Lost foam casting is one of the easiest ways to make detailed aluminum castings. In this video I show you how I went about casting aluminum for the first time.
This installment definitely took me back to my Foundry & Forming course, back in my Uni days as an Industrial Design major, 20+ years ago. We did hands-on small-scale projects using green sand casting with reusable molds,as well as lost-foam casting; this was accompanied by field trips to a couple of foundries in Northwestern Washington State, that produced items like massive propellers for commercial vessels, which was really amazing to see. IIRC, when we used the lost-foam process in our own lab projects, we first coated our styro masters with a ceramic slurry (that was either air-hardened or fired before the next step). The master was packed in sand/clay, then cast. All I clearly remember is that I had attempted to do a mold for a cast trivet, that didn't survive the process, likely because it was not substantial (thick) enough. I'll confess that I'm a bit envious of all the equipment that you have at your disposal. I've been away from all of it for so long, that I wish I had a means to try my hand at it again. Keep up the the great work on this project - you continue to amaze and impress!
Use pre-mixed drywall mud to make a thin coat and allow it to dry. Support with plain dry sand. You get wonderfull detail. With blue/pink foam, you will pick up marks from sanding the foam master.
Are you sure your not an old man wearing a body suit.for all the knowledge that you show in every video,I cannot comprehend that your as young as you are.always impressive.👍👍👍😎😎😎
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This 'have a go' guy is completely fearless. I'm not speaking about handling hot metal... but of approaching tasks which would daunt many fabricators. These videos document him being willing to try out a number of new ideas... and being willing to re-do them when they don't succeed. Kudos.
Probably a million different ways to do something and you decided to try something new some people may say they did not come out perfect maybe they didn't but you learn something and so did we thanks for the videos I am very much enjoying seeing you build a car from scratch
You are the only person I think that is doing a project like this. I was inspired when I watched a documentary about 1920s racecars and how they're built and wondered if anyone was building one. Then I found your channel and for the last 6 months I've been watching your videos and I'm about to start my own project. I already have a matching engine and transmission and I'm teaching myself to weld and work with metal so I cam make my dream a reality like yours!! Thankyou for making these videos you are one of a kind !!
When you are involved with making anything from scratch, you go where it takes you to make the parts. That is what is so interesting about making things. You learn whatever skills needed to get the job done. Thumbs Up!
i think it would be simpler to use his milling mashine, it would also be much more precise.... i origially though he doesnt own one if he was goig for this method... oh well... some stuff just will not make sence
Love this so much! I have long been fascinated with aluminum casting and have done a small bit myself. Most videos are just melting and making ingots or silly costume stuff. I think it is so much cooler and more fun to make actual useful parts for a project like this. May I suggest you knock together a simple hot wire cutter to make your foam patterns?
When I did it in college at PSU, we used a dry sand, and vibrated it against the foam mold, and a bit more sprue. You can see the 1/32 beads. May be worth trying.
If you want to do more foundrywork in the future, you should definitely watch Oldfoundryman’s channel. Top level stuff and he knows what he’s doing (unlike most of what one gets to see on YT). Loving this series as always!
I like that you did not take the easy route and just mill them out. This is the way they would have been made in the 20s and gave you a great opportunity to learn about a lost art form! Awesome job!
It makes sense that a denser foam would help give a better mold surface, but who knows if would effect the casting. Fortunately for you, you selected a router bit that matches the profile of your square file. They turned out aces!
Excellent work as always. I was pretty amazed at the quality of the casting after cleanup - I was expecting it to be more porous but it looks like it was a good pour all the way through.
you could rout this right into a flat plate of aluminium on your router table, ive routed aluminium with a woodrouter before and it works quite good. makes hell of a noise but works :D
Definitely have to try that. I’ve been wanting to make a brake pedal to match my old school moon gas pedal in my falcon. Now I feel much more confident
Nice work, love the shape. The only thing I would add is to mount the screws from the back. Drill and tap the aluminum in the back to leave the front of the pedals clean with an uninterrupted diamond pattern. Just my 2 cents.
Great vid, but in making the mold perhaps consider making a hot wire cutter with a battery charger or just a battery? You would get far cleaner cuts. Love you work.
This is fascinating. Great technique. I wonder if this would work with metals with higher melting points like maybe brass? It'll be interesting to see what you cast next. Keep it up
damm excellent - I did some sand casting in Jr. High - bet they don't teach that anymore 'in a world where most don't know which end of the screwdriver to hit with the hammer
Hi Mate, its grate that you are applying new trades to your build, however I was wondering why you didn't just machine the diamond pattern into a piece of aluminum plate.
havent sen this type of casting sand before , was supprized the water in the sand didnt cooked off when you poored hot metal intoo it but it worked fine it seemed next project the gas pedal ?
Hey Sir. I have one question. Is this a 4 speed? The reason I ask is because their is only two pedals. Or will it be an automatic? Maybe it's just me being dumb. Sorry about that. Really liked the video, I actually learned something. I didn't know how to do forging. Now I can do that. Thanks again. Take care buddy
Great job on the casting. Hopefully you have small feet as it looks like it will be pretty tight in the foot area. The car is sure coming along nicely.
Try and use finer foam - for example the green stuff used for plants as it has much finer grain and it brings out more detail while it melts away anyway.
You know car's have a ton of Aluminum and Steel touching each other!!!! Steel bolts in Aluminum parts all over and never is there a problem with Galvanic Corrosion!!!!
