Casting Links

Furnace and burner links

• An interesting source for the furnace's shell was at http://www.mnemodyne.com/projects/foundry/progress.html Rick's Foundry Project He used a barrel that originally contained malt extract- obtained from a homebrew supply place. Paste that url into web.archive.org to see what the page used to look like.
• using perlite and furnace cement as refractory

  http://www.John-Wasser.com/NEMES/MakeICR.html
  Update: John's page seems to be gone though it is available at here at web.archive.org

• Ron Reil has all kinds of stuff on making a propane and natural gas burners for furnaces and forges. His page has a link to a guy who sells them.

  http://ronreil.abana.org/design1.shtml
  Be sure to check out Ron's troubleshooting page. It contains a great tip on getting the aim right. I had limited success until I used it to adjust my burner. You hook up a water hose and adjust the burner until the water shoots down the center of the pipe. What the page does not mention is that you should thoroughly dry the burner afterwards or rust might set in. DAMHIKT.

• propane burner I made

  http://www.John-Wasser.com/NEMES/PropaneBurner.html
  Update: John's page seems to be gone though it is available at here at web.archive.org
  It's the Bordeaux modifications to Ron Reil's design as well as one of his own. The result is that the set screws are entirely eliminated. This is the page you get to by following the "The John Wasser Modification" link from Ron's pages.

High tech furnace and crucibles

• foundry 101 In class I used the large crucible and lifting/pouring tongs.

Molding Sand

• I picked up 50 lbs of molding sand from Centaur Forge in Burlington, Wisconsin.

  Update: it looks like they no longer carry molding sand- it isn't on their site anymore.

  The bag is marked Indian Ridge Mineral Co. Antioch, IL ARIDRY® J82MX Waterless Green Sand Binder. Their web site was http://www.indianridgemineral.com/ but is no longer there.
• Most recently (April 2015 and April 2010) I bought a 40 pound bucket of molding sand from MIFCO I used their contact form to ask what shipping would run. They replied with an estimate and asked that I not order it online (I called them instead). Apparently paypal won't let them charge that much (close to 50% for me) for shipping! They are in Danville, IL. This is the reddish color sand used in the 2010 through 2022 classes. MIFCO also has safety equipment including a silver suit like the one used during class. It's also where I got my leather apron.
• Budget Casting Supply used to have a similar red colored oil based molding sand. They now offer their own sand
• Grandpa's molding sand recipe

  http://members.aol.com/deathstarr54/page4.html
  This link no longer works. It looks like google does not have the page cached any longer. You can go to web.archive.org and enter the url above to view their copy of the page- though they don't have the images.

• Sand mulling (also lists a slightly different molding sand recipe than grandpa's recipe- it contains less bentonite)
• I haven't tried this but it looks interesting: homemade petrobond like sand called k-bond
• Sand rammers - including information on making your own pneumatic sand rammer

From Paul's notes

• Castable Refractory Mix
  • Firebrick Supply companies stock it – Usually 50# bags. Buy the highest temperature rated product.
• Sand
  • All purpose silica sand
  • Previously "Sand blasting" sand
  • white high angle fine uniform
• Clay
  • Kentucky ball clay – Kaolin Clay (OM4)
  • class #1332-58-7
    • KT Clay's
    • Kentucky-Tennessee Clay 10
    • 270-247-3061
    • "Smurfit-stone" packaging Division
  • It was available from Great Lakes Clay in Elgin, IL but yikes, it's seems they have gone out of business.
  • It looks like it is available from another pottery supply place I haven't used yet: The Ceramic shop in suburban Chicago. (Hint: Try to find it at a pottery supply place close to you to avoid paying more for shipping than the clay costs.)
• Furnace lining: 4 parts clay to 5 parts sand (by volume).
• Molding sand: roughly 1 part clay to 4 parts sand (also by volume). Start at about 10%-15% by volume, mix, moisten and mix, slowly add clay to suit.

Aluminum

Casting and Pattern Making links

• my pattern making pages
  • Pictures of what I cast at Tillers in 2002 and 2004. I successfully recast a Stanley 71 at the 2006 class. A previous unsuccessful attempt is shown on my recast tool page. I've updated the page showing a picture of the successful casting!
  • Slide show from a lost wax class I took in April 2003.
  • my pattern making collection
  • my anvil page - anvil patterns etc
  • Custom anvils are available from Walkner Forge. I have had samples at the last two classes in hopes that Tillers would want or order some! No affiliation etc.
  • my fire hydrant pattern (or 2-cycle marine engine?)
  • My core box machine - see, I didn't bring _everything_ to class!
  • Kingshott Shrine information about a woodworking tool making book
  • The tool and patterns made from the book just mentioned.
• pattern making suppliers
  • http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/ (I haven't ordered anything from them yet)
  • http://www.freemansupply.com/ They have a $25 minimum order (or they'll add a $5 surcharge). I get my metal pattern letters from them as well as rtv and castable compound for pattern making (see my doorstop page).
    Update: Freeman has launched a new molding division see http://www.hobbycast.net/
    Their main site has pages for Liquid Tooling, online videos and sample kit offers. They also are selling on ebay with paypal payments. Click here to see their current auctions on ebay. They sell dvds and sometimes sample kits as seller freemanmfg.
  • http://www.kindt-collins.com/ $50 minimum order. I've ordered plastic pattern letters from them. Great deal vs buying individual white metal letters tough the sizes are limited and I don't think they have reversed letters (also known as core or branding letters.
    Update: it looks like Kindt-Collins was bought by the people who own Freeman Pattern Supply
  • http://www.johnburn.co.uk in case you are on the other side of the big pond
• tips on making thin castings and the co2 activated core material

  http://www.ptbo.igs.net/~grimshaw/techtip2.htm (This link no longer works)

• a warning about sweat dripping into molten metal

  http://www.ptbo.igs.net/~grimshaw/techtip3.htm (This link no longer works)

• Tillers International- a place in Kalamzaoo, Michagan to take blacksmith and foundry classes. Listen to Executive Director Dick Roosenberg on Worldview on NPR!
• Gingery group- people who built the furnace and lathe etc from the Gingery books.
• Lost & Foundry - seller of high tech kaowool furnace and crucibles
  • His web site full of great information is at http://foundry101.COM/
    • The products page lists bentonite, casting kits, furnaces, and bags of grandpa's molding sand.
    • The Learning Links page lists an 800 number to find the bentonite he uses.
    • You'll be blown away by the cup casting page.
  • His old web site is at http://www.host33.com/casting/ There used to be a link from this site to Grandpa's sand recipe.
• Lindsay Publications was a great source of casting and blacksmith books. It looks like they are no longer in business.
• Midwest tool collectors association group of hand tools enthusiasts
• The Flowerpot Crucible Furnace by Lionel Oliver II. I also have his booklet "Making Pulleys with hand tools... and casting them in metal" but don't see it listed on his site.
• Russ' favorite pattern making textbook: Exploring patternmaking and foundry by Harvey D. Miner and John G. Miller 1966. I think it's out of print. It contains the anvil drawing shown here.

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