Mastering Aluminum Sand Casting: Secrets to getting a flawless surface finish. 

Thank you. You know I thought about that and I didn't film my self building them. In my next video I can do a build explanation though. I had a large round peice of aluminum that was near the same size as the crucible to help form the metal around.

Thanks for watching!

Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you!

This is the description on amazon of the unit that reads the thermal couple. It does come with thermal couples but they can not reach the temperature of melting aluminum. Its about $30 usd. Digital 2 Channels K-Type Thermometer w/ 4 Thermocouples (Wired & Stainless Steel), -50~1300°C (-58~2372°F) Handheld Desktop High Temperature Kelvin Scale Dual Measurement Meter Sensor I can't find the exact thermocouple I have used, I believe though that mine could read to 2000F. My video called "Making a Fallout 76 emblem out of aluminum using the sand casting process and tooling upgrades" has the most detail in it about the probe. Also, in the video I use it against a IR point thermometer. I think the reflectiveness and distance of alot of objects interfere with those. I had previously purchased an IR thermometer that was supposed to cover the melting point of aluminum and it never seemed to work correctly so I returned it. My opinion, I get the best reading by a thermocouple. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bF10FhQx03Q.htmlsi=oNaloIFK7OoRrQE9 Thanks for watching!

I have not smelted lead before but I can imagine your right, it would be the same except for the temp. The only suggestion for casting I have is to avoid pop can aluminum alloy if you can help it. Use aluminum alloy that has been used for casting before if you are trying to make an actual object. Good luck! Thanks for watching.

Thanks so much for following my channel. I 100% agree that I need to cast something useful or completely 3D. I have been challenged by to make something fit a curved surface by another viewer so I am working on that. Currently, I have 3D printed and prepped 2 match plates that will make a 3D object(this will be filmed in the next day). Also, I will have a video of a custom drawer pull knob in 3D to cast. That pattern has been completed and I just need to film the pour. Another video I want to do is having AI help generate patterns for casting. I have been working on that the past couple days. Trust me I understand I have been stalling moving forward with my types of casting and will be progressing soon. I really appreciate the input.

In my video with the match plates where I made a grenade the aluminum was dumped straight in the top of the casting flask. The grenades did have some small flaws in them. I think the goal of casting would be to get a nice even flow and fill of aluminum. Also try and use a pouring basin carved in the sand it helps with making it easier to pour along with a smooth flow of aluminum introduced into the mold. The other piece of advice I would definitely say is to use a little bit of air to remove any loose sand. I personally try and avoid a straight pour when I can.

In my experience an unfinished FDM 3d printed part is just about impossible to pull out of sand with out it tearing apart the sand. For my patterns to pull out I have to create a slick surface finish on them along with using a parting powder. You could probably try starting with baby powder AKA cornstarch. Its the safest on your lungs if you accidently inhale it. In the past I have sanded my 3d prints then sprayed primer and sanded some more. Then finally spray paint the surface. In my most current video of the "IDGAF sign" , I used glazing and spot putty with acetone for dilution. It worked really well. Then I finished it with a primer and coat of epoxy paint.

I have never visited Romania so I am not sure what you have available there. You might have to make your own greensand rather than petrobond. There are videos on how to make your own green sand on RU-vid. Sifting the sand will get you a finer mesh. For the aluminum you will probably hit up salvage yards for car parts that were previously cast. I have tried other types of aluminum and it doesn't cast as well as an aluminum alloy that was formulated for casting. My propane burner has a ceramic wool interior that needs to be coated so ceramic fibers do not get into my lungs. There are plenty of videos on RU-vid on making furnaces you will have to choose one that fits your available resources. Basically its going to be how resourceful you can be. Good Luck!

That's a question with alot of answers. I purchased my equipment online(Amazon). My forge I am not thrilled with because the burner is placed pointed straight at the crucible when it should be off to the side to create a swirling fire around the crucible. Also, most of the forges are made with ceramic wool, the white fluffy material inside for insulation. The ceramic wool is EXTRMEMLY HAZARDOUS to lungs and need to be covered with a refractory material. Most people use a chemical to make it rigid before applying the refractory coating. I used Greenpatch 421 from Iron Dungeon Forge. I purchased my face protection online too(amazon). My jacket/gloves are from a welding shop and I should still purchase something to protect my lower half of my body. Most forges come with crappy tongs that are generally called salad tongs(accident waiting to happen) get a decent pair of lifting tongs and a pouring ring/tongs. Your safety gear is extremely important, having an accident with molten aluminum will be unforgivable. Sometimes I wish my forge was slightly larger so I could pack alot of molds and pour at one time, its more efficient. My petrobond is TETON 190mesh ultrafine, this was from amazon but online jewelry supply stores sell this too. Get aluminum metal that has been cast before, pop can aluminum is junk and not meant for casting. Join Facebook groups and ask questions too. This casting community is full of good people that want to help and don't want to see people get hurt. I am sure I have missed more information but keep looking and researching. Good luck in your research and stay safe.

Sure I will see what I can do. Thanks for watching.

Yup. LOL I know. I am just trying out different intro styles to see what hold people's interest. RU-vid puts a metric on the first 30 seconds of a video to see if more than half of the viewers kept watching. I just don't want to post click bait. Thanks for the laugh!

Hello! I would be putting the letters face down also. I am not sure what your pattern looks like but if you have beveled edges on your lettering and sides of your logo you should do really well. Are you going to post it to your channel? I will have to check it out.

@@DamonsMetalCasting Oh good ya the edges of the round saw blade shape is very soft and rounded but the raised letters and compass are pretty sharp. hopefully no air bubbles get caught down in the letters but flows up and out. How many air hols would you suggest?. It's half and inch thick and about 6" diameter . Thanks for your help. Yes, I will definitely post a video for that one.

The pattern you are casting sounds pretty thick you probably be fine with a sprue and a riser. I think the air holes help with dead ends of a pattern, if your pattern is mainly a large and thick disc it probably would be fine with out the air vents. If the lettering is sharp make sure you have parting powder(baby powder/talc) really down in those letter crevices. Sounds like getting the lettering clean will be the biggest challenge. Good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

@@DamonsMetalCasting Ok cool Thanks for the guidance! Now I need to find enough scrap aluminum to give it a try.

@@DamonsMetalCasting Definitely good advice, air holes or even just little scratch vents help the corners fill completely. Thanks for the video!

LMAO! Yup you are totally correct. Thanks for hanging in there. lol

Right?!

The cost of the 190mesh when I purchased it was the same as the 140mesh. I also purchased 100lbs at a time so its greatly discounted dollar per pound. People have stated that my castings look nearly die cast. I don't really care to use substandard materials and end up with an item I have to spend time with a wire wheel or other means to clean up. Since my email is posted you are welcome to send a picture of your best casting right after opening the flask and we can talk about how your casting quality is better than mine and how you did it.

@DamonsMetalCasting oh I know for sure🤣 not dogging on ya at all. I've spent AGES making up countless batches of different greensands/delft (as cheap as possibly, processing and grinding and grading 50lb bags after bag of pure silica washed sand, a bunch of different bentonite and additives, made sodium silicate and done c02 setting molds and cores, I have separate small batch sands specifically for facing, or certain difficult mold geometries etc.. NONE of them give me the finish I want- close. Really close. Even getting fingerprints and virtually smooth print lines transfered- but to be fair I'm chasing something that is virtually impossible without spending years gaining experience or just doing step 1- pony up and spend the moola on petrobond because it WORKS right out the gate🤣 I've made hundreds of lbs of greensand now for dirt cheap. 10 bucks/50 lbs, probably 15 bucks all in per 50-60 lbs. Now.. opportunity cost I've spent a FORTUNE on the time and effort, After all the time and TONS of physical work.. I really should have just spent the 100 bucks on some high mesh oil bonded sand🤣 that said I've gained tons of experience. Many outright failures before I figured it out. But yeah. Advice for anyone with some brains- for high definition molds that just work.. buy the petrobond

I agree, I wanted to get up and running with the least amount of variables possible. If I ever did this on a large scale, reducing sand cost would be definitely something I would look into.