Any one cast their own air cleaner? how hard would it be at home. My pop's is a blacksmith and has a forge I could melt it in but how hard is it to do the forms, etc.. I ***ume sand casting is what I should use, is it hard to find, can I make it? I rarely can find one I like and when I do they go for hundreds of bones. Would this be feasable to try?
did it in high school, pretty easy. sand casted, two part molds, talc powder on the original wax piece.
There are lots of books out there on this very topic. You'll get a lot more out of your own research... BTW - if you already have the equip to melt the aluminum, the rest isn't too hard. Tip...don't use wet sand!
I go to my ol' high school and they've let me use their equipment as long as I donate some aluminum. It's not hard as long as you have the proper equipment. and remember you need at least 7 degrease around the edges for the mold to release nicely!
There have been a few good sand casting threads here, from Smokey and Whizzer Rick. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/search.php? Or use your favorite search engine. From what I've seen,the hard part is getting enough heat to melt enough Aluminum. If you are only going to do one part,probably cheaper and easier to just make the patterns and let someone else do the casting. But not as much fun that way.
Aluminum casting is easy and fun,for air cleaners and stuff like that you can just melt down grannies lawn mower or a bunch of cans.....you tell me where or how to get a bunch of cans!!!!! Anytime you want to know how to do something that the "experts" tell you is "real technical" and "impossible" to do at home, ( especially things where the same experts want to drain your bank account) The Late Dave Gingery wrote heaps of books .....almost, it would seem, with HAMBers in mind. How to do stuff and build machines from s**** ......he was a genius, I have been using his stuff for years. Casting iron, forging steel,babbitt bearings , build an EDM machine ,weld anything, chrome plating,pipe benders,slip roll machine,.....it's all there Even how to make your own race fuel ( alcohol). He didn't just recycle old information, he tried everything himself and when the old info was wrong or it didn't work he stuck with it and found out why , then he wrote the book and showed the world.........and the books are inexpensive . Go check him out at Lindsays Books .
Thanks guys, I didn't think it should be to hard. I'll definately check out some of these resources. THat's why I asked on here.
hi guys , i`m wanting to do some casting also. the best site i`ve found so far for how-tos is www.backyardmetalcasting.com . so far i`ve built a copy of his burner and have started to make a furnace out of an old keg. if anyone knows of other sites please post them. thanks, gary
Check your local community college. I am taking aluminum and bronze casting right now. Cool cl***. Erron
www.budgetcastingsupply.com http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/furnace/furnace.html www.creativecastingco.com/index.htm www.host33.com/casting www.backyardmetalcasting.com www.emainc.com/radnor/sand.htm www.groups.yahoo.com/group/gingery_machines
It's fairly simple if you're able to melt the aluminum. Just remember to keep your gates clear and moving downhill.
we casted some aluminum in my cl*** this week (i am perpetually stuck in high school metal shop) anyhow.. search for "lost foam" method.. we have had excellent results.. sawzall
If you want to cast something smaller come by the shop. I can cast something about 5"x5". I have a cetrifugal casting machine and burn out oven..... and beer bring your brothers...we'll have a party! .....As far as aircleaner / aluminium casting .....Wizzerick?? ( spelling?) The guy that cast the 327 Ryan special valve cover emblem is the guy to talk to! He has some good info on his website.
I'll second this and add that you should request a catalog. I wanted about 50 books the first time I skimmed it.
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