Metal Casting Zone

Nope ... went there today. They only have the quik-crete all purpose and play sand. Does it say fine sand or is it play sand?

no not play sand, I dont think play sand is silica sand. Ill go look tomorrow at the depo.

ok ... but maybe home depot carries it in your neck of the woods and not mine. I live on the coast in North Carolina.

Try looking at a asphalt supply place they have silica sand.

over here garden and lanscape supply depots have it by the truck load. i did find a place that will sell it to me by the bucket rather than the cubic metre!if you get some sift it through a kitchen sieve but it has to be bone dry!!!!

Kitchen sieve eh? ... what size grit/mesh will a kitchen sieve give me? Is there anything that I can pick up at, say Wal-Mart, that will give me 120 grit? Then I can use that for green sand ... and use the other for my refractory.

The grease spatter screen is pretty fine mesh. I don't know the size but the play sand I got would go through it very well. Only about 10%.

Firestix wrote:
Kitchen sieve eh? ... what size grit/mesh will a kitchen sieve give me? Is there anything that I can pick up at, say Wal-Mart, that will give me 120 grit? Then I can use that for green sand ... and use the other for my refractory.my strainer is 4 inch round and has a fine mesh . ive tried to count the squares i think i counted twenty to the inch! so thats about 400 small squares to the square inch. i think it cost me about $5. the main thing is its just right!!!!the sand must be bone dry!!!! slightly damp and it wont sieve. i find a metal garbage can great to store my sand in as it dries the sand out. then i sift and re wet !when the sand is moist (clay and sand) the grain size is bigger due to the clay and you get baked hard bits of clay as well,fused sand ect as you use it. i get my best items just after ive sieved my sand.

Hmm ... is that how it is? Holes per square inch? I thought it was just number of strands of wires in the mesh per linear inch. silly me. So I can purchase one of these at wal-mart...Go get me some sand ... the stuff that is fine I can use for green sand and the less fine sand I can use for my furnace refractory?

And by the way ... since ppl are replying to this thread and not my other... please take a look at my Dual Fuel Thread http://www.metalcastingzone.com/metal-casting-forum/casting-furnaces/dual-fuel-furnace

If it's possible Id rather spend my time making one furnace right in stead of two.

I had forgotten about blasting sand. If you can find a supplier of blasting sand, it should come in grit sizes. Even better, find a shop that does sand blasting and get some of their old sand. It should be very fine and may need some of the dust and junk washed out but, if it's free it would be worth it.