This looks like its gonna be fun and maybe profitable. I ordered all the stuff I'll need to get started. It should be here by the end of the week. My first interest in this item was to melt down all the little bits of scrap copper and brass and small pieces of wire to get #1 copper price. The more I thought about it I started to think about making trim parts that are not available anymore. Look over this site, Watch the vids and give me your input. Theres also many vids on youtube about it. http://foundry101.com/
I think it would be fun and potentially profitable, depending what you make. I will pass this link on to my son. He has been interested in casting since he made a Moai from Easter Island, out of aluminum. He did this as a project for a college course in humanities. It turned out great! He set the bar high for his fellow classmates. My only complaint is he burned out my leaf blower. He used it for his bellows. My son and I are both interested in the lost art of crafts such as casting, blacksmiths, etc. I cannot wait to see what you make.
Awesome aspiration. It is somewhat of a learned and disappearing art in this country. If you can find an experienced retiree that could mentor you, they would likely enjoy sharing in a world that in large part no-longer appreciates such skills. And quite maybe you too can then share this expertise someday.
Looks like fun! But I believe aluminum shrinks (4%?) when it cools, so it'll be difficult to make exact replicas. Keep that it mind when choosing your metal.
Three part series on metal casting http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=112614 http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=112615 http://www.autospeed.com/cms/article.html?&A=112616
I was thinking about making new GS and the script Riviera emblems first. once I get that mastered I want to try to remake the pitted tail light bezel for the L side of the Riv. If its pitted I can maybe remove the pits by working the sand then pouring. I got a nearly endless supply of cooper and brass. I can buy bulk bronze as well. This has to be an upgrade to the original materials used back in the day.
Why not fill the pits with a wax? It would give you the ability to work the shape on the part instead of having to mess up your sand, and you could just heat it to remove.
That's called the "lost wax" method. Really. Note that the parts you make are going to be worth 20 to 50 times what the original parts were, due to using better metals. People will end up knocking the trim off just to recycle it! I'd recommend looking at getting pot metal just like the manufacturers did. You could melt down old trim (and carburetors) for the material. You would still make money, just selling the copper and aluminum for scrap and buying the pot metal scrap. Of course, you could just not plate the brass or bronze trim, putting a hard finish on it.
I thought I had posted a picture awhile back of a little intake I had carved out of wax and cast in lead, but I can't find it. I'm interested in the whole process and would like to cast a real intake one day! You could have an emblem scanned and then 3d printed in wax.
When I was in college I had to take a class called "Manufacturing Processes". We went on several field trips to various plants. One day we went to a cast iron foundry and on the way back we stopped at an aluminum foundry. I was quite amazed watching them make molds out of sand! I could not believe the sand would keep it's shape when the molten metal was poured in it. I had heard of sand casting before but I never realized they really made molds out of sand... I still think it is cool & amazing...
What I was talking about isn't the "lost wax" method. I was just suggesting rebuilding the pitted/missing areas of the trim he has so he isn't reproducing those flaws when he makes his impressions in the sand. And, so he doesn't make new ones in the mold by trying to fix those once the impressions have been made. Maybe look into using silicone for molds? I've read about low melt metal casting using bismuth, but I bet there are other ones you could use. The silicone would be reusable and I'm betting would give a better finish than sand casting. Tons of stuff to read out there.
All my stuff came while I was outta town doing my step Moms funeral. I've had a little bit of time to mess with it and I'll say thats its a bit harder than it looks in the videos. Making the sand mold is easy. getting the part out that you used as a mold is hard. nearly every time I've tired It messes up the mold when I remove the part. The one time I did get the part out and poured it was an incomplete fill. I'll keep trying untill I come up with something that works. One thing I did learn today while melting down a pile of scrap copper wire is that you should never pour molten metal into anything thats wet. It makes a mess. burns holes in your new shirt and leaves sore spots on your skin.
I've made a few things but its tougher than it looks to get a good mold off these parts. The script emblems are the hardest to do because the sand keeps coming out of the center of open letters. O, e, f, ect.Haven't had much time to play with it lately.
I wonder if there is some kind of stabilizer that could be mixed into the sand to make it less "crumbly" when you're setting it up/pouring, but will still enable you to easily remove after casting?