I don't think I've seen any sand finer in detail than the sand you use. Another great informative video!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mister, The facing sand I use is very fine indeed, ridiculously fine in fact and that does cause some problems - like the need to vent to let steam out as I had to do for this part - but it does give a lovely finish... Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Martin has a video on how he goes about making his very fine facing sand.

@Mistertbones

5 жыл бұрын

@@markfryer9880 That is such a great video.

You have some of the best casting videos on KZread. Your commentary really explains what you are doing, and I learn something every video.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

David, Thank you for saying so, If you learn from my videos I am happy. I came to YT to pass on what I know and thus perhaps in my own small way counteract some of the bad info out there... Martin

These are far and away the best Metal Casting videos on KZread. Thank you for taking the time to make them and presenting the information so effectively - very detailed but easy to follow. And thanks too for the in depth responses given in the comments - a great amount of information to be had there as well. Looking forward to more videos.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Dave, Thank you for saying so - I just wish more of YT thought as you do, 😏 Its a question of getting known I guess. My aim is to pass information on and if I am managing to do that I am happy. I have a few more videos "in the can" and these will be released as time to do the necessary editing (it seems to take forever!) can be found. Later I hope to return to shooting more so, as they say, stay tuned..Martin

@gaugeengineering8467

5 жыл бұрын

I think part of the reason more people aren't watching your channel is they are unaware they are watching a professional foundryman doing professional work. I imagine you're getting lost amongst the other 98% of metal casting on YT done by amateurs using dubious equipment and techniques. Perhaps a 'Shop Tour' video might serve as an introduction for new viewers to your channel. They seem to be popular for other channels and would be a good way to show off the equipment you have and the work you do. You could also explain all about the Exothermic, and Green Sand and all the other things you get asked about repetitively after every video... : )

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Dave, "repetitively asked" yep, the exothermic takes pride of place there! If I have been asked about it once I have been asked 100 times. 😊. Still it encourages comments and I have adopted a copy and paste answer. I have friends who get almost no comments and they complain about it, so if a repetitive situation is the price for lots of comments, and I must say lots of very good comments, its a price I am happy to pay. I think you are right about getting lost in the 98% and I have noticed that some YT foundry types who started 10 or 11 years ago are doing much better than I despite (in my opinion) not really knowing all that much! In fact some of them are why I started - to counteract what I saw as bad information and bad technique. They of course got in when the 98% was only about 5 or 10% so they got noticed. It seems that those who take to pouring molten metal into watermelons or over old phones (??) etc seem to get 10 to 100 and even up to thousands of times the views and subs that I do. While I might lament this situation it is the crux of the matter i.e. most people watch YT to be entertained not to learn, and indeed about half of my own watching is about entertainment not learning. The shop tour is an idea I will devote some though to, perhaps I could combine it with an introductory video - I don't have one as yet. To be honest most of my equipment is pretty "dubious" as I made it myself out of what was to hand so I will have to devote some careful thought as to how I handle such a video. It certainly could include the "repetitive" issues but somehow I doubt that would stop the questions 😏.. Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Martin just go out into the garden and find an ants nest, fire up the furnace and pour yourself some aluminium ants nest art work.

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Too many people have done water melon, how about cantelope or rock melon

Good results. Thanks for taking us along for the ride Martin! Mark

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mark, Glad you liked it.. Martin

Awesome work again. It is really enjoyable watching you work and listening to you explaining everything. Thank you 👍👍👍👍

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Jess, My pleasure and thank you for assaying so... Martin

Great video. I've learnt so much watching you work. Thanks for taking the time to post the videos.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Iain, Taking the time is my pleasure - if you learn from the videos I am well pleased... Martin

Glad you're back!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Craig, Good to be back - never really went away just trying to deal with some health issues. This video was shot 13 months ago and I have a few more in the can due to be released soon. Unable at the moment to shoot any more. A most temporary situation I hope.. Martin

Thank you for sharing. Always love watching you work.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Jack, My pleasure - I love it when you love watching 😊… Martin

Its always a pleasure watching your skills,....everything looks so easy but certainly isn't

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Dyno, Its just a matter of practice... Martin

@dynoguy

5 жыл бұрын

I certainly agree,...but looking at how you do things, you must have quite a lot ...cheers, Mike

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Dynoguy, Ah, yes quite a bit! I started about 62 years ago and got very serious 40 years ago. I dare not think of how many moulds I have made, all - one - at - a - time, I must have been mad 😏…. Martin

Hola Martin, siempre es un placer verlo trabajar...un abrazo desde Argentina.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Daniel, I am glad that you enjoyed the video - hello back from Australia... Martin

Great castings. Very interesting to see you mould the cope first!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Julian, Not my preferred way of doing things but we must be versatile when necessary... Martin

Very nice looking castings mate! I always enjoy your videos, greetings from New Zealand.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Wikus, Thank you , greetings back from across the ditch.. Martin

As always, extremely informative. Thanks for sharing.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ronnie, My pleasure... Martin

I seem to always end up with at least that much cleanup to do on my castings, and that is when they DO draw out of the mold clean. Great job as always!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Tobho, I far prefer to get the castings out clean, no filing or sanding except where the gate was and then if possible I site that where machining has to take place. I was never very good at getting patterns out I have seen others in a local foundry that put me to shame. Sadly though I would have to agree that fettling those annoying little mould edge breakaways is par for the course... Martin

It is really great to see someone make a whole batch of castings and not just pouring molten metal into a melon! Unusual to see Exo on the feeder and the sprue, not your usual practice methinks. The relationship between pattermaker and the moulder sounds a bit like the draftsman and the machinist. Always better if the patternmaker knows how to make a mould and the draftsman knows how to machine.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Smallcnc, Sorry, ran out of melons 😊. Anyway I have never seen the point of it - other of course than getting millions of subs which they seem to do. Yes I did mentally perturbate from the mean there and put exo on the sprue by mistake - you have a good eye - I cut as much of that out as I could.😊 Yep, patternmakers and moulders, always at each others throats, each thinks they know how to do the others job better but neither do...Martin

@smallcnclathes

5 жыл бұрын

Next time you know you will have to ingot off, let me know and I will bring a Melon over!

@jagboy69

5 жыл бұрын

I've been saying that very thing for years! Martin is extremely skilled at this. kzread.info/dash/bejne/iaWKp8-cZ63Vc6g.html I wish aircraft engineers had to work on their stuff JUST ONCE and then they would design stuff correctly. :-(

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Smallcnc, Mate, your on! Chose your melon!.. Martin

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

World, Very well said in that video! Are you taking a sabbatical? We have not seen anything from you for 6 months or more? Not just aircraft engineers - ALL engineers!...Martin

Thanks for vid, i was excited when i saw new content from you. Cheers!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Clay, Thanks for the comment! I have a few more vids in the can and they will appear as time to edit becomes available (it takes so long). More soon... Martin

The usual master-class Martin. I think the beer keg water barrel adds a touch of class to the whole act.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Geoff, Thank you for your comment. The keg makes a great quench tank - I was given it as it was badly damaged on the top. Every one asks what I did with the beer - silly bloody question - it was empty when I got it - I swear 😊..Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Sure it was Martin, sure it was. Nudge nudge wink wink say no more, say no more. Wink

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mark, Believe it or not I'm very much a rarity amongst foundrymen - known world wide as great elbow benders - I do not drink.... Martin

Glad to see you back, Martin!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Net, never really gone, just tied down a bit, but it was nice to get another video up... Martin

@networkcrasher

5 жыл бұрын

Well, either way, I always enjoy your videos even though I’ve never been round a foundry. I do get a kick out of your consistency - even the way you scoop the sand with the dust pan is so methodical every time. Keep it up!

Another nice casting, always enjoy your videos, not many on KZread on the same level with you. Thank you for sharing.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ray, Most on YT don't do it for a living, I did so I had to get good at it. As always sharing is my pleasure, glad you enjoy... Martin

@raydirkin9107

5 жыл бұрын

Yes sir that would make the difference, just glad you share it with us. I know people mean well on here but there's quite a few showing wrong information but I guess it's really up to us where we get our education from, thank you for for sharing.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ray, The problem is knowing where to get the information from - how do you know as someone who may just be starting out what is and what is not good. I know through long experience, but I do worry for those that have not yet enough knowledge to be able to sort the wheat from the chaff and there is a lot of chaff out there. I think we can hardly blame the "newbie" for picking the wrong source and sadly it may be a long frustrating while before he realises that that is what he has done. Sharing is as always my pleasure... Martin

@raydirkin9107

5 жыл бұрын

I always say the proof is in the pudding, for instance porosity is a big problem in many of the non experienced castings, common sense tells me your method of using a basin and correct sprue size slows the metal down and flows less turbulent, instead of putting faith in stuff like salt and washing powder to do it for you. Many people look for the easiest and cheapest ways to do things and that's usually the furthest from the truth. There is some good books out there on metal casting but then there's also so bad ones. I think in the end we all have to go through a fair share of trial and error, but when someone is truly passionate about something they pay close attention and enjoy the learning process. When I was still a young ladd and I wanted to learn something of this nature I'd find a trusty source and help them with their work in exchange for their knowledge, being passionate about what you do is a key to becoming good. Enjoy the videos and thank you much for sharing and chatting with me about them.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ray, You are right about the gating system being a big player in porosity free castings but there are other factors too - choice of metal, melting technique, and metal treatment for example. John Campbells Complete Casting Handbook is far and away the best book out there on the subject - compared to even the best of the "good" books it is a breath of fresh air. The cheapness with which some people attempt to make castings is something that I find irksome - all hobbies cost money and good foundry work is no different. The use of Lite-salt as a flux has some authenticity as it is the base for many commercial fluxes but it needs additives to do the job properly. Washing soda as a degasser though is a complete disaster it does NOT work and in fact it increases the gas level! Way better not to degas at all than to use this technique!. Sadly though there will always be people more interested in doing it cheaply that properly and even more sadly there will allays be those that copy them... Martin

Wonderful result.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Matthew, Yes the customer was happy, and that's what counts... Martin

Nice job sir, thank you for sharing.

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Rupert, My pleasure... Martin

nice job well done. The little led torches , a smidge of vasaline, not grease on the contacts of the battery holder helps if its intermittantly on and off. You have a good head of hair. Keep up the good work ty

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

hrxy, Vaseline, I will give it a try thanks. Men in my family seem resistant to balding but it is getting a bit thin on top...Martin

Thank You for posting and your expertise

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Skip. My pleasure... Martin

Well done!

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Arnhem, Thank you... Martin

Those came out rather nicely done. Well duh, didnt expect less cuz youd very clever and almost always have very good cast, Blessed days sirSir, Crawford out

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Daniel Yep, they kept the customer happy..Martin

Nice work. Nice finish. The little flaws will file out just fine.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Rv4, Yes, they will but as a mater of pride I prefer to make castings without them - an unfiled casting just looks better - well I think so. But in truth with as frail a material as wet sand its pretty hard to make a casting without them somewhere..Martin

Enjoy your videos Thank You .....

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Eddie, My pleasure... Martin

Thank you for the entertainment, from freezing cold Canada(-18C)....Hal

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Hal, The entertainment is my pleasure, Yep, good old cold Canada- my father was born in Agassiz BC and he left because of the cold. Its currently 33 deg. C here on its way to probably 38, we have had days of 40 plus in the last week or two - peak was about 44 deg C. Hard to light up the furnace in that!... Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Martin maybe you should make a video for your Northern Hemisphere viewers of an ice block melting in the Aussie Sun on a 40deg day to cheer them up

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

mark, Interesting idea, but it might not cheer them up, they might get jealous and annoyed at us Ozzies lording it over... Martin

Love watching your work and the way you explain thing I would love to see how you made your drag and cope did you ever do a video on making them

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ray, I assume you mean how I made the mould boxes themselves. I have a video planned om my 50 - 60 year journey through moulding boxes and I intend to follow it with another video or two of a design which will be made as part of the video for a versatile aluminium box well suited to the hobbyist - something for which I think there is a big demand. Unfortunately at the moment my health is not up to the task but hopefully that wil slowly improve (gee, but I sure hope so)...Martin

It took me listening to you a few times to understand you.. You kept invoking General Patton and it dawned on me that you meant pattern.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Afn, Darn, it must be my Ossie accent. I am American by ancestry but was born in Melbourne so an Ossie accent I have - sorry 😊. I can understand you Americans quite well but those Welsh - man, they are something else😊… Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

I had a boss who was Welsh and a Real Estate Agent. Enough said. Grrr

Hi Martin I've watch some of your videos and I really enjoy the contend, I've always been fascinated by the process of casting and I had the opportunity to hire some services of the sort to make water pump parts. I wanted to learn a bit more about it and since I learn better by doing things I'm starting this weekend my own home experiments. You mentioned in one of your videos that you live in Melbourne and I was wondering if I could come and give you a hand on a weekend and have a chat but also work along side of you would be an honor. Regardless great content.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Camilo, I am in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I have cast lots of bits for car water pumps. I would gladly have you here for a day but at the moment my health is not what I would like it to be and I am currently not up to casting. However if you want to come out and have a look see at what little I use and to have a chat by all means. I might be able to shorten your experiments a little as otherwise there is a fairly big and initially steep learning curve to do it right - 0397268910... Martin

Long time Thanks for sharing

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Rahib, Too long, more soon I hope. Thanks for watching... Martin

I have just a few questions. What are the extensions made out of? And how do you make them? And lastly, about the exothermic. What is it? And if you made two identical castings and only used it on one of them. Would you be able to see a difference between them? I'm sure you could make an entire video to answer those. But I don't know if anyone else is wondering the same thing.

@GrandpaBill

5 жыл бұрын

The exact same questions I was just thinking.

@MindBlowerWTF

5 жыл бұрын

Good, I wanted to ask the same thing.

@JulianMakes

5 жыл бұрын

Henry Rak Part of a dying breed, I was wondering this too :)

@nutsandbolts3729

5 жыл бұрын

I’m not positive fellas but I believe the feeder extension is sand and sodium silicate just like the cores he makes. And the exothermic,well I was just about to ask what that was made from too. I’ve got some guesses, but I’m just not sure.

@wikusdp

5 жыл бұрын

The extension pieces looks like it could be shell sand, the hot topping normally consists of a number of elements, the main ones being aluminium, magnesium and iron. This creates an exothermic reaction and allows the riser/ feeder to stay liquid long enough to feed the casting with molten aluminum. Building up the feeder with the extension pieces give the feeder a higher modulus and ensures a sound casting.

a great job, some question about exothermic, how to make it, or to get it. one more question, why quenching the finished part in water, is it necessary to improve the quality of cast , or just to finish job faster, thank you.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

ayman, The exothermic is a propriety compound Its made by Foseco and is called "Ferrux NF". I don't really know what is in to but at a guess I would say its Thermite based i.e. iron oxide (Fe3O4) about 40% and aluminium powder about 10 to 15% Plus some rate modifiers (sand, clay) and something that expands when it gets hot to provide an insulating cover and maybe something to increase the sensitivity to lower ignition temps a nitrate perhaps???. Basically I think that exothermics are just toned down explosives and the trick is to get one sensitive enough to catch fire at the temperature of the metal in question but not to burn so quickly as to flash or explode. They need to burn fairly slowly for a good few seconds and to stay hot for quite sometime afterwards. I do have a plan to do a video with two identical castings run from the one sprue so both fill exactly the same and to use exothermic on just the one, a difference should be visible - your wish as they say is my command. I water quench the castings as soon as I can get them out of the mould as it improves the response to a T5 heat treatment process that I use to improve machinability... Martin

Hi Martin, No pouring basin on this one? Great video and now have a better understanding of using an oddside.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Dick, No, I am ashamed to say. I use that little funnel type thing instead. I have used these for may years but now realize that they are possibly a very bad thing being a little too close to Bob Puhakka's "conical devil" see here kzread.info/dash/bejne/m2mqubGfgbi8fKw.html I think that I have got away with it for all that time because the system is small and thus the metal flow is probably under meniscus control. However it is my intention to make a proper pouring basin out of this shell sand material so in cases like this one where I need to extend the feeders up a little I will have a decent pouring basin to go on the top of the mould. Something like but smaller than the one I used when pouring those pistons. If I do not have to extend the feeders I will continue to cut a decent pouring basin as I have done for the last year or two. Oddsides are just a way of holding a pattern so the first half of the mould can be rammed up with the correct parting line. Many on YT do not use them opting instead for having split patterns these are often a bit hard to make properly and I prefer a solid pattern.. Martin

Amazing and fascinating to watch. What is the purpose of the exotherm?

@olfoundryman8418

3 жыл бұрын

michael, The purpose of the exothermic is to keep the feeders hotter (and thus liquid) for longer so they are better able to provide feed to the solidifying casting below...Martin

@michaelhannah5376

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Martin Many thanks for the explanation and also many thanks for the excellent, well explained videos. Mike

How about an interview video with your pattern maker. A discussion on why he built the pattern the way he did, what his requirements are from his customer and the tools he uses to create the pattern. In the past draft was not always labeled on the drawings, it was the pattern makers that added it. Pattern end mills had tapered sides to machine in the draft needed for pattern release. They probably still do. Reproducing an existing part compared to making a pattern from a desired part's drawing require a different approach. An existing part shows where the parting lines go and indicates the draft angles used. It also shows flaws with the pattern design if there were any. The print shows hole locations and sizes that are hard to measure from an old casting accurately. Best if you have a casting and a drawing but not usually the case with making reproduction parts. They used to keep the pattern maker departments close to the foundry to save on leg work between departments to iron out the bugs.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ten, Well, I have a couple of "tame" patternmakers and I will speak to them about the possibilities of a video but they may not be up for it. These days when so many patterns are made on CNC mills the tapered cutter is even more in use, I sure have some! I do not like working from an existing part - sure you can see how the last foundry did it and that may (or may not) be helpful the problem is that such parts are usually too rough and grab the sand unless lovingly filled and sanded by which time a new pattern could have been made. I have done it though and may times but the problem of shrinkage is a concern. There is usually in most foundries a room between the pattern shop and the moulding shop - it contains a boxing ring 😊… Martin

@tenlittleindians

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 Thanks for the reply. Sorry about my poor description but I was referring to the pattern maker's choices when working from an existing casting. Yes, he will have to scale differently depending on material being cast but he can read draft angles previously used and adjust his pattern to fix sand break out; visible in a casting as filed or ground out areas to remove flaws. Those things as well as the parting line usually were not included on the blueprints. These are just some questions I thought younger viewers could gleam information from. I come from the other end of the spectrum. I started out as a draftsman for a machine shop in the 70's and evolved into a machinist. The problems I usually dealt with concerning castings were how to locate and machine a casting in a repeatable fashion as flashing, parting lines and sprue and riser removal traces were always different. In some cases I didn't have enough metal to get a part to clean up after machining a feature. Sometimes there were too many inclusions and the part would not clean up from machining. Sometimes the castings were cooled wrong and ended up too hard to machine. Sometimes a casting is riddled with sand inclusions and tears up the tooling in a flash. When the foundry, pattern shop and machine shop were under one roof a walk to the department next door fixed the problem. Here in America the foundries and pattern maker shops are mostly a thing of the past. Castings now come in bulk, first from China but now many come from India as they work even cheaper than the Chinese. There is no quick fix to thousands of castings with problems when the vender is half way around the world and speaks a different language. Bring back the boxing ring between departments to fix problems. Back when the John Deere plant in Dubuque, Iowa still had it's foundry and pattern maker shop the plant was over a mile long. We machinist's had a long walk to the pattern maker shop to cool down otherwise we would have also needed a few rounds in the boxing ring to settle our differences.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ten, What you say is interesting and I note that John Campbell in his book "Complete Casting Handbook" has quite a large section on providing proper index/reference/mounting points on castings because as you say mounting up to do the necessary machining is often quite a problem and its not much good thinking about it after the casting has been made - too late then! Yes the problems of overseas supply - very hard to sort out when they are so far away and you already have your floor covered with bad castings all that shipping all that time. I know of quite a few people locally who despite a cost penalty will only buy local - much easier to get in the car and drive to see them to sort any problems out. Have you ever seen inside an Indian iron foundry there are some videos, everyone in bare feet shoes cost too much - worth a look!..Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

These sort of problems are why some manufacturing is returning to local production in the US as well as Australia to a limited degree. Many businesses have been decimated and tradespeople thrown out the door, but finally people are seeing the need for local production over lower cost.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mark, Yes I think there is a bit of this going on but the cost difference is sometimes so great that it is difficult to ignore particularly if a short sighted accountant is running things...Martin

Thanks for these great videos! I have watched quite a few in the last few weeks. I have been wondering why you seem in such a hurry to quench the castings? Would it hurt to let them cool slowly, which is what I have done in the past? I'm sure you answered this somewhere already, but I'm not seeing it... Thanks again - super to watch a skilled craftsman at work.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Flowering, I do a sort of basic T5 heat treatment on my castings (well the ones made in our 601 alloy - US 356) as it dramatically improves hardness and thus machinability. If the castings cool too slowly from about 500 deg. C to 200 deg. C the response to this T5 process is not as good, particularly for castings above about 15 mm thick hence the water quench to get them through this range as quickly as possible. I break them out of the mould as son as they are just strong enough to be handled. Allowing castings to cool slowly in the mould (I notice some people leave them in overnight!!!) will mean the casting will be much softer than after my T5 and will be a bit "chewy" to machine. Also leaving them in too long can produce staining from the steam as opposed to the beautiful shine of a well made just broken out hot casting. I am glad that you enjoyed the videos - I wish more people did😏… Martin

@FloweringElbow

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 thanks for this, that makes it clear. What would be your advice to someone (muggins here) who doesn't have a heat treating oven? Still worth quenching?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Flowering, You don't need a special heat treatment oven! My T5 process is 8 hours at 165 Deg. C in a fan forced electric oven - a kitchen oven will do nicely in fact I used the wife's for many years until I got a bigger one for the workshop. Note that different alloys may require different temperatures and /or times. and a lot of alloys will not heat treat. This temp and time are for our 601 alloy - 356 in the US LM25 in the UK. This is the alloy wheel alloy. If you are not going to do the T5 do not quench because quenched will be a little softer than mould cooled. For castings under about 10 mm in thickness and cast in green sand (not petrobaond as it cools slower) you can probably skip the water quench as the mould should cool the casting fast enough. I suggest that you cast two bits the same heat treat one but not the other machine both and see the difference yourself. After the 8 hours at 165 just turn the oven off and allow to cool naturally. Some people use higher temps and sometimes even shorter times but the 8 at 165 works well for me... Martin

@FloweringElbow

5 жыл бұрын

Fantastic information Martin, thank you! Indeed it is normally cut up alloy wheels that I am getting my scrap material from. I will go ahead and do a trial with both methods to see the difference. I had no idea it was possible in a standard oven, how exciting!

@FloweringElbow

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 So I did the little test you suggested! Here's the video I made of the exploration (I gave you a plug - more people need to watch your stuff!): goo.gl/W1fGQU

Yeah

Idea, your spru and filler, are a standard size (for you) make some half rounds, stepped, that fit in the hole, it will give you a place to pour into and you will not have to deal with the filled holes?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

DRM, While the sprue size is mainly just the one I do have quite a range of different feeders and the height of these can vary quite a bit. Usually too, I mould the drag first in which case filling in of the feeders and sprue is not an issue. With issues like this (and there are many) one has to reconcile time saved against any extra fiddling involved in a different method. Over the years I have tried many such things, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't but trick is to never stop trying them. I will give the idea some thought... Martin

@TSODInc

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 - I love the old school stuff, I was trained as a shipwright, then there is EngelsCoachShop, amongst a few others, I really look forward to them, as your posting!

Thank you for another great video on casting aluminium. Do you cast in any other metals like brass, copper or bronze? By the way, excess material is easy to fettle away, what you don't want is inclusions in your casting.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Stephen, I cast 4 different aluminium alloys, 4 different bronzes and one zinc alloy. Yep, fettling these little bits off was no biggie (particular as I did not have to do it 😊) You are not wrong about inclusions, fortunately my castings are free of them -well, I have never had a customer complain in thousands of castings. The diamonds some foundries seem to include in their castings (usually bits of crystalline alumina, you know, the stuff grindstones are made out of !) just take the edge straight off carbide tools - the tool is ruined and so is the casting... Martin

@stephenrogers7886

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 hi Do you do any heat treatment on your casting? All of your casting had two types of heat treatments. The first heat treatment was at 540 degrees Celsius for 12 hours then quenched in a bath of water and oil. This made the aluminium soft, we would keep the castings in a freezer at -18 until we needed to work on them. This would give us 36 hours after that the aluminium would start to harden and crystallized again. The second heat treatments was at 155 degrees Celsius for 6 hours air-cooled, this hardened the castings to its natural state.👍

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Stephen, What you describe (minus the bit about "crystalized again"as that's a furphy) is the standard T6 heat treatment process - solution heat treat and 540 deg. C hold for 24 hours and then age at 155 (where I worked we used 165 for 4 hours). I do not attempt this process as it is unforgiving, that 540 Deg. C is close to the melting point and you need much better equipment than I have to do it safely and believe me even with the best of control accidents happen and you get lots of half melted castings. I use a T5 process which is simply an age at 165 deg. C for 8 hours This is done simply to improve machinability and I do water quench my castings from the sand mould as soon as they are strong enough to get them out of the mould without breaking as this improves the response to the T5 process. Heat treatment processes are alloy specific and what we have described here is for our 601 alloy (US 356) other alloys may well use different temperatures and times and many alloys can not be heat treated at all... Martin

Heya, Question; when you said you would have parts of the center break off, would it be worth making a core for that so it's a stable?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Flag, Yes, it could be done with a core but there are some problems the core would be printed one end in the drag only and one end in the cope only this makes mould closure an uncertain business. Cores (at least the ones I use) produce a much rougher finish on the casting. You would need a core box and of course you would have to make the core separately. For 12 parts it was not worth this extra effort easier to just file the pattern a little. It was only a little of the edge that broke away if it had been the whole centre I would have pinned it in place with a flat head nail pushed in before trying to remove the pattern... Martin

Do you have any lung problems from breathing talc for many years? Your videos are so informative. CHEERS!

@clone4211

5 жыл бұрын

In a few of his previous videos he mentions that the parting dust he uses is calcium carbonate.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Bob, Kyle is correct, I do NOT use talc, I don't like the smell of cheap perfume in a lot of it, it costs about $10.. per Kg (from the supermarket) and is know to contain some silica dust. In addition I did hear of one mine - now closed down who's talc contained asbestos. I use calcium carbonate, costs about $3.00 kg no smell and the human body can dissolve it (I think!) and anyway a little extra calcium is probably no bad thing😏 never broken a bone! ...Martin

Having worked on a few jags, I am curious as to what they are trying to do there. They look like something to straighten the airflow in the inlet ports ,similar to those tongues that were designed for the Ford (Australia) Cleveland V8's,where the ports were too big and performance at low speed was crap. The tongues sat in the intake ports,making them smaller but faster flowing. One V12 i worked on had 6 dual throat weber carbs,which only worked on the idle circuits below 3000 RPM. Above 3000 RPM in top gear in a E type jag is license losing territory.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mercmad, I have owned a couple of Jags myself a Mk1 3.4 Manual OD a nice car and a 420 compact a piece of plastic crap. Never an "E" but have driven one with original 3 huge SUs affixed. From memory at 3000 RPM even in my old Mk1 was 100 miles an hour in top OD. (or does memory fail and was that 5000 rpm yes 5000, 20 miles an hour for each 1000 rpm Ah, now it all comes back to me a miss spent youth.) Supposedly she topped out at 120 mph but I was never that game 😏 certainly license losing territory. My understanding of the arrangement (its a poor understanding) is that a large plenum chamber has been fabricate and welded up (they did try to cast one but it came out of heat treatment warped and cracked when they tried to straighten it). The 12 throttle bodies hang vertically down from this, 6 each side. There are 12 small elbows (next video) that attach the bodies to the chamber. Where exactly these little castings go is a mystery - they were experimental so maybe they never got used. I do hope to have photos of it all fitted to the vehicle when I do the elbows videos. Maybe then it will all make some more sense... Martin

@Mercmad

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 Cheers!. The V12 is a great engine but some were pigs. The last one i had to endure had the weber carbs, a XJS long engine fitted wit the original ignition. It would start and run nicely but the ignition wouldn't work unless you had your foot in it. The car was restored 30 plus years ago and never driven,just used a static display piece somewhere so Until I was roped in to get it runnning it hadn't even been driven on the road. The manual trans was a hoot though 😀🚗

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mercmad, Yep, I loved my 4 on the floor with Overdrive on top. Fun to drive. Now sadly I drive a Suby Liberty sedan, 3.6 at least but no manual - its CVT, a second best admittedly but not too bad. My jags and the "E" I drove were of course the traditional Jag 6... Martin

Did these get a t5 heat treatment or was that not necessary for this kind of casting?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Amalgamous, Yes, these castings did get the usual T5 heat treatment. Almost all of the 601 alloy (356) castings I make do get this. I use it to improve machinability and the difference it makes in this regard is amazing. If a casting needs to be heat treated for strength reasons I recommend sending the castings out to have a T6 process done. As this is done this is a very close to the melting point of the alloy it is a very unforgiving process and while I am very familiar with it the equipment required to do it reliably needs to be way better than I have... Martin

Great work as always. Love the finish. My castings are getting close but still can not produce surfaces like this. I had your email address but seem to have buggered something and now I can't contact you. I know this isn't the right way to go about it lol, we have had conversations a while ago but yeah lol. Was wondering if I could ask some questions and run a few things by you and your knowledge base. Cheers

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Raschelle, mmwestuppercase2hotkey.net.au.. Martin

Hello, how are you? I would like if possible to know the name of the exothermic product added on metal.

@olfoundryman8418

4 жыл бұрын

PRANCHA., The exothermic I use is called Ferrux NF, it is made by Foseco….. Martin

Use a feeder that you can leave in place when you ram up the drag?

@olfoundryman8418

3 жыл бұрын

Dan, Yes I could and indeed I have done exactly that for some jobs. It requires a "plug" of just the right length and as you can see it did not cause me any real trouble not using one. Had it caused trouble I would have cut a plug pretty damn quick.... Martin

@dansw0rkshop

3 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 Cool. On a different note, I made a sand aerator like yours just recently. It works great.

@olfoundryman8418

3 жыл бұрын

Dan, Yes, I found that my aerator was about the best thing I have ever built. Have you done a video on it? If not can you send some photos of it to olfoundryman@gmail.com ...Martin

@dansw0rkshop

3 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 kzread.info/dash/bejne/hXqZxNejkd2-nMo.html here's a video on my shiny new sand aerator like yours!

Was wondering would you ever take someone on as an apprentice just to learn from you cause I’d move from the states to Australia just to learn from you.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

jkay, When does your flight arrive?😊. Nice a warm out here at the moment, none of that sub zero stuff that you are enduring. We have had a "nice" run of 40 deg C plus days - bit hard to light the fiery furnace on How much ice (frozen water kind) can you fit in your suitcase... Martin

@jkay3161

5 жыл бұрын

@@olfoundryman8418 i wish i could afford it but id also have to move the family as well but i do appreciate the videos you put out I learn new ways of casting all the time

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

jkay, I can appreciate the problems I face similar ones trying to get to the US to see all my relatives, there are probably thousands of them, I go back to1634 female line and 1677 male line and they bred like flies early on... Martin

@markfryer9880

5 жыл бұрын

Jeez Martin I only know as far back as 1855 on my father's side and 1875 on mum's side. Both dates are the year of arrival in Australia.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mark, Tracing further back in the UK (if that's where they came from) is fairly simple and with luck - thanks to Henry the eighth you can get back to the mid 1500s. Victorian marriage and death certificates will usually say how long in Australia and where born that's your start. British records are quite good, USA ones are the pits! I know my earliest male US ancestor and DNA proves this but I can not connect him with a paper trail to his grandson my earliest proven with paper trail ancestor. The Americans were not much into birth and death records until about 1912, so land titles wills and marriages are what one has to work with. My lot were illiterate (even in 1880) and many did not own land so no titles and no wills - hopeless! And their marriage records do not even mention the wife - not even he first name!... Martin

Why dont you let the sprue extension remain until you cut off the surplus aluminium and then push the aluminum backwards thru the extension? And thereby save it for another use.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Bjorn, Yes, I could do this and on rare occasion have done so but I can make 200 to 300 or more of these little extensions in a day so their value is low and saving them is a fiddly business that I find not worth the trouble. I use larger diameter extensions on many of my feeders and these are worth saving and reusing (up to 8 times each), as they take a lot longer to make, 50 to 100 per day, and come off easily because of the taper... Martin

Is it legal down there to use a beer keg to hold water?....Hal

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Hal, Hmm, not sure but it sure is not "manly" 😏. To be fair I was given it as it was badly damaged and no longer fit to hold beer. I use another larger one to hold my furnace fuel pressurize it to 10 Psi to push the fuel through … Martin

Sir there is a tutorial video how to use resin coated sand?

@olfoundryman8418

3 жыл бұрын

Ori, I don't have a specific tutorial on making shell cores but these video should give you a good idea, kzread.info/dash/bejne/X4J_y6WfYsSpk8o.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/noKs2dSMqtCfoZs.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/oIWBlNWlprO6gbA.html kzread.info/dash/bejne/iK6A0ceznpzAe7A.html ....Martin

@original6828

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your information.

I am looking to pick up a book on sand casting. Can anyone recommend a good one?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Mark, "Complete casting handbook" by John Campbell its way ahead of anything else in a technical and scientific way. Its 1200 pages and at times a heavy read, the 2011 edition can be found online as a free PDF but you might have to hunt a bit for it. If you are after more of a basic "how to make a mould" book then there are lots but "The backyard Foundry" BY B. Terry Aspin or the USN Foundry manual or "The Complete Book of Sand Casting" By C. W. Ammen are a reasonable start BUT note that these three books have very antiquated and incorrect ideas on how to gate castings - Campbell is the only one that has that right... Martin

How many did you end up making?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Ron, I made a total of 12 all in the one sitting... Martin

I have some prototype prices that I need cast how can I reach you for a quote?

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Jeff, I am in Melbourne Australia, is that where you are? Currently I am experiencing a bout of poor health and am unable to cast. I hope that this is a temporary situation . If you wish you can email me at mmwestuppercase2hotkey.net.au substitute @ for "uppercase2".. Martin

Hi from UK If patern gives problem why not tweeeek it a bit. Seems a bit funny to use dodgy patern over and over.

@barryatkins1771

5 жыл бұрын

I'd hazard a guess and say that since the part being made is only an "experimental part" that it would be a lot of work to change the pattern if the part doesn't perform as expected. If the part performs then perhaps an update to the pattern would be made...

@martynferguson633

5 жыл бұрын

@@barryatkins1771 Yeah I see what you mean. I was thinking about a quick dollop of filler or playdough....

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Martyn, I have a tin of filler on hand for just such occasions never tried playdough but have used plasticine!... Martin

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

Barry, Pretty much spot on... Martin

Wonderful vid however your heavy Croatian accent makes it difficult to understand what you’re saying. Have you considered providing American subtitles?

@swdweeb

5 жыл бұрын

Croatian??? Olfoundryman is Australian. If you turn on closed captioning you can read it.

@olfoundryman8418

5 жыл бұрын

David, Yep, Sw is correct. I am indeed Australian, born and bred in Melbourne. Parents were Canadian but Dad's line is American way back to 1677 (male) and 1634 (female) so I am blowed if I know where the Croation accent comes from... Martin

@davidduffy9806

5 жыл бұрын

I would have sworn you're Croatian, Croatia is a very beautiful country with a rich tradition in metal work. I guess I just assumed that with your Foundry skills you would be Croatian. Have you thought about providing Canadian subtitles, you would reach a wider audience with Canadian subtitles