Just read this whole thread in one go, absolouteley fantastic, I think the finished part looked as good if not better than factory! Fantastic to see someone doing this at home and making the equipment! well written and photographed too. Awesome thread.
Try here also for the whole story. Set aside a few hours though... Simply awesome Brian! That dry sump scavenge pump idea is pretty inspired...
Its all running up to date on here now guys in the projects section, everything is included and upto date, it took me a while to get it online here too but its there now and Ill update regular. Save you having to forum hop. As for making the stuff at home with home made tools, its my only option, Ive let out some bits in the past to others, stuff as simple as threading a bar on a spindle, and It was screwed up or done wrong. The saying ''I should have done it myself'' was stated in my head more than once so from now on Im doing just that, the lot. Why not, its only metal. There also the frustration of having to tell people what you want, or how you want it, and them telling you its not possible. Theres only one thing in my eyes thats not possible, and that is avoiding old age, so I better hurry on Another thing that annoys me when doing a project is other people taking gratification for a part you designed, that they made, that drives me soft also. They often get praised and thanked more than you do for doing the entire job and designing all the parts. That may sound childish or selfish but thats how I feel about it. Nobody's work or parts are going to be in my engine bay but my own. That way theres only one man in control that's dealing with everything from start to finish, me. Rant over, Ill put on my tin foil hat again and return to the basement, LOL. Brian.
Excellent thread man, been working up to making my own furnace ect. too, learnt alot from this page, http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/index.html i like his idea of using used engine oil, abit cheaper than gas. Can tell your a proper woodworker with all those festool tools
Would yon thing go hot enough to melt down scrap silver? A Kg or so? Need it poured into a bar form rather than a pile of useless broken bits!
@ Crispy, thanks, my second long and boring thread can be seen in the other section called ''My new Gti'' Its my project car and where Im putting all this lark and more to use eventually... @ Axeweilder, had a look there, tidy site alright, never tried oil, make sure you have enough waste oil to run it when you want, Im not a garage so the only oil Id have is from my own/friends cars so I cant guarantee myself a good supply. I find gas very instant too, clean, and easy regulate, maybe oil is too, I dont know, worth a try if you've got plenty. @TSC, yes, 961degrees is easily reachable. @ Fishnchipsx2, thanks, you might like my other ramblings in the projects/members section.
IIRC, when melting silver, I lost a lot from oxidation. You probably need an inert gas shield. An Argon mig welding canister should do the job? Brian, did you emphasize that the mould should be completely dry? I am sure you did. I just remember that, as a youth, I splattered myself with molten aluminium, when I poured into a wet mould. I was open casting into a "Plaster of Paris" mould! Have you considered casting steel using 'Thermite' powder? Use to do a lot of on site casting and welding using 'Thermite', when I worked for Hilti Contracts, back in the 1970s!
Great thread Brian, very interesting and well written. I'd also like to have a go at casting parts in the future so will be watching your build thread with much interest! Thanks alot
So while Im waiting for the sodium silicate to land(For my build thread) I set about perfecting batch casting the flanges, it shows the effects of runner size and gating so Ill share as I know there's a few keen to see the results, a lot of people call casting a black art which I feel it isnt if you think about things and whats happening inside as the metal is poured. For batch casting these I set about on making a tree of four patterns instead of the two which I had set out above. For batch casting I wanted the runner and gate system pretty well figured out and I also wanted to do away with the riser, as this is waste once they are poured, and requires energy to melt, and re-melt. Therefore, I wanted the sprue, runner, and gates as small as I could get away with to save on hot metal, which directly relates to how many flanges I can pour per melt. The patterns are basic so I made up them pretty quick, then played around with runner cross-section, the results and findings are below, Here is the first test to see if the actual patterns are ok, I modified my design a bit on the hose area as Im going to spin these on the lathe to form a totally smooth surface for pipe. Ive worked out how to do it in 2 operations, that is, face off the flange, cut the groove for O ring, and then turn the hose portion and bore and spotface the two fixing holes. Now, the runner and gate test, remember my aim, as small as possible, I cut them rough In the sand to get my Ideal size, the first test I cut each runner a different size to find the smallest one I could get away with, and keep the flanges filled as they cooled, I quickly found what was too small to get away with as you can see in the runner junction below, the one facing you was too small and the flange on that line shrunk back as it solidified. The reason this happened was because the runner solidified before the part, cutting off its feed from the main runner and riser.. The shrink, I set up another this time with a thicker runner to parts, a quick and dirty test mould up, and no problems this time, I now had my approx runner target size, so I set out fixing the lot to the parting plate, the gates and runners included also, Like so, The portion on the right where I will leave my sprue dowel at time of mould packing, minimum sharp turns with the runner too, less turbulence. And inverted, Another test fill to see if runner system releases from sand ok, its grand, no metal poured this time, just a fill test, Out of interest, the approx flange weight is 5oz not machined, the weight of the runner and gating system when cut off is also 5oz, and, my ingots are 5oz each, making metal calculations in the crucible very easy. And that was that, job done, all set for multiple pours, got it sorted in just two test pours, Brian,
Few Vids Mike, , not too exciting but here they are all the same. Its the first time Ive realised I sound like a proper bogger too...anyway...enjoy, Core insertion to main mould, Cutting the sprue, Closing them off, Dross removal from molten metal, Knocking them out(very short at end..) Brian,
Brian, did you happen to catch the documentary on BBC tonight about Rolls Royce Trent engines? Some very interesting casting techniques used to create super strong fan-blades...
fantastic skills mate, never seen a router being used like that and the casting... speechless BTW, I haven't seen the crucible lid being used
