Which ever method you chose, lost foam or traditional green sand, you will need a pattern. In lost foam, the pattern is made of foam and left in the mold. The molten metal vaporizes the foam. It creates a lot of gas so your sand needs to be permeable.
Green sand patterns are removed from the mold and need draft (taper) to draw smoothly. They can be reused many times.
Most people don't realize that molten aluminum is more dangerous than molten iron. Aluminum is poured around 1600 degs while iron is poured in the 2600 deg ranges. at those temperatures, iron will bounce of skin like water drops in a hot frying pan but molten aluminum sticks to the skin.
Always spend the money to buy protective clothing and facewear.
I would like to add to the earlier post, riser size, contact size and placement can be critical. Do it wrong and your results will be negative. |