Sand Casting new ball handle

I decided to upgrade my kitchen stool handle by changing it to a large aluminum ball handle. Last year I  sand casted two aluminum balls, I used my sons plastic toy ball as a pattern ;-)
Since then I didn't really have a use for those aluminum balls but I kept them knowing I would find some use for them. In this first set of images you can see the sand casting process. I used petrobond (oil bonded sand).
Creating the sand mold impression of the balls was a very simple process, however its not a split pattern so it took a bit longer to carve the sand up to the middle of the ball.

After the molten aluminum cooled down I opened the wooden flask and cut off the riser with a hacksaw. Then I cleaned the extra aluminum using a metal file and an electric sander.
After cleaning the aluminum ball  I used my tap and die set to make a threaded hole in the aluminum ball. Once that was done I polished it and attached it into place.

Sand casting paintball handle

I get many emails from people that are interested in creating aluminum replica's from another objects.
I got a request from one particular visitor who wanted to create a replica of a plastic paintball gun handle into an aluminum handle. I really enjoyed creating this part. The sand molding process was very basic and it was very easy to polish the finished product.

Electrolysis rust removal for a rusty pipe wrench

This is just a few more images of another electrolysis de-rusting session. I found this pipe wrench in a metal recycle bin and it looks like his former owner was a bit intimidated by the rusty look. Anyway after leaving the wrench in a derusting electrolysis bath over night the wrench is as good as new;-)

Cope and Drag casting project

This is just a follow up post for my aluminum foundry flask casting progress.
The first four parts of my flask cope are casted, at this stage I have to cast four more parts for the drag part. I made a video of the molten aluminum pouring process and the sand mould shake-out.

Electrolysis - Rust Removal Method

This post is not really related to metal casting it's just informative and interesting. I made this video showing a method of de-rusting. It is effective, cheap and every one can try this at home.
In the images below you can see the the results of this process and how efficient it is.
You can also see the electrolysis bucket that I made, I welded bolts to rebars using them as the sacrificial anodes and plywood as a base plate.

The next two images is the electrolysis de-rusting in action!

This images are the before and after using the electrolysis rust removal method.
bringing some rusty objects back to life.

This is the video I made showing how to preform the electrolysis rust removal from a-z.
Enjoy ;-)

Casting a new foundry flask (Part II)

Yesterday I casted the second pattern of my new aluminum foundry flask. The first attempt of the sand moulding failed. I had to improve the angle/draft around the patterns handle section. After using more filler, sanding it and then finishing with a coat of varnish.
The angle filler adjustment did the job and the sand mould second attempt was very good. I used again my homemade green sand and the aluminum casting was satisfactory.

Sand casting new foundry flask (Part I)

This is a new video I made showing the sand moulding process of my future foundry flask. In the video I made you will see the first part of the aluminum flask. I have 7 more parts to cast before it's ready for use.
This casting was made using my homemade green sand. No need for very fine casting details it's just a sand box after all ;-)
This is my sketchup design:

I made two patterns for each side of the flask, so the drag part is just a mirror image of the cope. The third pattern is my FlamingFurnace plaque name and flask size.
I made it optional to make the sand mould impression with or without it.



In the next image you can a correction I made to the gating system for the sprue, riser. This small change from the gating system I have in the video will prevent porosity.