RotarySMP]

@@brendanshorter5550 External combustion burners look spectacular, but are pretty inefficient. All that glowing red stuff is wasting heat not helping melt the metal. Given the temp in the furnace, you dont need to be fancy. The oil vaporises on contact, so as long as you deliver a slightly rich mix of oil and air, it is fine.

[@brendanshorter5550]

@@RotarySMP so those ball valve Pakistani Truck videos gravity feeding oil into a burner are actually quite efficient.

[@wyohman00]

I think a channel rename is really needed. "Mark Fails Forward" has a nice ring to it.

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks :)

[@camillosteuss]

Fucking finally! Someone casting actual materials at home, not just some junk(Alu)... Next - white bronze(CuAlu)... Thanks m87! It`s a pleasure seeing this title, and i dare assume that the video will be equally as pleasant, as your works always are! I`ll have to get to making a bloody smelter... Tho, i might just make it today, as i have all that i need(i`d like a bigger barrel, that`s why i wait) for a nice medium sized smelter, and i am currently covered in fugenfuller und mortel dust and runaway globs from mixing... I just have to switch to chamotte and quartz sand(fuck, ran out of that, and it`s sunday...)... I guess i`ll go check the scrapyard for a larger barrel and go get some quartz sand and inox chips for reinforcement... I`d also like to get some of that cera-wool and maybe satanite, but we`ll see about satanite for the actual first rebuild rather than the initial build... Best regards! Steuss

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Steuss. Go for it. :)

[@jster1963]

I want to try melting cast iron someday!

[@RotarySMP]

G'day Jasper, go for it. Did you move in to your new place? I hope you have a shed built.

[@jster1963]

@@RotarySMP As in most builds in the States, there are delays! The exterior of the house is built, but the interior is not. We have been waiting for months for electricity. Because the house is bigger it needs a transformer. 2 neighbors have to sign an easement allowing the power company access on a 10 foot strip to install it. It's red tape we didn't anticipate. Hopefully this month that will happen. Fingers crossed.....

[@UncySpam]

Thanks for always showing your mistakes. I want to try casting soon, and I think I’ve learned as much from seeing your fails and your explanation of what went wrong as I have from all the other videos where people only show their successes. What sort of material do you melt down for cast iron? Are break drums or discs any good?

[@RotarySMP]

I use brake discs or old cast iron scrap. A mate broke up and old iron furnace, and brought the bits in buckets. Once you get to thick sections like these ones, any cast iron is fine. For thinner sections, there is more risk of chilling causing hard white iron.

[@vincei4252]

G'day, Mark. Regarding the foul paint colors I'm sure the women in your life won't appreciate that sentiment 😆 I'd love a metal casting setup but as it stands I already have way too many projects and hobbies on the go. Cheers!

[@RotarySMP]

It is a pretty cool ancient technology. Iron casting is so much harder than Al, so I am really happy when it works.

[@vehiculeselectriques]

seems to me beautiful blanks for square machinist precision levels ;^)

[@RotarySMP]

Indeed!

[@timhatch1299]

@7:07 "borrow these for now" -- is the hardware still on the large one a year later?

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, extended loan :) I will switch them around as I need.

[@blahblahblahblah2933]

You were holding back content from us?! How dare you! :D

[@RotarySMP]

Sorry about that. I was hoping to do a single video through to finished parts.

[@blahblahblahblah2933]

@@RotarySMP Those castings turned out great and in iron(!).

[@RotarySMP]

@@blahblahblahblah2933 THanks, I am really happy with them. Hope the machining doesn't expose too many defects inside.

[@termlimit]

Excellent video as always. Did you make your own muller? Any chance you did a video if you did, if not maybe a detailed walkthrough of it? Thank you!

[@RotarySMP]

It is a pretty simple bodge job, from the inner tank of a small water heater, an industrial reduction gearbox, 3Phase motor and VFD. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bVkodnrZl0qqc

[@samforsey]

Inspiring. Thanks

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Sam.

[@rallymax2]

You make it look easy and I know it’s not. Looking forward to them being machined. Precision squares I presume?

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks, you are right about that. Iron castings is way harder than aluminium, and it has taken a few for me to get more consitancy. Yep, Box levels.

[@billdoodson4232]

Mark, did you make the furnace as well? And how did you construct a burner for waste oil?

[@RotarySMP]

I have a video on that Bill. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bVkodnrZl0qqc

[@billdoodson4232]

@@RotarySMP Thanks Mark, I will have a look later.

[@Skyliner_369]

you had a literal mulligan (mull again) on that one. :D

[@RotarySMP]

Good one :)

[@frogandspanner]

5:21 Is _rabbet_ the normal NZ for _rebate_ ?

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, that would be it :)

[@aleksandarvasilevski7410]

Love those casting videos. In a week or two I expect to arrive my first crucible. My plan is to build oil burner and I have set of nozzles, from 0.35 up to 8galons per hour. I have all needed equipment from high pressure oil pump to thermometers. Any info on time needed to melt the iron and oil consumption? I need to size my nozzle.

[@RotarySMP]

Good one. Are you active on Alloyavenue.com? Great resource. My oil tank is an old 10Kg firex, so probably a bit over 2 gallons. I can do roughly one A10 crucible per oil fill, and it takes about an hour from cold. What refractory liner did you use on your furnace?

[@GeoffTV2]

That was great, thank you. I really fancy a go at casting. Question: is there a story behind the telly-fish logo? - Heather

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Heather. Glad you enjoyed it. It was the logo of the 80's LA punk band Flipper.

[@GeoffTV2]

@@RotarySMP Aha! OK, thanks for the explanation.

[@RotarySMP]

@@GeoffTV2 You really should have a go at casting. It is very satisfying when it works.

[@buckinthetree1233]

I've never cast a single item in my life, but after the first attempt I was wondering if it needed a vent on the opposite side of your pouring spru

[@RotarySMP]

My green sand is very porous, so the air can escape out through the sand on such a small casting.

[@kimber1958]

Great job

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks.

[@KF-qj2rn]

i wonder if wood exterior can be coated with fireproof slurry to prevent charring, plaster of paris/sand/porcelain chunks, etc.

[@RotarySMP]

No point. Wooden flasks are consumables. If you look at the first pour, the radiant heat also started charring. It doesn't take long to whip one up.

[@theinfernalcraftsman]

Nice job. Iron isnt nice and easy like aluminum to melt. Might try the PLA for casting in the future. The stuff that burns out like foam cores do. Not a clue what it is though.

[@RotarySMP]

It is a machinist box level frame. I have done lost PLA, but burnt it out like you would a wax investment casting.

[@KSMechanicalEngineering]

Good ideas

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks.

[@paradiselost9946]

"dear YT...stop rubbing it in..." lol, i made a furnace, 1650C rated refractory cement (short bursts at 1800), heat exchanger... and ive only fired it up twice, managed to get the cement to start melting... and havent actually used it for anything. been so long its got a few weeds starting to take root around the edges... just seems life gets in the way of everything... just making tongs is still on the list... or i am lazy. or both :) and i guess, in relation to another comment... having a neighbour move in that cleans wedding dresses is sort of non-conducive to oil burning activities...

[@RotarySMP]

I would try to engage their inate creativity, and get them to make a pattern and cast it together. :) My first furnace had a lid of fire cement from the hardware store. I turned it to lava on the first firing. This has some beastly industrial refactory.

[@iolithblue]

What do you use as your source of iron? Do you buy new material? Or brake rotors?

[@RotarySMP]

This is a combination of brake rotors, and an old cast iron furnace a friend gave me. For these thick sections, brake rotors work fine.

[@iTeerRex]

Myfordboy, luckygen, and Mark Presling are they guys from whom I learned casting. In theory it seems easy, but in practice, it looks like there is a lot of details to learn.

[@RotarySMP]

I would really recommend learning from LuckyGen and Olfoundryman, they are career professionals. The rest of us are amateurs.

[@iTeerRex]

@@RotarySMP I’ll check out Olfoundaryman, thanks 👍

[@RotarySMP]

@@iTeerRex He and Luckygen are a huge asset to YT. The Alloyavenue.com forum is also really good.

[@gennadyyakubovich4076]

Thanks Mark. Casting iron in the backyard is quite a challenge. How do you reach that high temperature? is that because of burning oil instead of gas ? I am casting aluminium with quite a success , BTW, but not an iron.

[@RotarySMP]

The key is the furnace insulation and the hotface. Most hydrocarbons have nearly the same flame temp. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiabatic_flame_temperature That extra 100°C for a light fuel oil in air sure helps, but the key is the furnace. I have video on my foundry in this videos play list. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bVkodnrZl0qqc

[@Rustinox]

Making good castings is an artform.

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Michel, it is a lot of work, but very satisfying when it works. Have you done any?

[@Rustinox]

@@RotarySMP Not really. I don't have the tools for it.

[@RotarySMP]

@@Rustinox The correct answer is "Not yet ... " :)

[@Trick_Dacy]

Did you know, Metric users can switch to imperial numbers by doubling just like we can switch from imperial to metric by halving. For example: 10kg is 20lb and 20lb is 10kg. That's why 12 hours is 24 hours in Europe. They use smaller hours there. So instead of 60 minutes in an hour, they have 30 minutes. It works the same way with bananas.

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, and Pi is 3 :)

[@mbox314]

I have been wanting to move from aluminum to iron for a long time. Would you be able to go over your burner, crucible, and procedures?

[@RotarySMP]

It was one of my earlier videos. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bVkodnrZl0qqc

[@mbox314]

@RotarySMP thank you for the link and for making that video in the first place. You channel is a great resource.

[@graealex]

8:40 They finally caught on!

[@RotarySMP]

Lucky they didn#t have an IR camera :)

[@pcka12]

I wonder where you source your moulding sand? The sand seems yellow/grey in colour, not the red sand which I am used to. The first things which I cast were Aluminium, then lead weights for aqualung diving, I made the moulds from wood and car body filler which works really well if you lack a 3d printer - which was unheard off when I first did this, small castings can simply be made by impressing the pattern into cuttlefish shell either found on a beach or bought from a pet shop which works well for rings & similar. Thanks.

[@RotarySMP]

I have two different casting sands. On this part I used oil bound sand (the orange stuff). This was sourced form a foundry in St Pölten, by a friend. The common brand of oil bound sand is "Petrobond". This stuff has extremely fine grains, and very high green strength, so it picks up finest detail. You need a mechanical muller to recondition it after use, and add a bit of two stroke oil (there is probably a proper oil for it, but I have read that two stroke also works). This sand will get darker with each use until it is black. My other sand is water bound or "green" sand. It is is grey/yellow. The best green sands are naturally occuring, and a dug out of deposits from old river beds where nature mixed the perfect mix of fine sand and bentonite clay. I just make my own (synthetic green sand), with cheap play sand and powdered bentonite. It is not as good as a naturally bound sand, but works well enough for my needs. This doesn't tend to change color much with use, as there is no oil to burn out to carbon.

[@athenarocar]

Probably would be better to cast these in a vertical mold to allow gravity to assist in filling out the mold. No 90° bends to flow around to get to the part.

[@RotarySMP]

Yeah, but this also worked.

[@neodimium]

Is that Bitzer compressor head? Harvesting old compressors for iron? (-:

[@RotarySMP]

Yes, it is a compressor head, I can't remember what I got it.

[@donnykiofetzis5775]

add a bit of coal dust to your green sand it stops sand sticking to the iron

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks for the tip. I use this sand to Al as well. Does the added carbon cause contamination with Al?

[@donnykiofetzis5775]

@@RotarySMP I only do aluminum resin sand, no need for coal dust. go to lukygen 1001 metal casting he casts cast-iron, and aluminum explains every step he is a walking cyclopedia in casting, and how to make the equipment needed. mullers- Furness tools everything you need to start working. his a professional

[@mudnducs]

Xlnt!!!

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks.

[@steveyoutube1709]

Why did you use water instead of used motor oil to moisten the sand ?

[@RotarySMP]

Because it is benonite clay bond green sand. You can use it over and over, as it just dries out with each casting, and you mull it with water to restore it. I do have some oil bond sand for extremely fine detailed castings (but havent used it yet). You can restore that with 2 stroke oil.

[@misterbreakit2006]

You need some good corner clamps 😅

[@RotarySMP]

True :)

[@kirkjensen1718]

you dont have a vent for the air to escape?

[@RotarySMP]

And yet it did. Just like magic. Or is that the porosity of the sand :)

[@melgross]

While I do non ferrous castings, I can easily do that in my electric heat treat oven which is 12” by 10” by 10” inside. But it just goes to 2,200 F. The idea of having a gas furnace like yours is too much for me. These of you who do this, other than professional forgers, such as Windy Hill Foundry here in the USA which a lot of KZbinrs use, are to be admired for your willingness to attempt it, and be successful.

[@RotarySMP]

Thanks Mel. Yeah, it is a big step from aluminium to iron, everything gets way harder.

[@melgross]

@@RotarySMP the most I can do is zinc, aluminum, brass and copper. I’d like to do bronze, but I’d have to mix my own alloy. I would live to do iron.

[@RotarySMP]

@@melgross I tried to make my own bronze, but it is not that easy to find tin. I bought some tin goblets, but they were pretty light, so didnt have much metal.

[@melgross]

@@RotarySMP it’s easy to get tin here. If you need some, I can get it for you. A company called McMaster-Carr which I’ve been using for almost 50 years for my companies and now, in retirement, carries almost everything. If I know where to send it, I can.

[@RotarySMP]

@@melgross Thanks for the offer Mel. I currently have a fair bit of bronze, as I bought two buckets of swarf from a company which machined a huge billet down to make a 1901 replica electric car engine. I already melted it down into ingots. I just took another look in the classifieds, and there are now a lot of large heavy tin mugs going cheap. When I needed it, there were none :)

[@flikflak24]

gee thanks m8. now after seeing that sand wall i start woundering about how good it would be as absorbing sound reflections / ecco's in a room btw of my understanding from watching others doing there sand moldes. arent you suppose to use some completely dry super fine sand to dust on as the first layer and then use the moist chunky sand afterwards ? also do wounder how well useing a 15kw unduction heater would work to melt the iron insted of gas/oil powered and the hard cast iron you talked about is normaly refered to as white cast iron (whick happens when its cooled to quickly. slow cooled iron turns into gray cast iron well quickly cooled turns into white cast iron. pretty much the only reason you want white cast iron is that its harder/more wear resistance well every other propaties is worse then gray ) i do wounder what would happen if you mixed in some graphite power into the iron. maybe it turnes into cast steel insted ? ( most ranges is made of cast steel btw )

[@RotarySMP]

A very unique building that one. You need a parting powder. I use Talc for that. There are other options. Watch some videos for olfoundryman. He explains the process really well. Most smaller steel mills (minimills) use induction heating, but it is not trivial to make a functioning one. You are misunderstanding the chemistry. To get from cast iron to steel you need to remove carbon.

[@flikflak24]

@@RotarySMP i dodnt mean the parting powder i ment as the first springle of sand on the part that you do with the sift ( first the part. then parting powder. then very fine sand sand and then the bulk compacting sand ) thants the way i ment it i also just read up on it after i posted the comment xD 2+ % carbon turns the iron 1.9% and below carbon turns to steel ( i somehow had it in my head that increasing the carbon content would turn it into steel and not the other way around xD ) its so sad that its hard to do it as they did it far back in time where we got the best cast iron ever ( they had a opening in the bottom of the flast instead of haveing to tip it. that way non of the junk at the top got mixed in plus the best part of the cast iron always sinks to the bottom somehow. plus less exposior to air well its being cast ( you almost have you flask sitting on your casting form and poor it insted of haveing to poor it from such a hight ) also got to wounder how it would turn out if the flask and casting was done in a inert gass envirement ( like in a big container full of argon) so no oxigen would contaminate it at all that place is sadly to far away from where i live to go visit. but the though's about its sound absorbing propaty's was still sparked by that clip

[@RotarySMP]

@@flikflak24 At this point I am trying to minimise variables and get the basics working reliably. I dont cast often, so adding complexity like multiple sands, additives, other pouring processes, would lead to more complexity and failure modes. I am happy to get a solid part.

[@flikflak24]

@@RotarySMP thats also fair and a good mindset to have with those kind of things was just trying to hear others oppinion about those things since i may or may no do one myself ( though way way bigger. we are talking like a 1200x1500x60 mm machine bed casting )

[@RotarySMP]

@@flikflak24 That is a huge casting. Do you have a foundry nearby with a large furnace or cupola?

[@wizrom3046]

Remember the traditional wallpaper paste? A bit of white flour and some hot water. Makes a simple glue, then mix a percentage of that into the water you wet the sand with, your sand will hold together really well. Secondly, get some much finer sand and use that for contact with the item. Like a skin of a few mm of superfine sand and water paste mix. You can spatula it on or even use a brush. The superfine sand will hold details much better and give a smoother general surface finish. Then the rest of the mold filled with the regular cheap sand. Anyway awesome vid! 👍😁

[@besenyeim]

I think you refer to carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). AFIK it is used as a binder in ceramics and powder metallurgy.

[@RotarySMP]

Bonding the sand with starch is one method of making cores, but the starch burns out, so you have to discard that sand when you shake out. The advantage of bentonite clay bound sand is that is reusable. Just add water and mull it again. Normally with cast iron molds, industry uses a graphite core wash to improve the surface finish. How would you apply a paste to the mold, brushing or a spatula just destroys the detail. Putting a paste on the pattern, and it will not release from the sand.

[@wizrom3046]

@@RotarySMP sorry I didnt communicate very well there. I meant to add trace amounts of the starch glue in the water, this tiny amount gives you some control over the stickyness of the sand and how well it will hold detail without the details breaking out when you remove the master (plug). That tiny amount of starch wont hurt your sand reusability. With the fine sand, basically you are just improving surface detail by using finer sand, but since that sand is more expensive you just put a thin layer of the fine sand over the plug and after that, fill the rest with regular sand. If you get a consistency like plasticene etc you can spatula it on, the finer sand makes a putty form more easily than coarse sand.

[@RotarySMP]

@@wizrom3046 I have the foundry book with a variety of recipes for additives like flour. I am mostly trying to reduce variables, and get the basics working. To be honest, I was very happy with the surface finish of those parts. They had a sand textured finish, but picked up the detail better than expected. I do have a bag of commercial oil bound sand, and it really has that putty feel. I am saving it for special projects which need fine detail, and haven't used it yet.

[@wizrom3046]

@@RotarySMP thanks for the reply, I didnt know if you knew about starch additive and I generally work on the assumption that it's always good to speak up, if someone already knows then there is no harm done, if they didnt know then you *might* have given them something of value. 🙂 Yeah I agree your castings came out really nice, and the sand texture finish is great for some applications, it's a bit harder to prep and paint but I guess you probably have media blasting there it's pretty cheap to buy a blasting cabinet these days.

[@jansuchomelLBC]

Let me guess - precision frame spirit level?

[@RotarySMP]

Yep, 2x :)

[@jansuchomelLBC]

@@RotarySMP Super cool! :-)

[@RotarySMP]

@@jansuchomelLBC I look forward to seeing what Luke does with them.

[@Thonss]

It’s a jellyfish? :O

[@RotarySMP]

Nearly.

[@DanielGafner]

Has Luke in Malta made a video ? Does he have a channel?

[@RotarySMP]

Not yet. I am encouraging it.

[@WillemvanLonden]

I'm guessing a machinist's level.

[@RotarySMP]

Hi Willem, Nope. Two machinists levels :)

[@iNerdier]

How come you didn’t need a second hole to let air out?

[@chrismayer8990]

I asked myself the same thing. But it probably worked that way too. Black magic!

[@RotarySMP]

Sand is very porous. The air just dissipated though it.

[@MassMurderIII]

can you make a video of how you made the burner and furnace i would like to melt cast iron as well but no clue how to

[@RotarySMP]

You mean like this one? kzbin.info/www/bejne/j4bVkodnrZl0qqc

[@MassMurderIII]

@@RotarySMP your a legend thanks

[@404BYTE]

That austrian aviation museum almost looks like it was built into a mountain, like a mine

[@RotarySMP]

It is on Vöslau airfield, which is flat. But they did cover the concrete shooting bunker with a small hill.