You Don't Have To Be A Genius To Learn How To Sand Cast Metal.

But knowing how to go about it the right way will mean success instead of failure.

The basics requirements are: Sand – Scrap Metal – Stock-Ingots - Furnace & Tools plus the all important "Know How". What trips most people up is the foundry process details, there are certain proven methods employed to produce metal casting success.
  
You can, if you wish go off on your own to work it all out, it can be done, but we teach you (Without blinding you with science or industry jargon) about the almost lost foundry skills & techniques of the old time foundry works, once known to many, but are now almost obsolete. Old traditional foundry skills can still be used to produce remarkable results.

People tell us over and over that they lament the death of the old style skilled tradesman... you know... the kind of bloke who can fix or make almost anything, as well as having the knowledge to cast beautiful things in metal from a simple idea.


Does Metal Casting Sound Like Something That You Would like To Try? Hobby Casting Is A Real Blokes Hobby. If You Dont Mind Getting Your Hands Dirty Then Please Proceed. 

Imagine:
You like to build and make things, you enjoy a creative practical challenge...then you would thoroughly enjoy the world of hobby metal casting, if you are serious about learning new practical skills,  we have stuff that you should explore.

Since late 2002 we've helped & encouraged thousands of people from all walks of life from more than fifty seven countries around the globe to learn about the art of metal casting, we would like to share with you how to set up your own hobby foundry, right in your own backyard workshop, we'll show you the equipment & tools which you can easily build your self... you don't have to be a genius, or a rocket scientist, all you need is the desire & passion for your hobby, plus some practical ability, which you probably already have.  

The basic skills & methods we'll explain to you have been successfully employed by people who have never before tried their hand at metal casting. Once you understand the basics of this metal craft, the sky is the limit. 

You probably already know plenty of people who get a kick out of showing you the "toys" they have acquired with their money, but I can tell you now, nothing compares with the personal reward, admiration, satisfaction you'll truly enjoy when showing others the things you've made using your own creative skills & practical talents... beats the money hands down.

From time to time, you have probably stopped to admire beautiful bronze sculptures and other artworks in metal... and you've suddenly had a bright idea about something that you would like to create in metal, well dream no more... because you can cast things in metal... there's nothing stopping you. 

So many people enjoy casting metal... I'm not sure what it is, but there is something magic about watching bright molten metal flow into a sand mould.

What Can I Make?
All kinds of things. The only limiting factor is the amount of: Skill - Imagination - Determination & Passion you have. Foundry work is fairly basic, the process begins with a timber pattern, which can be made with simple hand held wood work tools. The pattern is used to make a recess in a two-part sand mould, the sand is rammed firmly around the pattern, rapped & carefully removed, the molten metal (Melted in a simple furnace) is poured into the mould cavity and allowed to solidify.... And bingo, you now have your new casting, remove the flashings & roughness left from sand casting, drill it, mill it, turn it, and there's your finshed casting.

The more you learn about metal casting, the better your skills will become.

Practical minded people like you, begin casting metal for all kinds of reasons, the trigger for most is a desire to remake an obsolete part for a restoration project, and when you think about it, it really makes sense, if the part in question was originally made using the green sand casting method, then nine times out of ten, you can reproduce it again using the same technique, this is the kind of thing we share in our ebooks... explaining the practical methods to create castings from aluminium or bronze. The metal casting process is not difficult to learn, and once you know how, you are really only limited by your imagination.

Green Sand.

The image above shows a common foundry moulding medium called green sand, the name has nothing to do with the colour. When a pattern is rammed with well prepared green sand in a mould box, the fine grains of sand bond together & retain the exact shape of the pattern, (foundry sand is not quite the same as beach or river sand), and when the pattern is rapped & removed, a replica shaped cavity remains which is where the molten metal is poured. Other types of silica sand can be used for making moulds also, but green sand is good to start with. Many art casting studios still use green sand for their foundry work, you can even make it your self.

Aluminium Ingots.  

Aluminium, because of it's relatively low melting temperature (740C) is a great way to begin metal casting, you can collect & melt good quality scrap to make your own ingots, which will be used to make good quality metal castings, clean scrap can be sourced from: engine inlet manifolds, old aluminium cylinder heads, cast aluminium cover plates, bell housings, etc. Good scrap metal can be found in many places, you should be collecting your scrap now. 

 

Salamander Silicon Carbide Crucible.  

Most hobby foundry workers like to build their own Gas Fired Furnace. The Metal Casting Made Easy ebook provides all of the instructions. Measurements are supplied in both imperial and metric. The furnace interior is lined with a high temperature resistant refractory cement which can be obtained from a foundry supply warehouse, you can also make your own home made refractory, (an old time recipe is included in the ebooks) but the home brew refractory might not last as long as the proven commercial variety, but it is a low-cost way to  begin.

 
Internal View Of Red Hot Gas Fired Furnace.  

After preparing the sand mould, and the metal has reached a molten state in the furnace & crucible, it is then ready to pour. The crucible full of molten metal is carefully removed from the furnace with a pair of special lifting tongs and placed into a well designed pouring shank, wearing the proper safety gear you take hold of the pouring shank which cradles the crucible and then quickly pour the molten metal into the sprue of the sand mould. After the metal cools down, the mould boxes can be pulled apart to reveal the bright new metal art casting - vintage car or motorcycle part, or perhaps a reproduction part for an old machine of some kind, the things that you can make with metal casting are almost endless.

Pouring Molten Metal Into a Green Sand Mould. 

When you have become familiar with the methods and techniques of metal casting you will be able to start making your own unique castings, which may include parts for veteran & vintage cars, or even the later model classic models built in the sixties. The raw castings in the picture below are fresh out of the green sand mould, the large cone shaped vertical extensions are the sprues & riser. The castings pictured below are the raw cast slugs of clutch slave cylinders for a British car built in the sixties. Pressure cylinders need to be free of porosity, special foundry techniques are employed to prevent porous metal.   

 

Raw Aluminium Automotive Slave Cylinder Castings.

When the casting has cooled, the gates - runners & sprues are removed, along with the internal sand cores, the cylinders are then prepared for the machining operations. To carry out the machining of the castings, a small bench lathe, pedestal drill, and a few special home made tooling & jigs are used to produce the finished cylinder shown below. The casting of pressure vessels requires very tight, porous free metal, there are simple techniques you can employ to cast high quality cylinders, these techniques are explained in the books.The slave cylinder below probably sells for about $110.00, imagine if you could start producing things to seel, you could end up with a nice little cash job here and there.
 

Fully Machined Slave Cylinder Ready To Install.

The ebooks available on this web site have helped countless people learn how to cast their own vintage car - motor-cycle - antique - art castings - sculptures - property name plates - and really odd parts for special projects. The possibilities are endless once you know and understand the basic methods and techniques of metal casting. 
You should also be aware that handling molten metal can be dangerous, unsafe practices can cause personal injuries. The metal casting process requires that great care should be exercised at all times, the hobby foundry is not the place to consume alcohol, being stupid, or careless behaviour, metal casting is a serious business.

Would you like to know more about this ancient metal craft?

If you are just beginning to explore metal casting as a hobby, a good way to begin your learning is to download the sample ebook, or download the Power Point slide show. The ebook is a shortened version of the 98 page Metal Casting Made Easy ebook, you can peruse through twenty randomly chosen pages. This is the main ebook which is also accompanied by The Design Of Gates And Risers, plus all of the other valuable bonus ebooks we include with the package described on the library page.

The complete ebook package can be purchased and downloaded direct from this web site, or the ebooks can be ordered and supplied on CD ROM and delivered via airmail. (Ideal if your download speed or data transfer is slow). Overseas delivery of the CD is normally about eight to ten days.

The Package Provides An Awesome Amount Of Hobby Foundry Info.

Now, before you visit the library page, we want you to take a moment to download your free ebook & power point slide show. Simply fill out the form below and click the submit button, don't worry, your details are very safe with us, we hate spam just as much as you do, we will never share your details with other parties.

Just fill out your first name & a valid email address. During the sign up process you may be get third party offers, you should ignore other third party offers. (Note: Invalid email addresses are trashed by the server.)

Begin your journey now, why not grab your sample Metal Casting ebook, as well as the amazing Old Time Hints & Formula ebook. Both are FREE...  just pop your details in the box below & wait a few moments for an email to arrive at your inbox with your special download links.   

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Check your inbox shortly for the email message which will include your download links. (If the email appears to not arrive, check your junk mail folder) While you are waiting check out the ebook library Page >>


We really enjoy communicating with our customers from around the world, they enjoy telling us about the success they are having. The email below arrived recently from a happy customer, we're pretty thrilled to know that Keith is enjoying real success with the hobby foundry knowledge he has gained from our ebooks. Just imagine... you could also enjoy the same kind of metal casting success. 

Hi Col. Thank you for checking in on me. Also thanks for the ezine. Good stuff. I actually purchased several books on home foundries and I am pleased to write that I literally have my furnace behind me, here in my room with a 100 watt light inside of it to slow cure it. You see, I just cast the refractory this weekend. I am very happy with the way it has turned out. Your design is the best of all of the designs I have found put together. Plus I added a few of my own ideas along the way. I will send you a picture of it when it is done. Thanks again. Keith Taylor. California USA.

The hobby foundry ebooks have been purchased & delivered to hobby foundry workers in most english speaking countries as well as many European & Middle East countries.
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Please Visit:
www.myfoundrycoach.com

myfoundrycoach is our sister web site. This web site provides comprehensive training and learning about the art of hobby foundry, while the curriculum is based on the above ebooks, the knoweldge base has been greatly expanded to include much more than just the basics, if you want more than just the basics, then visit myfoundrycoach to see what's on offer there.