You Need to Know This Before You Sand Cast

How do you turn molten metal into Christmas Ornaments? You sand cast it with this step by step sand casting video, of course!

No casting supplier near you? No problem! Just mix it yourself as shown here!

No cast aluminum alloy? Turn pop cans into cast aluminum! Just add Silicon!

Music:
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–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #tentries #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing! #meltingmetal
#castingmetal
#meltingaluminum
#casting
#melting

Warning: Molten metal is extremely hot and dangerous! Do not try to replicate this unless you know what you are doing!

[ScoutSniper]

Trial and error aren't a waste of time, it's the only reliable process to learn such things, and master them given enough repetition and reflection. You show this very well, and it's an impressive video at that.

[ronking]

I appreciate the video. I don't know if it could have been done better or worse, but don't let the negative comments stop you. The DYI sand instructions alone were worth the watch, Personally I find this method of mistake, correction, mistake, correction to be highly valuable. Thanks again.

[wesKEVQJ]

I used to work at an aluminum foundry and we hated making high silica alloy because it doesn't contract very much when it cools. Most alloys would fall out of the ingot molds at the end of the conveyor and roll down a roller to be stacked. The high silica stuff we had to hit each mold with a sledge hammer to knock out the ingot. Eventually someone engineered pneumatic hammers to do it. If they didn't come out it would cause problems when it got back around and get double poured, or they would fall 20 feet to the ground on its way back.

[ΗλίαςΦασουλάς-πγ]

I am a first year mechanical enginear student from Greece, i take a class about castiing and other metal procesing methods, and due to everything i just didnt had the chance to be in a lab-workshop and experiment with casting, videos like these help alot

[Всёповинтикам]

Не обязательно измельчать глину и сеять. Бентонитовую глину (наполнитель туалета для кошек) можно просто насыпать в посуду и залить водой. Перемешивая ее примерно каждые 5 - 10 минут и добавляя воды добиться консистенции сметаны. После чего ее можно по не многу добавлять в песок и перемешивать добиваясь нужной консистенции песка. Глины надо очень мало. Она очень сильно набухает в воде. На один литр воды примерно горсть глины. В процессе размокания глины и перемешивании с водой можно добавлять по необходимости как глину так и воду. Разница в том что при таком способе добавления глины в песок она обволакивает собой песчинки песка со всех сторон при перемешивании. Тем самым немного сглаживая неровности самих песчинок песка и лучше связывая их между собой. При твоем способе добавления глины в песок, частицы глины просто находятся между песчинками песка и связывают их собой. Я не утверждаю то данный способ лучше. В конечном итоге разница не будет видна невооруженным глазом. Я лишь говорю что есть и такой способ смешивания глины с песком.

[edwinparsons]

Hello I cast all the time.your vid is good and you point out alot on the sand and molds but I've found that if your wanting a smoother look you need to pull slag off the top two or three times while your heating it up the best way to know your close is open smelter pull slag keep it in there heating up do it again each time it will get more shinyer when it looks like a mirror then pull out pour it fast then let sit this will give you the look your wanting.hope this helps out.

[smaksymiv]

To get bentonite clay correct for greensand you've got to use a mortar and pesel. To get aluminum correct for pouring it MUST sit at constant temp for consistency before the dross is drawn off and poured.

[danharold]

Skip the kitty litter and find actual sodium bentonite. Well drillers use it. If you can get a bag from them it won't cost much more than the kitty litter and you will have a lifetime supply.
Try sourcing sand from a sand gravel concrete sort of place. Buy masonry sand. Some may call it pointing sand. It is like $40 US for a ton!
May have to search for a place that will sell you less or buy the ton and leave most of behind.
Extruded aluminum and aluminum cans are pure aluminum or close to it. They shrink.
The best source for aluminum for casting is used cast aluminum. Lawn mower engines and aluminum car wheels are commonly used.

[ugreen]

We did this in 9th grade shop, 15-16 rarely had a bad cast. We used Texas red sand dampened with motor oil. Aluminum was scrap. Your aluminum is on the cold side and pour spru and vent needs to be cut in your top and then create a channel to your cast. When pouring it needs to be one single pour until it vents excess from the vent. ¾"-1" pour spru should have enough metal to prevent a lot of shrinkage.

[Logan]

What a DRAG…. Not sure if I can COPE with all of this, But I will Try!…
🤙🏻

[ClaudioCardoso-zjpb]

50% sand 50% clay, this is the correct approach, never use water to make it damp, use engine oil..

Kaolin, graphite, water. At one time I poured steel for a living and we white washed the inside of the mold halves before assembling them. It was done for each half so the molds had to be exact. When the white wash was dry the two halves were joined. A collar was added above the mold to control pouring into the mold. The ingredients listed make the white wash that seals the mold and helps to contain the heat to allow the mold to fill completely. It also holds the pouring channels open. Don't know if this is even necessary for aluminum that's at a lower temp. than steel but if you're having issues with the finish I'd suggest you white wash the inside of the mold halves before pouring.

[billandtheboys]

Great video. We are just starting to get into pouring metals and are learning so much. We aren't quite ready to jump into sand casting, but this vid was great in my learning process! Thanks!

[koogle]

I read about a trick to make for a smoother surface on a cast item. After making the sand mold, the interior surface is sprayed with a fine mister or atomizer with a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part molasses. Let dry then with a propane torch on low, gently warm the sugary mix to set it. This will give an exceptionally smooth surface (relative to sand casting). Hope this is useful.

[batesjernigan]

Personally this was so helpful. Especially the bit about why the metal was shrinking without silicon added. The diy sand is really neat as well, glad to see you gave it another try towards the end.

[fchtl]

The Results looked good and you improved a lot from the first to last.
But you can definitely improve even more!

1) Try to pour in one go. do not interupt the cast because the riser solidifies and cant fill up the shrinkage in the bottom.

2) the main reason for that is that the riser looks to small. The riser diameter should be dimensioned as such that you can pour in 1 go without stopping, if the metal doesnt flow fast enough and comes out on top, the riser diameter is to low. there are formulas for that, but for castings at home, no need to overthink it. just make it big enough, since you can remelt the raiser alloy anyway.

3) maybe try a smaller crucible with a beak for more accuracy when casting. also easier to manage :)

So i hope you continue! you definitely have the skill.

[domingodelatorre]

Help! I have a highly detailed Bas Releif plaque about 3.5" X 5" that I would like to use in an 'open casting' project using .999 silver. Is it possible? Any tips?

[pyroguyman]

Please, never cast on concrete. Concrete locks in moisture, and molten metal can cause this moisture to vaporize and explode. Molten metal bombs are no fun for anyone, so please be more safe in future videos

[jerryoltremari]

A couple more tips to try…
Try a higher temperature for the aluminum, 1200 -1300F. Yours didn’t look hot enough.
Try aquarium sand in your diy mixture, it’s a little finer than play sand.

[KevinATJumpWorks]

I have done a fair bit of lost pla casting in ceramic shells in the past and one thing I did not get right for a long time was the necessity to include a reservoir for molten aluminium on top of the casting. It seems like a stupid mistake to make retrospectively, but I kept wondering why - especially the thinner features - always came out crooked and just weird-looking. I knew that shrinkage was a thing but I thought that it would not need much extra material to compensate for that. In one casting, I accidentally over-filled the mould like crazy and to my surprise, the cast came out almost perfect. Since then, I have always added a lot of material as a sort of 'thermal reservoir'. Since everything can be re-molten, it's not a big deal but the difference it made to the quality of my castings was night and day. It also made me re-consider part-orientation. Now I try to always have the thinnest features at the bottom of the mould to make sure they solidify first, pulling material from the bigger, still liquid parts of the cast downward and filling up any shrinkage.