:o Hi. I just want to ask a few probably very basic questions. I want to set up a small casting setup next year when my workshop gets going (Some of you may have seen my other posts about this!! :) ). I'll probably only need to cast about ten small parts once every week or two. One of my many products will be iron gates and railings. I need to learn to cast so I can produce the spearheads and other fancy items to go onto the gates. So here is one or two points and what may be stupid questions I hope someone can help me with:

1) The gates will be iron so I assumed that I would cast the spearheads out of iron aswell. After researching this it seems it may not be such a good idea. Why is iron so much more difficult and dangerous to cast?

2)I think my possible alternative to casting iron would be to cast in aluminium and use an etching primer to allow me to paint it the same as the rest of the iron gates. This seems like a good and viable alternative to me. Does anyone see any problems or disadvantages with this over casting iron?

3) I want to build my own furnace for a few reasons: I can't afford to buy one. There is lots of good info on the internet and it doesnt seem that difficult (Touch wood!). And just because I like building stuff to use myself :D ! I know I should be saying this in weight but anyhow (Sorry), I think I'll only need to melt about half a liter/1 liter of metal at once, and do this about ten times, as the spearheads will only be about 4 inches long x 2 inches wide/deep. Would a cupola furnace such as at this address be a good idea or can someone make a better suggestion?http://www.rockisland.com/~marshall/foundry.html

4) What is the slightly pink material that the mold at this address is made of and would it be any use to me (It seems to give a smooth finish) or should I look at sand/clay etc?http://www.dmdaustralia.com.au/block3.html

5) Why are Asbestos gloves suggested on internet sites as safety equipment. Im not entirely comfortable with this, you do know they cause cancer, or are they viewed as a necessary evil of the trade. Is safety clothing being made out of a more modern material nowadays?

6) I think I will make wood models for my castings, or else I'll use foam. Which would be better for the type of work specified above?

7)When casting with foam, I understand that the foam disintegrates almost instantaneously due to the high heat, but especially when casting aluminium is there no residue left? Surely the foam doesn't completely vapourise?

Thankyou very much, I understand that its a lot of questions but any advice is very much appreciated.

Thanks.

The cast iron spears are about $0.45 a piece here in the US......also for casting of aluminum....check out buildyouridea.com

Thanks Viper. I would also like to do it myself so I could do some other casting in my free time, they are just my primary concern and I figured if I was getting into it as a hobby anyway I could cast them fairly easily in individual designs that competitors couldn't get so easily. :D

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Just throw this thread back into the mix again. :)

My belief regarding the danger of casting in iron is the extreme temperature involved, I'm not sure that the Al would play nice with the iron after a few years (dissimilar metals...one has to sacrifice) then again if painted well :shrug: ...Personally if I had acres of space i'd build the cupola furnace and use charcoal.....however I dont so i'll stick to petrobond and Al. If you made a good mould/mold ie put a lot of time into it you wouldnt have to spend much if any time cleaning it up. Petrobond is great for picking up detail (especially fingerprints) you'd probably be better of making a matchplate and casting them a dozen at a time. I started playing with Al around 10 years ago and found the hardest part was finding suppliers who would sell to me :cry: efs in colne have always seen me right so i'd reccomend them... I must get the furnace out and take some pictures of my setup.

Thanks Kipper. Pics would be great. I've since located a company in Ireland who specialise in this type of thing so it's easier for me to buy from them than to worry about casting myself. So the casting has gone on the backburner for the immediate future. Although I would like to give it a try as a hobby at some stage, and from a business standpoint it might still come in handy for custom designs.....we'll have to see.
L8rs.
http://www.artisticironworksupplies.com/comp_list_CAD.asp

Hello all!! Great place, this - only recently discovered it. For the thread: Google Lindsay Books. A man named Dave Gingery wrote a whole series of books about how to build your own foundry, lathe, milling machine, shaper and more. There is more there about foundry work, too. Casting aluminum is fairly easy. You should not attempt to cast iron unless you have experience casting, and it requires not a furnace but a cupola for reasons I won't get into (and I forget the details, too). Casting aluminum is lightweight and in the 1000-1400 deg f. range. Having a crucible full of 100 lbs. of 3200 deg molten iron is not a task to be taken lightly, and trust me, you'll want those asbestos gloves. The pink stuff is a two part molding compound similar to silicone rubber - more of a rubber than silicone, though.......

Hello all!! Great place, this - only recently discovered it.
I agree it's a veritable "timesink" lol for the thread have a read of C.W. Ammen's book The complete handbook of sandcasting. Fwiw I started out using wood to reduce the Al...Now I use gas oil.... It's cheap for me (no outlay on fuel ;) ) plus it keeps me warm in the winter :) If it doesnt persist it down tomorrow i'll get the camera out diarmaid and grab those pictures. Oh and hello jjdon :wave: