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Tech: Part 2 - Making tail lights from scratch

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by Smokey, Mar 17, 2005.

  1. Smokey
    Joined: Aug 23, 2001
    Posts: 56

    Smokey
    Member

    Tech: Part 2 - Making tail lights from scratch

    This is part 2 of my tail lights from scratch. I will attempt to show you how I cast the pattern from part 1 in Aluminum. There are a bunch of photos so I will have to post this in two halves I guess.

    [​IMG]

    Well here is the styrene pattern sitting atop the plaster plug. The plaster plug supports the pattern while I ram up the first half of the mold. After this shot I coated it with parting dust (baby powder). By the way, my whole foundry set up cost me about $50- 60 to put together. Homemade refractory for the furnace, homemade petrobond sand, burner, tools, flasks and misc stuff. Costs less than a dollar per 25 min. melt.(propane) I say this so that anyone that thinks it would be too much of an investment would know different. Plus it’s just plain neat to do.

    [​IMG]

    This shows the fine riddled layer of sand directly over the pattern.

    [​IMG]

    Here is the first half of the flask full of sand, rammed up.

    [​IMG]

    And the sand screeted off smooth.
     
  2. Smokey
    Joined: Aug 23, 2001
    Posts: 56

    Smokey
    Member

    [​IMG]

    In this shot the first half of the flask is turned over and the plaster plug is removed.

    [​IMG]

    The pouring sprue and vent sprue forms are put in place and a generous amount of parting dust is applied.

    [​IMG]

    This is after the second half of the flask has been riddled, packed, rammed, and sprue forms removed then the flask is split apart. The runners are cut in and then the pattern is removed and any loose sand is carefully blow away. The flask is closed and moved out to beside the furnace.

    [​IMG]

    And here they are all poured. Sorry for no dramatic pour action shots. I was alone and I haven’t quite mastered the task of shooting photos and pouring hot molten metal at the same time. But man it is cool to pour at night. This is always the hardest part for me. The wait from the pour to the cool down and opening of the flasks.

    [​IMG]

    Oh yea, success! At least by my expectations. A tiny bit ruff in some areas but they should clean up nicely. This is the time when I look over the casting and see if I need to refine it a bit so it will pour and turn out better. I probably could but I know I won’t, cause I lazy. You will have to wait til the part 3 to see them cleaned up. At that time (soon) I will show the how to on the buckets and the final product.

    Hey, any Iowa Hambers (or anyone for that matter) want to get together when the weather turns a little nicer for a Saturday casting party? Might be fun, think about it.

    Thanks,
    Smokey
     
  3. ****ing awesome....
     
  4. 30roadster
    Joined: Aug 19, 2003
    Posts: 1,793

    30roadster
    Member

    posts like this and guys like you really keep me humble....great post and thanks for sharing...I can't wait to see the finished product!
     
  5. Jeees Kyle..., didn't you take Foundry cl*** at Waukesha South...???:confused:

    That cl*** was a blast...!:D

    I was making copies of Cal Custom Barefoot pedals and I made a duplicate 430 Super Marauder Tri-carb Aircleaner....!!!!!:cool:
     
  6. Unkl Ian
    Joined: Mar 29, 2001
    Posts: 13,509

    Unkl Ian

    Most excellent.Thanks Smokey.
     
  7. G Griffin
    Joined: Jul 19, 2004
    Posts: 521

    G Griffin
    Member


    Yeah, what he said.


    G.
     
  8. MIKE-3137
    Joined: Feb 19, 2003
    Posts: 1,578

    MIKE-3137
    Member

    Looks really great. If you think about making a pair to sell, I seriously want a pair, I'll even do the polishing myself.
     
  9. ~E~
    Joined: Feb 23, 2005
    Posts: 214

    ~E~
    Member

    You have my vote for best tech. F-in DIY.:p
     
  10. TooMany2count
    Joined: Jan 6, 2003
    Posts: 1,373

    TooMany2count
    Member
    from Cahokia,IL

    hey Smokey, what kinda sand did u use & if it was oiled sand what did ya use for the oil. just wondering since its been 20yrs since i have poured steel at the foundry i use to work at & when i worked there we were always adding some kind of oil to the sand to make it stick better when making molds or cores for casting parts...GREAT WORK too...joe
     
  11. FiddyFour
    Joined: Dec 31, 2004
    Posts: 9,024

    FiddyFour
    Member

    GREAT info and pics for a basic understanding of how cope and drag casting can be done on the cheap!

    excellent tech
    :D
     
  12. rustyparts
    Joined: Jan 3, 2005
    Posts: 702

    rustyparts
    Member
    from Clinton,Mt

  13. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,509

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    Best tech hands down.
     
  14. 61Lancerwagon
    Joined: Feb 18, 2005
    Posts: 112

    61Lancerwagon
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    ****
    Never thought I'd wish I lived in Iowa...
    Cool Tech!

    Randy
     
  15. Rocky
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 17,630

    Rocky
    Classified Editor

    Smokey........let me know when the pour is. I'd love to attend and I don't even need directions to your house!
     
  16. Smokey
    Joined: Aug 23, 2001
    Posts: 56

    Smokey
    Member

    Thanks for the great replies everyone.
    TooMany2count - The recipe for sand that I made up was this
    50 lbs. - Silica sand
    9.375 lbs. - Low firing temp white clay, I don’t have the name of the clay in my head and will have to look it up. It’s not the typical bentonite clay that every one says to use but it is what I had on hand from another project.
    3.125 lbs.- Straight 30 weight motor oil
    Nothing more complex than that. I didn’t make up a fancy muller to mix the batches of sand up. I just used an old dryer drum with motor set in a stand with wheels for the drum to roll on and about 20 old billiard balls and it works pretty slick. I have been using the same 250 lb. batch of sand for the last 3 years and it still works great.

    Smokey
     
  17. Smokey
    Joined: Aug 23, 2001
    Posts: 56

    Smokey
    Member

    Will do Rocky, I think it could be alot of fun.

    Smokey
     
  18. orange52
    Joined: Feb 21, 2003
    Posts: 471

    orange52
    Member

     
  19. 61Lancerwagon
    Joined: Feb 18, 2005
    Posts: 112

    61Lancerwagon
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Hey Smokey,

    If you get the time could you do another tech post on your basic home foundry setup, with pics? I remember reading an article about doing this stuff a loooong time ago in one of the rod magazines, but they were using the foundry at a local college I think. One of the things they mentioned was having to make the patterns slightly oversize, for things like valvecovers, because they shrink a little? I sure would like to see all this stuff firsthand, no doubt you'd have to hear even more questions :D but man is this stuff interesting.
    Thanks!
    Randy
     
  20. FORDY 6
    Joined: Oct 8, 2002
    Posts: 1,570

    FORDY 6
    Member

    Joe and I would make the trip...
     
  21. Redneck Smooth
    Joined: Apr 19, 2004
    Posts: 1,344

    Redneck Smooth
    Member
    from Cincinnati

    I saw the first part of this series as well and was quite intrigued. What did you use to melt the metal? What did you melt it in? Where did you get your supplies? Does anyone have a link explaining just the basics of this process? I don't even know where I'd start, but it would be really cool to be able to cast stuff like taillights. It's a lot easier to figure out the nuances if I understand the overall process first. I've never done anything like this before, but it looks really cool...
     
  22. PBRmeASAP
    Joined: Aug 26, 2002
    Posts: 6,893

    PBRmeASAP
    Member

    Tech week rocks!!!
    this is what the hamb is all about!!

    Thanks...
     
  23. How about April 9th? :D . or will you be at the swap at Hawkeye Downs?
     
  24. beyondhelp
    Joined: Mar 11, 2005
    Posts: 131

    beyondhelp
    Member

  25. restorit
    Joined: Feb 12, 2003
    Posts: 1,465

    restorit
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Denny,
    Great post! FORDY 6 was telling me about it this morning at coffee. If he will let me ride with him & Joe, I would be up for a casting party. Maybe a mini-cruise up to your place...Tom - restorit
     
  26. Roothawg
    Joined: Mar 14, 2001
    Posts: 26,030

    Roothawg
    Member

    Very cool...foundry stuff intrigues my small brain.
     
  27. Corn Fed
    Joined: May 16, 2002
    Posts: 3,435

    Corn Fed
    Member

     
  28. Smokey
    Joined: Aug 23, 2001
    Posts: 56

    Smokey
    Member

    Great, glad to see so much interest in a casting day. I will try to come up with a few possible dates and see what works out best for the majority. Also I’ll have to make up some more flasks and car accessory patterns so everyone could cast up something for themselves to take home.

    For those who were asking about sites on casting, here are some. Some of these might have been posted before in the past. A lot of good sites out there.

    http://www.eugenesargent.com/casting.htm
    http://www.host33.com/casting/
    http://www.duncanamps.co.uk/metal/projects/projects.php
    http://jackson.parcabul.com/sub/foundry.html
    http://www.myhomefoundry.com/
    http://www.artmetal.com/project/TOC/proces/cast/furnace.html
    http://www.reil1.net/design1.shtml
    That should give you some good reading.

    Smokey
     
  29. RockyJr
    Joined: Feb 17, 2005
    Posts: 454

    RockyJr
    Member
    from Wichita KS

    OK that's just too fukin slick. I gotta read it a few more times and probalby take a trip to the library to really understand it all . But I need to learn how to do this. I'm totally blown away.

    Excellent post. Looking forward to the final installment.

    SHORT BUSES ARE KUSTOMS TOO RIGHT?
     
  30. Skate Fink
    Joined: Jul 31, 2001
    Posts: 3,472

    Skate Fink
    Member Emeritus

    bttt................"BACK TO THE TOP"...........for the newbies.:rolleyes:
     

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