Brass casting
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I have made sand castings in brass of butt plates and trigger guards. Its not too difficult to do when you have the right equipment.
I learned to make sand castings in High School but the only metals we were using was lead and aluminum.
When I started my apprenticeship in the gun shop, for the first 6 months all I did was make brass castings and sets of ramrod pipes and file them up. The master gunsmith made sure you knew how to use a file.
Regards, Dave
I learned to make sand castings in High School but the only metals we were using was lead and aluminum.
When I started my apprenticeship in the gun shop, for the first 6 months all I did was make brass castings and sets of ramrod pipes and file them up. The master gunsmith made sure you knew how to use a file.
Regards, Dave
John Vaccaro
32 Cal.
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If I make a mould in steel, how shall I treat the mould not to have the brass stick to it when cooled?
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I don't think a steel mould will work. Sand casting or Lost Wax casting is the way to go. American Pioneer Video has/had? a very good video by Dr Terry Leeper on sand casting gun mounts.It's not hard to do and you can make the equipment you need. Buy some commercial sand for best success. Good Luck John
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I don't think a steel mould will work. Sand casting or Lost Wax casting is the way to go. American Pioneer Video has/had? a very good video by Dr Terry Leeper on sand casting gun mounts.It's not hard to do and you can make the equipment you need. Buy some commercial sand for best success. Good Luck John
Anvilfire.com has some tutorials on casting brass in a blacksmiths forge, if that's any help to you.
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cal .61,
I onmce attended a day long seminar on brass casting rifle mounts given by the gunsmith Michael Lea, but have never tried doing it.
You might want to look at www.centaurforge.com as they have several books on the subject in the $10 to $25 dollar range.
Harddog
I onmce attended a day long seminar on brass casting rifle mounts given by the gunsmith Michael Lea, but have never tried doing it.
You might want to look at www.centaurforge.com as they have several books on the subject in the $10 to $25 dollar range.
Harddog
Cal .61
When we put together our casting operation for the shop we used sand with a clay mixture. I can't remember where the sand came from, but it was pretty course and made for some pretty rough castings with the occasional pitting from the sand blowing into the mould during the pour.
I noticed while fishing for Smallmouth Bass along the Big Darby Creek, several sand bars made up of a much finer sand than we were using. I later went back and took a couple of hundred pounds of this finer sand back to the shop and mixed in some of the clay. Our castings became a lot more smooth so there was less filing to finish them.
When making moulds we added just enough water to the sand/clay mixture that a ball of it rolled between my hands would break cleanly in half rather than crumble into small pieces. It must not be too wet or you could risk blowing the mould apart during the pour.
The sand is pounded into one of the two halves of the wooden casting boxes, then the pattern is placed in the sand and a fine coating of talcum dusted over the mould and pattern. The top half was placed over the bottom and sand pounded into it tightly. The sprue was made and several vents pushed in down to the pattern. The dusting of talcum keeps the two halves from sticking together. The top half is lifted off and the pattern removed. You are then ready to pour.
We knew we had a good casting when we saw molten brass rising to the top of the mould box from the vents.
Regards, Dave
When we put together our casting operation for the shop we used sand with a clay mixture. I can't remember where the sand came from, but it was pretty course and made for some pretty rough castings with the occasional pitting from the sand blowing into the mould during the pour.
I noticed while fishing for Smallmouth Bass along the Big Darby Creek, several sand bars made up of a much finer sand than we were using. I later went back and took a couple of hundred pounds of this finer sand back to the shop and mixed in some of the clay. Our castings became a lot more smooth so there was less filing to finish them.
When making moulds we added just enough water to the sand/clay mixture that a ball of it rolled between my hands would break cleanly in half rather than crumble into small pieces. It must not be too wet or you could risk blowing the mould apart during the pour.
The sand is pounded into one of the two halves of the wooden casting boxes, then the pattern is placed in the sand and a fine coating of talcum dusted over the mould and pattern. The top half was placed over the bottom and sand pounded into it tightly. The sprue was made and several vents pushed in down to the pattern. The dusting of talcum keeps the two halves from sticking together. The top half is lifted off and the pattern removed. You are then ready to pour.
We knew we had a good casting when we saw molten brass rising to the top of the mould box from the vents.
Regards, Dave
Looks like we may have some sand crabs out there. Try a community college art department. They often do brass castings for sculptures. There's nothing like hands on instruction. The molds get into investment casting which is a big deal, maybe the engineering department at a University.
Guest
He is my book marks on this subject
Enjoy
David
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/
http://www.frontiernet.net/~gnreil/design1.shtml
http://www.host33.com/casting/index.html
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/news/dec01/dec01.html#Freon%20Part%202
http://home.iprimus.com.au/cmckeown/foundry.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/hite/furnace.html
http://www.frugalmachinist.com/index.html
Enjoy
David
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com
http://www.backyardmetalcasting.com/
http://www.frontiernet.net/~gnreil/design1.shtml
http://www.host33.com/casting/index.html
http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/news/dec01/dec01.html#Freon%20Part%202
http://home.iprimus.com.au/cmckeown/foundry.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/tx5/hite/furnace.html
http://www.frugalmachinist.com/index.html
Casting books on my shelf:
C.W.Ammen, Lost Wax Investment Casting, Tab Books, 1977
Terry Aspin, Foundry Work for the Amateur, Nexus, 1998
Murray Bovin, Centrifugal or Lost Wax Jewelry Casting, Bovin publishing, 1977
W.Feinberg,Lost wax casting: A Practitioners manual, Intermediate technology group, 1983
These are all photocopies, since the original books are somewhat rare and desirable (at least around here)
I just spotted a copy of Amens "Metal Casters Bible" near me so that might be my next purchase.
try http://www.lindsaybks.com for more useful titles
there is heaps of metal casting info on the web now too
I actually own a centrifugal casting machine now, but I really don't have the space to set it up anywhere! I've done some sand casting before, just small pewter stuff. the sand you use is the finest you can find, with about 20% by volume powdered clay added and mixed with enough water so its slightly damp and forms a cohesive ball that breaks apart cleanly when you pull it apart.
If you want to start small, jewellery supply stores sell a small kit with re-usable synthetic oil sand, steel moulds for the sand to go in etc.
thanks for the kind words about the site...
it badly needs an update, but I've had bad luck with my laptop and scanner and family problems sapping my time
C.W.Ammen, Lost Wax Investment Casting, Tab Books, 1977
Terry Aspin, Foundry Work for the Amateur, Nexus, 1998
Murray Bovin, Centrifugal or Lost Wax Jewelry Casting, Bovin publishing, 1977
W.Feinberg,Lost wax casting: A Practitioners manual, Intermediate technology group, 1983
These are all photocopies, since the original books are somewhat rare and desirable (at least around here)
I just spotted a copy of Amens "Metal Casters Bible" near me so that might be my next purchase.
try http://www.lindsaybks.com for more useful titles
there is heaps of metal casting info on the web now too
I actually own a centrifugal casting machine now, but I really don't have the space to set it up anywhere! I've done some sand casting before, just small pewter stuff. the sand you use is the finest you can find, with about 20% by volume powdered clay added and mixed with enough water so its slightly damp and forms a cohesive ball that breaks apart cleanly when you pull it apart.
If you want to start small, jewellery supply stores sell a small kit with re-usable synthetic oil sand, steel moulds for the sand to go in etc.
thanks for the kind words about the site...
it badly needs an update, but I've had bad luck with my laptop and scanner and family problems sapping my time
Hey Cal.61 this site has dvds for rent on some of this subjects .. I found and used a wealth of info on gunbuilding and cast dvds etc here ... ::
http://technicalvideorental.com/rental_3.html
Davy
http://technicalvideorental.com/rental_3.html
Davy
Cal. 61
Unless you have a foundry where you can melt brass, I think that it would be cheaper to buy the parts you need. I took a class at the Log Cabin Shop on casting brass but I don't have a heat source. I have a lot of brass but no heat. The Track of the Wolf and The Log Cabin have on-line catalogs.
Olie :m2c:
Unless you have a foundry where you can melt brass, I think that it would be cheaper to buy the parts you need. I took a class at the Log Cabin Shop on casting brass but I don't have a heat source. I have a lot of brass but no heat. The Track of the Wolf and The Log Cabin have on-line catalogs.
Olie :m2c:
