You might check a jewelry makers supply. Had a friend that did cast gold jewelry.
lol, no no your right. Really I was kidding more than anything for casting something as heavy as lead. We used to use this all the time though. You do let your castings dry VERY well. My dad used to even set some in a kiln type thing, but I believe there was a different reason there(cast material?).
UPDATE..
Well, with much effort I found the Bentonite here locally but had to buy a 100 pound bag of it of which I have only used about a half pound of. I made batches of greensand from blasting media (silica based) and filter sand. Both do pretty well. My only issue at the moment is the parting powder. It needs to repel moisture and the powdered limestone I am using just does an okay job. I have heard that black chalk box chalk made by Stanley works very well but it just sounds too messy.
The moisture is not a problem at all unless you get the sand too wet. Id say that 1 cup of water for 2 1/2 gallons of sand is too much. Some people use ND 30w motor oil instead of the water because it does not steam so I might try that.
Once I get good with Lead I'm going to give brass and Aluminum a go but I'll have to make a crucible to get the metal that hot
If anyone wants to give it a try let me know an I'll give you some Bentonite which is the only hard thing to find
Well, with much effort I found the Bentonite here locally but had to buy a 100 pound bag of it of which I have only used about a half pound of. I made batches of greensand from blasting media (silica based) and filter sand. Both do pretty well. My only issue at the moment is the parting powder. It needs to repel moisture and the powdered limestone I am using just does an okay job. I have heard that black chalk box chalk made by Stanley works very well but it just sounds too messy.
The moisture is not a problem at all unless you get the sand too wet. Id say that 1 cup of water for 2 1/2 gallons of sand is too much. Some people use ND 30w motor oil instead of the water because it does not steam so I might try that.
Once I get good with Lead I'm going to give brass and Aluminum a go but I'll have to make a crucible to get the metal that hot
If anyone wants to give it a try let me know an I'll give you some Bentonite which is the only hard thing to find
C
coythtr
Guest
what are u wanting to make i have a buddy who owns a small foundry.
Tyromeo55,
Would you post where you've been finding your materials locally. Thanks.
Would you post where you've been finding your materials locally. Thanks.
Just playing really....
Independent materials here in tulsa. I think the Bentonite was like 15 bucks for 100 pounds
C
coythtr
Guest
Check with Canfield & Joseph, Tulsa ,Ok. they are on 42nd right off Sheridan.
Mixing casting sand is a fine art. It's easy to get it too wet. You want to use bentonite, as already mentioned, with fine sand. Then you slowly start adding water. Unless you have a machine, mixing is tedious. The bentonite will instantly absorb the water and clump, so you have to mix it and condition it until it's nice and smooth.
If you get it too wet, it will boil the water out when you pour, and you'll see your metal bubbling. This will cause poor quality and voids. One way to help prevent this is to heat your mold cavity with a torch prior to using it to help set the sand and evaporate the water.
You want it just wet enough so that you can take a handful and squeeze it and it will hold its form. Also, make sure your forms have plenty of draft on them, or you'll be cussing trying to get the mold to release and leaving bits of itself behind. Some talcum powder in a sock helps. You can dust your form with it.
If you get it too wet, it will boil the water out when you pour, and you'll see your metal bubbling. This will cause poor quality and voids. One way to help prevent this is to heat your mold cavity with a torch prior to using it to help set the sand and evaporate the water.
You want it just wet enough so that you can take a handful and squeeze it and it will hold its form. Also, make sure your forms have plenty of draft on them, or you'll be cussing trying to get the mold to release and leaving bits of itself behind. Some talcum powder in a sock helps. You can dust your form with it.
I do some green sand metal casting. You might want to check out this yahoo groups web site. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castinghobby/ Also you should really check out the David Gingery books on back yard metal casting. The first two books in the series show you how to build a furnace out of a 5 gallon metal pail, build patterns, brew up a batch of green sand, etc. As someone else mentioned there are some really good videos on youtube demonstrating the process. Search under Gingery and look for a series produced by tubalcain (sp?).
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