Casting Metals

Any of you guys casting your own parts? What is your green sand mix? What type of furnace you using? what you using for fuel?
How successful have you been?
I did some casting with my Dad when I was a kid and also in high school. Back in the day it was common to make your own parts by casting. I wish I'd kept all of my Dad's and Granddad's sand casting tools now.
Now I'll have to build a furnace probably charcoal fired and forced air feed.
make a batch of green sand
crucible to hold the metal in for melting and lifting tools for pouring the metal
and a flask,sand ramming tools, sand box, sifters, the list goes on and on.
If you've ever poured metal its a hoot to do.

Here's the latest on the sand casting project.
I've made the sand mixture of silica sand and bentonite clay. Mixed 10 lbs. of sand to 1 lb. of clay. The clay was powered , sand sifted to remove and trash etc.
I made the cope and drag for ramming up patterns in out of some scrap lumber. The flask measures about 8" by 10". Also 2 backing boards.
I then build 2 steel crucibles out of steel tubing about 4" in dia by 6" tall. Made the lifting tongs
dross skinner and assorted tools. Made a ingot tray out of angle iron to pour aluminum into.
I broke up about 6 briggs engines that were for the go kart. I went on an aluminum hunt and ended up with a 5 gal. bucket full.
I then proceeded to make a crude furnace out of bricks I used 3 bags of charcoal to melt about 15 lbs of aluminum into ingots. I'm now going to build me a real furnace and try used oil to fire it
The charcoal was dirty, nasty work I now have less hair on my arms, I wore myself out melting the aluminum. I had fun.
I ordered the Gingery books to make a lathe, metal shaper, and a mill they should be here today or Fri.
I jumped into to project with both feet and will be soon casting something. I did do a quick and dirty casting of a aluminum rod by stabbing a length of tubing into the bucket of sand, pulled it out and filled it with melted aluminum.
Last night a rammed up 2 heads for the china engine in the sand just to see if I could make a mold of the heads they came out good enough I could of poured them if I'd had the metal melted. So there is a way to make a modified head if a guy want to. Or any other part of these engines that is aluminum.

just get the Dave Gingery books 1 to 7 the books will get you going. Or look on the net there is tons of stuff from making your own green sand to making the furnace to melt aluminum.
The Gingery books will tell you how to make a charcoal furnace to melt aluminum. Then you learn how to take that knowledge to make your own metal lathe,metal mill, metal shaper, drill press,dividing head to machine gears if you have more time than money these books are good.
You will with a lot of work will end up with a machine shop filled with machines you built yourself
if you can drill a hole, use a metal file, hack saw. All of these machines are made with hand tools

Lot of the ways these machines are made is a lost art but its been done by many if you don't have the money and want these tools then make them. heck I broke a part on my metal lathe a while back its a sears brand atlas lathe the cost to replace the broken part was over $100.00. If I'd made the darn lathe in the first place then I'd be able to just make another part to replace the broken part from melted aluminum the cost would be only in my time and the price of the fuel to melt the metal. I hope to get Ilikeabikea interested I need to make a waste oil fired furnace
then the cost will be very low.
I'm working on making the furnace out of a big popcorn can. I'll make the lining for it out of refractory cement. build the furnace stand out of rebar or conduit.
Did you know you can melt aluminum in a simple coffee can or any tin can!?The answer is yes.
Aluminum scrap metal is every where so your supply of metal is limitless.
Well what you waiting for guys make your own tools and you can make your own china engine.
Just the way you want it.
I did build my own airplane from plans, it been going for over 30 years now. So I think I should be able to make these tools.

Looks like you guys like to do some of the same things I like!
Hey today I started on making the furnace. I'm using a large popcorn can. I bought some refracroty cement,perlite,portland cement,fire bricks,and more playsand.
I've lined the bottom of the can with a mix of refactory cement mixed with perlite, sifted play sand,portlandcenemt. The mix is with very little water,I rammed it in place about 2" deep, made a 1 1/8" drain hole in the middle. Next will be the fire brick for the walls.
The bricks are easy to cut with a hack saw so I should get a nice tight fitting wall. I have some srainless steel sheet metal I might line the furnace with to protect the brick I want to use waste oil for fuel. I'm afraid the extreme heat will eat the bricks so the thin stainless steel sheet might help protect the brick at least where the main part of the flame jet will hit it.
I made the top of the furnace with a mix like in the bottom and about 3" thick with a 4" hole in the center. I ran coat hanger wire through the lid for poorboy rebar.
Welded on some home made handles on both the lid and the main body.
I'll have to take some photos if I can stop long enough, just been to busy.
I want to be able to raise the lid with a foot lever and be able to swing it out of the way so I'll start working on that soon. For me its been fun so far.
When I was a kid my Dad made a complete electric motor reminding machine by casting the parts in aluminum in our basement we had a stoker coal furnace for heating the house . Dad also used the house's furnace for melting the aluminum. I was his helper I made all of the sand cores for his molds. I was around 12 years old I got a good education on sand casting from my Dad. I learned about every cuss word in the book and some ones that weren't in the book from Dad when a pour went south or a mold dropped out. I also was the muller for the sand did it all by hand.
My Mom sold our house about 10 years ago all of the casting stuff was still there in the basement, it went with the house I wish I'd taken it when she offered me all that casting stuff. If I would have the only thing I would need is a furnace. I didn't ever plan to casting anything again.

It could be done the mold would take a bunch of time to figure out and make.
I don't think I'd want to try it.

I test ran the furnace today. I burned 2 gallons of oil made a mess, burned a hole in the drive way, burned the wheels of the furnace cart.
Part of the lids insulation came off. When the thing did run it sounded like a jet. Got hotter than
4ell then as it was going good I put in a little more oil in the fuel tank, didn't know the oil had water in it to make a long story short the fire went out. I cleaned up the mess patched the hole in the concrete repaired the furnace. Now I'll let it set until next week. I plugged the drain hole in the furnace bottom. The hole has there in case the melting pot leaked, instead it would leak oil and set the small wheels on fire,I planned to make some steel wheel now I have to.
I'll need to get some more waste oil and try it again.
It will melt aluminum fast if I didn't have the drain letting oil out the bottom setting the world on fire and blowing a hole in the driveway.
Did I say fire is cool? When its burning right there is no smoke. Just some noise and lots of heat
this would have been a good winter project.
It reminded me of working on the oil rig when the well blew out and caught fire,except here there was no screaming or cussing.
More to come.

I've been making patterns for the Dave Gingery metal shaper. Been pretty busy up making them.
I've got the ram part made today. I made the frame parts yesterday. Lot of wood patterns to make then cast.
I could even start casting and have the main frame done if I can get the castings to turn out good
that will be the tough part. I'll have to post some photos of what I've been up to.
Ilikeabikea took some photos of me ramming up a cylinder head but he hasn't put them on here so maybe he will sooner or later, I did the head pattern just for fun and practice and to show Bob how its done.
Norman