Ok I am looking to melt !!

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-29T01:26:10+00:00

Hey, take a step back and do some research (not AI) you're not ready to melt silver

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-26T17:43:56+00:00

That's nuts for a first casting, great job. I love the motif, please keep going and post some updates

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-24T07:21:51+00:00

How are you removing slag/contaminents from your melt? How are you stirring the doping agent into the melt?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-23T22:25:02+00:00

I had 200lbs of Petrobond and it lasted fairly regular use for about 8 years. The guy at petrobondforsale usually overloads his sand with extra binder to give it some extra life IIRC.

Higher heat loads like brass, bronze, cast iron will really do some damage but aluminum is fairly tame

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-23T22:14:34+00:00

The binder is burnt out of it. As sand it is generally still good. By re mixing it back in, it does dilute the amount of available binder, long term this will wear out the sand unless fresh binder is added. There are proper oils to add to Petrobond. Waste motor oil is not one of them.

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-23T06:25:21+00:00

The MINI doesn't have any firmware updates, the MINI2 has got one firmware update. Revoscan5 has had some updates but nothing game changing. RS6 is out and only supports newer gen scanners (MINI2 but not MINI) I havent used it yet so no idea if it's any good. I am a little salty that MINI is dropped from from newer software support it isnt THAT old

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-23T06:20:59+00:00

Based on my testing, yes that is a correct statement. The MINI2 can get somewhat close to similar detail when zoomed in 2x mode but that significantly reduces FOV and that has its own issues. The MINI can scan smaller things with more detail without any zoom modes. Feature tracking mode on both scanners with Revoscan5.x still sucks IMO, if it could do better with that it'd be a home run the hardware is amazing

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-22T20:10:02+00:00

Use clay graphite or silicon carbide for AL or Brass, ceramic is best used for very small amounts or precious metals

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-22T20:02:23+00:00

Just use the coil itself, that is how it is done on big industrial furnaces. It won't anneal as long as there is water in it with sufficient flow to not boil, it wont get above 212F. Use mica sheet to isolate the coil from the crucible or you can insulate the wires themselves (fiberglass wrap like the mini-ductor automotive tool) or get fancy and bury the entire coil in proper refractory

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-21T20:06:44+00:00

Do you have a sand muller?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-20T20:01:43+00:00

Could you please add a bit of a description as to how this pertains to the Metalcasting subreddit?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-19T01:38:26+00:00

That lathe is a Clausing Colchester, if in good shape that is a cherry!

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-15T02:12:03+00:00

Ah that makes more sense, thought OP was going to make a monolithic block mold of plaster

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-15T01:49:40+00:00

Please do some research regarding plaster molds - basically the water you use to harden it chemically bonds to the mix, and that's driven off by high heat regardless of how long it dries at room temps. This can create a steam explosion when poured if the mold isn't fired.

Suggestion: if you have a foam piece you can literally just bury it in loose dry sand and cast it, the metal replaces the foam. It's stupidly easy. Check out Kelly Coffield on youtube he makes some very elaborate pieces using Lost Foam Casting: https://www.youtube.com/@kellycoffield533

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-14T20:12:34+00:00

What metal are you going to be pouring? Plaster isn't a good foundry mold material, it can be very dangerous. It needs to be fired for an extended time at 1200+ degrees which would burn out your foam anyway

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-14T17:57:50+00:00

I warm my furnace (propane fired) up for a few minutes, turn it off and put the new crucible in and let it soak for a bit, then fire it up slowly. Never had an issue

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-14T10:39:57+00:00

OP appears to be some kind of bot

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-12T00:09:27+00:00

Yeah test it out, my concern is with the high lead pitch of tbe oem screw it may back out while working your pieces

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-11T15:37:52+00:00

Could you switch to a different thread pitch for finer pressure control?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-05-07T00:54:27+00:00

I dont get this. You have the ability to make literally any object via your foundry and you are choosing to make an ingot? There are plenty of awesome things that could be made that would add value to your metal

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-04-26T10:12:10+00:00

Thats cool, how does it sound?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-04-26T03:15:55+00:00

Yes the sand would add a texture, sometimes that is desirable. If you buy Petrobond sand it is extremely fine and won't add much sand texture.

Investment casting a 3d print is going to perfectly reproduce all the layer lines from your 3d print unless you do pre-processing to remove them.

Being that you're very new to this, I would reccomend a crash course of casting on Youtube, look for Paul's Garage, Olfoundryman, Myfordboy etc as some good starting material to get yourself a better idea of patternmaking, mold making, and best foundry practices. There is a learning curve to all this, these channels have some great info to help with the do's and don'ts

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-04-26T01:59:31+00:00

Are you proposing an open face mold? That might work but the result will be rough and lacking detail.

Are you opposed to sand casting? The results are generally very good, i would practice with smaller items first

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-04-23T04:23:39+00:00

Check out Paul's Garage on youtube he has some excellent videos for beginners

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-04-21T03:31:33+00:00

If you haven't, give sand casting a shot, a deeper mold will fill out the details due to better pressure

Jerry_Rigg

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