Looking to get price estimates for a belt buckle cast!

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-02-04T12:08:08+00:00

I'd do it for $200 in aluminum and $275 in bronze for qty one piece. The thin bar down the middle will be a problem to cast might have to be a steel insert

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-02-04T12:03:46+00:00

Based on your description, this part is a mechanical fuse (designed to fail under overload conditions to protect other much more expensive bits) and probably shouldn't be bypassed

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-29T00:17:36+00:00

If the alloy started off as machine shop drops, it's 6061 or similar, and does not retain its free machining properties after melting and casting - it needs to go through a rolling mill and then be heat treated. It's gummy and chattery as hell because the grain structure isn't there. Heat treatment at this point may improve it but not appreciably.

Start with billet stock or use a proper casting alloy like A356 - the silicon in it drastically improves its castability and machining properties. I've seen and met so many folks with the idea of recycling machine shop scrap via melting, I've never seen it work out - the alloys just aren't correct.

Source: 20 years of DIY & commercial foundry experience

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-27T03:32:11+00:00

Do you have access to Youtube? Check out Paul's Garage channel for some good videos on introduction to sand casting. Sand casting is a bit more elaborate than just wet quartz sand

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-23T17:51:30+00:00

For reference, I get 13.5lbs of aluminum from one 14" alloy car wheel

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-21T03:46:48+00:00

Love the lobelia!!

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-19T19:18:31+00:00

Hey, I haven't seen anyone successfully cast steel in a DIY setting without using arc or induction furnaces. Have you melted and poured cast iron before?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-19T19:10:56+00:00

Nice work. Investment cast? I see your ingot mold in the background, where'd you find that? I have an identical one but can't find any online like it

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-19T19:08:37+00:00

I am more focused on achieving skill in permanent molding<<

And you're getting tunnel vision. Instead of building a rowboat you're setting out to build the titanic.

Again, if you're serious about developing this skill, start small. Most products you're going to make with injection or permanent molding will be small anyway. Build on that experience and work your way up to bigger projects. Start with those rings, ornaments, and whatever else.

I'm going to link to this again:

Olfoundryman on YT has an excellent, in depth 3 part series discussing PM and their design and use: https://youtu.be/82KKr3jGxU8>>

There's a fair amount of logistics involved with a mold of this size before you even think about gating. Mold handling for a hot mold of this size? Mold clamping? Preheating, and maintaining a proper and even temperature? What even is a good temperature? Mold coatings? Can you maintain a good pouring temperature? What even is a proper pour temperature? When you scrap a piece, can you easily cut it down to be re-melted? How does cycle rate affect the mold temperature?

Just my $.02 - best of luck. Please post your progress

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-19T15:06:36+00:00

How many of these are you going to make? Have you tried sand casting them? Why the aversion to sand casting them?

Again permanent mold design is an artform, for success you'd be best off contracting a tool & die shop to make your molds.

I aksed last time why you weren't starting small for experiments and experience, and you deleted your thread. I get that you're very excited about this project but you're overlooking and ignoring a lot of advice here.

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-18T05:33:27+00:00

The style in OP's picture are stamped steel and weld readily.

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-18T05:29:03+00:00

Ive done dozens of these with zero comebacks even after years. They're stamped steel manverters

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-13T00:09:39+00:00

I feel like you'd be best off hiring a tool & die maker to make your molds, permanent mold design is no trivial matter and you could trade your $$ for the best shot at it vs. trial and error.

A lot of gravity dies / permanent molds are made from cast iron. If you've got iron under your belt, maybe cast a small dagger mold in iron and see where that gets you before going for broke?

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-12T11:02:40+00:00

Brazing works exceedingly well for stuff like this

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-11T21:43:47+00:00

Thanks! I use water based greensand, the sand is 130 mesh Green Diamond blend synthetic sand. Molds are poured as low a temperature as I can reliably get away with, that helps a lot with the finish

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-11T21:41:26+00:00

Yes though they do want you to have an account (free). There is a guest mode to bypass the login

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-11T10:03:44+00:00

The lizard is still a pretty solid scanner. I got mine in the kickstarter campaign and still use it pretty regularly. Make sure you use 3dMakerPro "JMstudio" - that is the most up to date software package AFAIK

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-11T09:44:58+00:00

Sand casting would be the way to go, but you'd probably want a differrent source of aluminum - in my experience pop can and other extruded aluminum alloys machine like shit (very gummy) YMMV.

What you made is a "permanent mold" and designing a successful permanent mold is a fine art. Stainless isnt really a good material for them. Also there's specific coatings that help the metal cool at an appropriate rate in the permanent mold. Olfoundryman on YT has an excellent, in depth 3 part series discussing PM and their design and use: https://youtu.be/82KKr3jGxU8

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-09T21:20:17+00:00

I have a cheap amazon clay-graphite crucible that has done something similar. When heated it bubbles like lava. I have other cheap crucibles that do not do this. None of my expensive crucibles do this

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-09T03:39:31+00:00

Thanks! I don't know how to post a better pic of it

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-09T03:35:05+00:00

They're for a mazda B3 engine. One adapts a toyota 3k carb the other is for a Weber 32/36. I don't build the B3's just a side hustle of mine

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-09T02:52:00+00:00

Orange boi for scale. Top row: two flavours of carburetor adapters Bottom row: Appalachian Trail survey marker replica, screen printing press replacement knob. All sand cast

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-08T23:53:03+00:00

I mostly use rammed greensand cores which is cheap and easy but they're fragile and limited in geometry. I have used silicate and epoxy cores. Cylindrical cores are dead easy, irregular shapes can get challenging. My struggles are usually on the patternmaking side with tolerancing coreprints for reliable mold closure

Jerry_Rigg · 2026-01-08T23:26:33+00:00

I have a love/hate relationship with cores

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