Welcome to the Metal Casting Project and Information Page
There have been many people on the Internet to write web pages on metal casting, sand molds, core making and other related practices, so in the spirit of sharing experiences I am including mine here.
Now, I do not claim to be an expert in the art of sand casting or any of the methods and processes that are involved in it, but I have had some luck and I think with a little perseverance that anyone can do it. I say the last a little tongue in cheek because melting and casting metal is not a inherently safe thing to do. A mold too wet, a spilled crucible of molten metal can injure you, destroy your property and much worse, IT CAN KILL YOU. The information posted here is not for everyone. If you are clumsy, a nitwit, a person who feels like anything that happens to them is not their fault but instead is the responsibility of another then do yourself and everyone else a favor. Find something else to do and stay away from metal casting. Oh and if the last sentence insulted you or hurt your feelings, then metal casting may not be for you either. What can I say? Sometimes it just needs to be said.
I think casting metal was the natural progression of my hobby of making molds. It seems like there is always something that pulls you to different directions. For me, I was casting pewter and lead into two part RTV molds and found myself wanting to do some plastic injection. Well, after a little research I learned that most of the molds, even the simple ones, were machined from aluminum. Having little to no money to waste on a hobby I pretty much gave the idea up. I knew I could not afford any metal working machinery. It wasn't until I stumbled on Lionel's website called backyardmetalcasting.com where he was casting aluminum and making a lathe from scrap that I realized that maybe I could do the same thing. I bought his flowerpot crucible furnace book and the Build You Own Metal Shop from Scrap book written by Dave Gingery and the saga began! I would encourage you to visit his site. Lionel has LOADS of great information to share.
If you are not familiar with the process of ramming sand molds, melting metal, pouring it and shaking the casting out, I have created a video that explains and shows the process in general. Take a look at it and see if it is something you like. I hope to create more videos in the future discussing different techniques, tricks, tools and general information to help the hobby caster be successful in their endeavours. I hope you enjoy!
The purpose of these pages is to describe some of the equipment you will need to start metal casting, how to use the equipment, how to get by on the cheep and whatever else I can share that might help someone get started or learn from my mistakes. Explore the menu of items and enjoy yourself.
-- Joe