I'm really enjoying this video series. For a guy who has cero knowledge un this craft, I appreciate the honesty and explination you give un each of your vids. Greetings from Argentina!

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Dano. I'm always amazed at the global reach these videos can have.

@danonino22

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb here in Argentina (like in all countries, I guess), metal casting Is a lost art. Do you have any recomendaciones about what books to get, or what forums to sign to?

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

@@danonino22 I don't do forums. I don;t have the time or the personality to deal with them. A lot of people are on forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php . You will see many of the same names here on that forum. I highly recommend Professor Campbell's "Mini Casting Handbook" . People here in the States have trouble finding it at a reasonable price. It is available through the "American Foundry Society" at a reasonable price (with expensive shipping) but I don't know if that is of any benefit to you in Argentina.

@danonino22

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb thanks for the tip! Keep the great videos coming!

Dammit swdweeb...you did it to me again. Last time I learned something I thought I knew then you broke my pre-conceptions when I watched the video thru thinking I knew it all. I'm a journeyman plumber and plumbing engineer. I know head pressure. I work with head pressure every day. I never thought it would factor into my hobby of melting and casting stuff out of beer cans. The idea of putting a steel tube on top of my sprue hole never would have occurred to me. Plus I learned to cast face down for best detail which I will use in my own YT video I'm making tomorrow (good timing on your part :D) Keep going with the educational videos. I personally learn a lot and as a beginner I really appreciate it. The science you're sharing is an art form that could be lost without people like you.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I think I have two more videos left... unless something else comes to mind. I do have a new series that I need to get announced so I can get you guys to help me out with it.

This series is really helpful for me looking at trying casting for the first time

@swdweeb

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Jamie, if I ever need to clarify something I did or said don't hesitate to ask.

Very nice demonstration and nice side by side view. I have done face up casts on 1 sided items before and they came out very good too, I think it's because the bottom where the metal flows is nice and smooth so there is not much splashing around. As for open mold casting, I only open mold cast simple things like pewter in silicone or graphite molds and of course ingots 😋👍👊

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Ha good point, I guess I open mold cast all the time as well. I forgot about ingots 😄 I'm getting ready to cast a plaque tonight and 'll be doing it face down.

Would be interesting to see the same open face pour but with a chill placed on top of it immediately after pour.

Not picking up the edge-corners of the stripes and points of the stars is exactly the same effect as not picking up the sand texture in the open mold, as I see it. Just on a bigger scale. Have you tried a lower pouring temperature for the closed molds? You might be able to get the fine finish and also the fine details that way, assuming your sand isn't just a bit coarse. Great demo!

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Coarse sand... perish the thought 😄 Given that I still can't measure the temp of my metal... let the chastisement begin... That'd be a tough test for me to do. I can't imagine it was all that hot though, it came out pretty soon after the last ingot melted. Oh, and I agree on your opening sentence. I think the oxide layer simply spans the edge of the stripes

@tobhomott

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb I'll see if I can find a link to a how to build a cheap immersion pyrometer like the pros use tutorial and send it your way. I haven't built one yet either but it's been on my list for ages. It involves a K-type thermocouple inside a graphite sheath, connected to a multimeter. Someone mentioned building one of those pyrometers in a video sometime in the last year or so I think too, might have been JulianHG? Anyhow, your flags are quite thin so a little extra heat (if there is any) might be needed to fill them.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Tobho Mott yeah Julian built one

Cool vid buddy. I think that’s why I don’t do open molds in sand. The details not good enough. I think the only reason on why you’d use a can is in case you have a higher piece that’s closer to the top of the cope. Just to make sure it fills in all the way. I never use them though as it’s pointless for most things 👍🏻

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Hey brother, sorry for the delayed response. Been inundated with comments and work... mostly work. I've been thinking about a cool test with your graphite molds that you might want to try sometime. I'll email you.

@ArtByAdrock

3 жыл бұрын

swdweeb no worries sounds good 👍🏻

Sent your way from Mark Presling, love this series and appreciate the way you teach.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for letting me know Chris. I appreciate it. Getting sent here from Mark is high praise indeed 😄

I would still like to see some head pressure experiments, but it's obvious that you don't really need it. It might be interesting to see just how little head pressure you really need. The video is great, and quite informative.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brian, it would be an interesting set of tests to run. I think I'd need more sand and more casting boxes to come close to doing a fair set of tests. There are so many variables involved, like sand moisture, sand density, heat of the metal, height of the sprue,... Not sure I'd ever be set up to great all of those molds with the same batch of sand and same crucible full of metal. It would be interesting though

@BrianDaleNeeley

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Just follow the rules of backyard experimentation as much as possible: minimize or eliminate as many variables as possible, monitor/record the ones you can't, and analyze results with an open mind. Which are the same rules they use in scientific experimentation, just with more significant digits.

@markfryer9880

3 жыл бұрын

@@BrianDaleNeeley Brian, luckygen1001 has done a series of experiments covering a range of casting topics that might help you.

Another interesting lesson. Thank you 🙏. 👍😊👍

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😃

Excellent presentation showing the methods at the same time. It looks like you have really dialed in your sand! It really captures detail and allows gas permeability. Great job! Cheers from Juneau Alaska, Greg Chaney

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Greg. I was told very early on that petrobond was more gas permeable than green sand. I think this green sand I'm using now is more permeable than the petrobond. Cheers from smokey Colorado

@infoanorexic

3 жыл бұрын

👍 Juneau!

Another great clip.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Danny

Martin has often said the extra head pressure makes for a rougher finish. It seems to me a balancing act to get the detail / definition you need, and an acceptable surface finish.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure that it's really a tough balancing act. I'm not aware of any way to reduce the pressure on tall molds. I think it is what it is. We can stop artificially adding pressure to our molds though. Now you've gone ant got me curious... how can we reduce pressure???

Helped my understanding of the need of head pressure.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

The need, or lack thereof. 😄 Don't let me see any cans in your future casting videos 😄😄

The best finish I got so far, was a few ingots shaped in wood ash. I made some ingots shaped as my finger from molds in sand, but they are very porous, and coarse, and there is hardly any detail there. Of course I didn't use any of your techniques with the basin, spruce, trap, and gate, so maybe that was the issue. I don't have a 3d printer, so I will have to make those items from wood, and try again at that time.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

With all the work I do trying to clean 3-D prints up so I can cast with them I'm beginning to wonder of wood isnt a better choice

Great demonstration. Always learn something new from your vids. Keep them coming! 😁

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks... I've only got two more in mind for this series... Need to announce a new series that I've been thinking of. See if I get any takers. It requires audience participation 😄

@rockelec

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb what are we casting? 😁

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

@@rockelec That''s where you come in

Another great video, Perry! Thanks! One question: what is the alloy you are using? I know that the high silicon alloys give better definition, but I was wondering if you are using pure aluminum or an alloy. One comment about head pressure: 50 mm of head may not sound like much, but we have to remember that aluminum is 2.7 times as dense as water, so that would be the equivalent pressure of a 135 mm column of water, or about 0.19 psi. If your flag is 3" x 5" (guesstimate), that means there is a total of 2.85 pounds of pressure spread out over the surface of the casting. If you could make a taller sprue without exceeding the "speed limit" for the metal, you could get more pressure, but is more pressure really needed, given the excellent results at 50mm? Conversely, you might be able to repeat the experiment with a shorter sprue to find out how little pressure is needed. A shorter sprue would allow for the metal to flow more slowly through the mold. Great video!

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Lately I've been casting a 319 alloy. It looks to be 6% silicon Thanks, always good to hear from you Carl

Good stuff as usual Perry. I have only Cast a couple items in the Cope, but that was because I was actually get my shrinkage on the Bottom of my cast so I flipped it over and put it in the cope so the back was on the bottom and my front was on the top and the back was on the bottom cause I knew it was gonna have shrinkage, as I was making a large bar from silver. Only time I ever had the shrinkage on the bottom. If you understand what I am trying to say in that monstrosity of a description. lol

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Ha... a bit tough to follow, but I got it 😄

Superb experiment mate. Some googling after watching says that molten aluminium surface tension is surprisingly high and that was perfectly shown in your open pour, i guess a height of an inch or more is required to overcome this. I wonder what this would be for bronzes? My double sided pours (bronze ones) like the detailed play buttons, have mostly gone ok but ive always tended to put the most detailed part in the drag (as i asked you or perhaps martin about it, i forget) so ive just always done it that way, nice to see some comparisons. Great vid mate!

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Mate. I heard it from Martin so if you asked me, I likely parroted it back to you. Height of an inch seems pretty low but I also expect that needing a lot of pressure isn't necessary to get the detail.

I like the open pour the details sucks. But I like the smooth finish. But thank you for showing us the huge difference. One other question I have for you do you use borax when you are in the melting stage of your metal. Seen alot of other videos where people say that it does not make a difference. Guess it is to get the gas out of the metal but I don't know i personally never seen a difference between the two. Thank you for your time.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Hi James, I never add anything to my metal when I melt it.

Hi @swdweeb . Doesn't this contradict some of your other content? I have noticed you now use a square tapered Sprue, watching this now makes me wonder if the corners of the sprue just allow another spot for the air to get sucked into the cast. Does the same surface tension/detail 'problem' you have with the open casting not apply here? You seem to be having success with it but why is it better than the round sprue?

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

No contradiction at all. As I said in the tapered sprue video, it doesn't matter what shape the sprue is. People also run "slotted" tapered sprues that are rectangular in shape. As I said in the video, the sprue should actually be hyperbolic in shape. We cheat to make things easier on ourselves and make tapered spues that more closely mimic the shape of the liquid as it fall further down. Keeping the sprue full, no matter the shape, is why we use the offset pouring basin and step/ridge. Supply enough metal to the basin to keep it high over the ridge and the sprue will remain full, no matter what shape we cut it. The square sprue simply fits the square runner that is below it. That is the only reason I've been using it. I could go back to fitting a round peg in square hole but why if I don't have to?

I'm curious what would happen if you flooded the mold with CO2 or argon before pouring.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

What, thinking that the oxide layer wouldn't form? I have no idea, interesting thought though. I expect that there would still be surface tension regardless of an oxide forming.

Do you think that head pressure would need to be applied to a thicker pouring metal, like brass or bronze? I'm going to attempt to cast a 9"x 12"x 0.25" plate in brass.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I don't, as I've poured the same height sprue with both brass and bronzes. Keep in mind that the heavier metal is also in the sprue giving more pressure anyway.

I'm wondering if the rounded edges from the open mould is a result of the meniscus effect? You mentioned surface tension when you poured the metal. I recall some basic physics which discussed meniscus and surface tension but water behaves differently in glass containers. Maybe some brainiacs can comment on this.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not a brainiac but I'll respond anyway 😄 Professor Campbell calls that leading edge of metal a meniscus. As the metal flows through a pressurized mold, the meniscus forms on leading edge and then as the metal continues to move forward that meniscus tears and is pushed to the side and a new one forms. This is a continual process. The tearing and moving to the side is beneficial in creating better surfaces for our parts as the meniscus, the thin oxide layer, lines the part.

I really expected the oxide layer to affect the face up mold. This MIGHT be a good experiment to run on oil based sand, Petrobond ? Would the non porous (or less) surface trap the oxides better? Probably not worth knowing.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I'm mot sure the oxide layer and porosity are related... I could be really wrong... I think the oxide layer is affected more by pressure than permeability. Look at what happened with the open face mold. And its certainly not worth me buying another batch of petrobond 😄😄

@honthirty_

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb so you have disposed all yr oil based sand. Suspected an emergency reserve, just in case, only under extreme duress, 'over my dead body' responce ;) . I think of the oxide front layer as a brittle christal surface that reduces detail capture, and is 'broken' to achieve detail. Rock on!

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

@@honthirty_ Yeah, I pitched it all, kinda like Cortes burning his ships 😄

Regarding pressure... Wouldn't the applied pressure be the same on both sides of the pattern whether the mold is face up or down? I only think the quality of the part would now depend on sand moving.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I've had to think about your comment for a few days and I still don't have a good answer. I suppose the pressure is the same up and down except for that pesky gravity thing. Not sure how much effect it has on things. Definitely something that could be tested more thoroughly to better understand the limits of casting face up.

@HeinrichsMade

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb definitely something to think about. Gravity puts the pressure in the empty cavity, but once the cavity is full and nowhere for it to go. The gravity pressure is now applied throughout the entire mold, top, bottom, and sides. Atleast that's what I think. In my mind it makes sense...

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

@@HeinrichsMade I started to say gravity is always pulling the metal down towards the bottom of the mold. Which it is. Gravity is also pulling metal in the sprue down which creates enough pressure that it seeks its own level. Which in turn causes the metal to push up in the mold. My head hurts.

Interesting. The face down pressure should be head plus gravity, while the face up is head LESS gravity? It’d be interesting to see whether you can get the same detail face up by increasing the head height?

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

I think the detail was pretty close between the two. I expect I could force more metal against the top surface if I increased the height of my sprue.

Weird, I am apparently the first viewer 3 minutes after posting. Yeah, like I believe that.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

It did start off a little slow

Ram the Sand? No Perry, the band's name is Ram Jam.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Blam alam

I came to think of, headpreasutr makes for "extreme" details, no preasure makes for smooth details, what if you have a veery short sprue, say ½" or 1" and the basin away from the part not on top ? Just wondering, that maybe you could get the best of both worlds, or the opposit, the worst of both worlds. Anyway you are very educational, just like mrpete222/Tubal Cane and TOT (This old Tony) Greetings from Denmark, home of H C Andersen ;)

@swdweeb

2 жыл бұрын

Is Hans a relative? 😄 Not sure what you mean about "the basin away from the part not on top". I always cut my basic to the side of the sprue. Pouring straight down the sprue is a great way to suck air into the metal as it is falling. That's a great question about a shorter sprue. I don't actually know the answer. It does seem to make sense that a lower sprue top would result in lower head pressure in side the mold but I've never tested it to know.

@sidewind131258

2 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb Unfortunately we are not related. What I mean about away is that the basin you start your pour in sits situated the same direction as the part ie if you have your part pointing at north to south and your sprue to the north of the part, your bacin usually point towards south. What if the basin is north of the sprue, then you don't need 1-2-3" of sand to seperate the basin from the part, and thus you can have a much shorter sprue and a lower headpreasure. It might be whistfull thinking, but then again I'm "just" a scaffolder, but a proud, courious one of that ;) But man you make my head spin, and it all makes sense, then a litle later I start doubting, look thru the video again, and it makes sense again. I do SO need to get my furnace up and running again and test out your video's So again thank you for fun informational videos

@swdweeb

2 жыл бұрын

@@sidewind131258 Ok, now I understand what you're talking about. You're correct, if there was no danger of the basin cutting into the part then I suppose you could make a shorter cope... for thin parts anyway. Don't let your head spin, I'm always happy to discuss and to answer questions if I can.

Do you think head pressure is the same factor for different metals? Do you think copper would of had the same outcome?

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Not sure what you mean. Are you referring to the added pressure due to copper being so much heavier than aluminum or are you asking about copper forming an oxide layer like aluminum does?

@wantafastz28

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb yes, would the heavier weight of the metal look different in the same scenario, does copper oxide form at the same speed as aluminum?

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

@@wantafastz28 You know as I wrote that last comment, I thought, "I hope he doesn't ask me a specific question" 😄😄 I'll have to ask about copper and the oxide film formation. Let me go to the experts and I'll get back to you when they answer me. Sorry I cant do better than that.

@wantafastz28

3 жыл бұрын

@@swdweeb no need to go that far, was more so. Just curious of your opinion... just trying to make good conversation

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Well too late, you got my curiosity up. You’re going to get an answer whether you want it or not 😂😂😄 It is probably going to turn out that metal forced to hard into sand is going to look like it was forced into a permeable wall. I’ll write more when I can get to a real keyboard. Hate typing on the phone

Hey swdweeb - I have been watching you from the beginning - we both started casting at about the same time - I do some different styles of casting than you based on the reasons that i started casting. I would like to be able to have a private conversation via email with you if at all possible and then possibly send you one of my castings for your pleasure. I normally look at your videos via my Firestick, so had to go to my PC to be able to do this note. I will come back here is a couple of days to see what we can see - I am from Tricities Washington.. I have a few martial arts youtube videos under this name and am also on facebook. hope to speak with you soon! -----Kraig

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Sure, you're always welcome to email me at swdweeb@gmail.com Look forward to hearing from you. 😃

Face up or down to me get great results.

@swdweeb

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks

2:30 what this white powder ?

@swdweeb

6 ай бұрын

It is parting compound. I use Diamond Avon non-silica parting compound. A lot of people use baby powder as a substitute. Baby powder often contains talcum which is bad to breath.