Metal Casting Zone

Thanks for that,i will ask the supplier what they reccomend.Can you give any sugestions on what to use for a cruciable,the cheapest one i can find so far is £44.00 im sure there is a cheaper alternative.Thanks again Andy.

welcome to the forum from brisbane australia. i take it that you are in the uk??? have you got a furnace??? you can do your project in aluminium but you will need to do some cleaning up as sand casting doesnt produce the item "ready to use" on links it may become very tedious. johncasts suggestion of spin casting will produce a "cleaner" item but you will need to invest many pounds into equipment.if you are skilled with a welder and mtal cutting gear and a good scrounger!!!! (must be a good scounger )you can make your own furnace and crucibles for the cost of materials. i cant add to what jammer has stated about degassing... thats what we do. if you are to mold them in sand do as aonemarine suggests and try and get a few links so you can tree them. im about to cast 100 model steam engine weights and they will be cast on a "tree sprue" out of brass.

Hi,thanks for the reply.Yes i am from the uk, abit of a distance from your location.I do have a furnace that is a bit different from what i have seen on the internet.Instead of using refractory cement i went down the road of using furnace bricks from corus steel plant.The furnace is about 3-4 ft high and about 2ft dia with a 3" dia steel pipe outlet for my propane burner.I have yet to make the lid but abit unsure how to do it and what to use.I have decided to go the way you all m,entioned by casting a few and using the tree process.How many can you cast using this process is there a limit.One more thing,how would you cast a model boat propeller,can it be done with sand.

i cant see a problem with a prop! your furnace sounds great... there are so many different ways you can make them. you will need casting sand! have you got that organised?? for a lid????? you may have to make a frame and mix up some mix and cast it! it may prove heavy (it might need wheels! just joking)so some type of supporting frame maybe will be required or an assistant! please post a pic of your furnace and feast on the suggestions

I've been considering doing a model airplane prop but I'm concerned with it being so thin. I don't know if I can get the metal to flow through the mold. I suppose vacuum casting would be an option for such thin items or using a lot of head pressure. It would have to be a good Al alloy.

Hi everyone here is a picture of my furnace so far,doesnt really look much at the minuete still needs pointing and an inlet pipe for the propane torch.Thanks for the advice on a lid i will give it a shot if i can move the furnace,ha,ha,ha.

I will need to resize the picture.

I will try again if it doesnt work this time i will give it up as a bad job.

Jammer wrote:
I've been considering doing a model airplane prop but I'm concerned with it being so thin. I don't know if I can get the metal to flow through the mold. I suppose vacuum casting would be an option for such thin items or using a lot of head pressure. It would have to be a good Al alloy.

Jammer why dont you cast it in zinc?? flow out is excellent for small castings.

Andy, nice looking furnace, your moving along well I see.

nice furnace andy! a lid can be cast but you will need to make a form. you will need a 3 inch vent as a minium. i favour a larger one 8 inch but have the means to adjust it.(a fire brick does a great job)you are going to use a propane burner???? at the very least a full flame plumbers torch will do but a more powerful one is needed. as donna is now a member check out their website. "lost and foundry" i favour their torches if you cant make one from scrap you have laying around. if you need to buy fittings ect then i would seriously consider one of their torches.