Backyard Foundry
Introduction: Backyard Foundry
The Pandemic of 2020 turned me into a metal caster. This is my journey to create 5 brass plaques for a veterans memorial. For a while now I have been forging and making knives. Soon after the Pandemic started and with extra time on my hands, a friend asked if I could make military plaques for our veterans memorial. I knew that it would not be a "walk in the park" and ended up taking about 6 months to perfect my process.
Supplies
200 lbs Olivine 120 sand https://seattlepotterysupply.com/
10 lbs Bentonite clay https://seattlepotterysupply.com/
Furnace Here is an example. https://www.instructables.com/Dual-Fuel-Metal-Melt...
Cruciblehttps://pmcsupplies.com/procasttm-no-10-12-kg-clay...
Leather apron
Welding gloves
Face shield
Pyrometer (not essential but you need to make sure your metal is hot enough)
Phosphor Copper Shot https://www.budgetfoundrysupply.com/phosphor-copper-shot
The following I made from pictures I found on the internet using mostly found materials.
--Tongs
--Pouring shank
--Flask
--Riddle
--Rammer
--Scoop
--Sprue cutter Ingot Molds
--Spoon
--Ingot molds
--Sand muller
Step 1: Making Your Tools
Setting up a foundry can be very expensive if you have to buy all of the supplies. If you want an idea of what things cost you can go to Midwest Technology https://www.midwesttechnology.com/teacher-supplies... They have everything you will need. I will try and explain each of the pictures above in roughly the order they appear.
Tongs You will need lifting tongs for removing the crucible from the furnace. The ones pictured are made from bent rebar and some 1 1/2" x 3/16" flat bar welded together. I designed mine for two people because of the size of my crucible and I think it is a little safer. Then you need a regular set of tongs for feeding the metal into the furnace. These are made of rebar as well. You will need to flatten the hinge area and then bolt or rivet together.
Pouring Shank Again this is made from rebar and flat bar. There are a lot of possible designs, dependent on your crucible. I made mine with a safety latch so the crucible can not fall out when pouring. It also requires two people as stated above.
Safety Gear Hot metal is dangerous. Here is a list of what I consider the absolute minimum: face shield, leather apron, natural fiber clothing, welding gloves and leather shoes or boots. 401
The one thing I would like to add is leather chaps that cover your legs and shoes.
Flask This will hold the sand and your mold. It is an easy-to-build item but it has a few things that need to be included. It needs to be big enough to enclose your pattern as well as room for your sprue, runners, gates and risers. It needs alignment pins to accurately locate the molds. It needs something around the inside to provide mechanical grip for the sand. I used metal staples but it is more common to use half round pieces of wood instead. It needs grab handles for moving. It should be color coded so you don't put it together backwards. You will also need top and bottom boards for lifting, moving and flipping the flask.
Plastic containers You will need plastic storage boxes for your sand and supplies. I have one that holds all of my ready-to-use sand and then several others to hold sand waiting to be processed.
Riddle The riddle can be any shape and needs a screened bottom. I find 1/8" hardware cloth to work best. You can usually find it at a hardware store or a bee supply store. A riddle is used to put facing sand on your pattern so you get a smoother finish and don't get any trapped air pockets.
Rammer This is used for packing the sand inside the flask. I turned mine from a piece of fire wood but it can be made from a variety items. The main features are a round flat face and narrower wedge end. The size will depend on the size of your flask.
Scoop This just moves sand. I made mine from a dowel, piece of plywood and a piece of sheet metal.
Sprue cutter Ideally these are tapered but I use a piece of 1" thin wall stainless tubing I had.
Spoon Yes, a kitchen spoon. They sell fancy ones but I don't really see the point. 401