sand casting/aluminum-projects

[Shep1970]

Ya the "wear bump" just wasnt sure what to call it- yes agree the pads can easily be seen. Rainy day here today but casting monday afternoon, what to form? Hmmmmm I may try a 200x top trip "just to see how it comes out" -just learning as i go
And thanks for all the input!! Highly agree on the pressure casting (stronger) i'm sure thats what they used.

Shep

[tripledog]

Keep up the good work. Ingot we trust.

[tripledog]

No activity on this thread in over 24 hours. Must be non-ferrous Bueller's day off.

[Shep1970]

Hold on im trying- ferris-bueller, good movie that was, i think goonies beats it though

Shep

[tripledog]

Sorry, Shep. I realize my metallurgy humor is of the porous quality. I actually want to make a small foundry so I can melt down some of the aluminum I have around here, so I will be following your thread. Very good info thus far. I would like to have the capability to make some three dimensional gas tank emblems for a few of my bikes.

[Shep1970]

No problem at all tripledog, i dont have much faith in this mold, my box is too small to bind the sand in the corners. But i guess i'll find out soon enough. I followed hondas casting line but.... i still gotta open it up to get the part out.
Fail, fail, fail, fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god dammit!!!!!
Well shi- that blows
Shep

[Shep1970]

Ok- well i salvaged the lower half- pouring in 15mins
I'll clean it off and put another pic or 2 next to this one its a salvaged fail so we'll see. Theres a couple alum swells but no cracks or voids on the "outside" i guess i can call it a success kinda... looking at these pics, the camera makes it look like theres divots but there really bumps, strange. You can see in the original where honda put there vents, so i put mine in the same spot- perfect it all filled. They knew what they were doing!!!
Shep

[tripledog]

That would make a cool grille or hood ornament for a rat rod. Is it for sale?

[Red Rider]

Nice work. This is a very interesting subject. Is the sand reusable after a complete casting process?

[Shep1970]

That would make a cool grille or hood ornament for a rat rod. Is it for sale?

I'm going to shelve it for now, but i'll think about it- i'll offer it to u before i melt it back down.

Shep

[Shep1970]

Nice work. This is a very interesting subject. Is the sand reusable after a complete casting process?

You loose about 5% in charcoal- burnt sand/the oil gets fried. But it is reusable just needs to be mixed/hydrated with more oil. Haven't mixed any yet i just save the old so when the time comes i wont need to buy more.

Shep

[Billy Golightly]

Ok- well i salvaged the lower half- pouring in 15mins
I'll clean it off and put another pic or 2 next to this one its a salvaged fail so we'll see. Theres a couple alum swells but no cracks or voids on the "outside" i guess i can call it a success kinda... looking at these pics, the camera makes it look like theres divots but there really bumps, strange. You can see in the original where honda put there vents, so i put mine in the same spot- perfect it all filled. They knew what they were doing!!!
Shep

That looks like it turned out pretty good actually. Not a metallurgist by any stretch, but it'd be interesting to see what kind of tension you could put on that thing in a vise before it breaks and then inspect the interior grain to see if it has any bubbles or how porous looking it is. With some tweaking and some casing specific alloys I bet you could get usable parts out of these processes.

I'd really like to see a Tri-Z clutch cover tried. Machining the water pump areas would be the most difficult part. Hell, If you could cast a "back half" of the Z cover and then weld the complex part of the OEM case to it in a little hold down fixture, that would probably work suprisingly well. Band saw OEM cases right infront of where the clutch housing area is, and weld it back to a reinforced area in the back. The fronts never break, its always the back around the kicker shafts. I'd be down to try that.

[Shep1970]

It came out ok. Since it was a fail in the mold i used all the little scrap leftovers to melt down, at that point all i was aiming for was just a product to hold in my hand-and of course run the furnace which is the fun part.
I should have time this wk-end, i'll do a nice clean like a 2" square mold and cut it in half, i'm curios also whats trapped inside. Maybe do a 1/2' flat stock also to put in a vise. It can be degassed while its in the crucible but im sure air gets mixed during the pouring. I'll find out.
Here's the fork brace end with about 1mm sanded off u can see the sand pits still but pretty solid looking. It was my first pour so i hope to get better results each time..
Someone weigh a blank triz clutch cover "just curious" but no bearings their weight adds up fast, if any? Not to familiar with it.
Been doing research on the 83/85 chain covers, they really are getting hard to find and sell quick on ebay too. Hmmm
A little clay added to an original part to be cast in different areas will result in a stronger part.
Shep
Tripledog if u really want that piece i'll be in touch over the wk-end

[Billy Golightly]

That looks a lot more solid than many people's aluminum welding

[tripledog]

Shep, rather than futzing with shipping and whatnot, I'll just keep watching and learning. This really is a neat thread!