Re: Metal Molder (was Re: Casting your own...)

>Steven M Goode wrote:
>>
>> Please let us know how it goes.
>
>I certainly will.
>
>> Oh - btw - how much are the ovens?
>
>$35.00 originally I think.  They seem to be going for $10 on clearance.
>
>Tom

To actually do the basics of whitemetal casting, you only need some
silicone rubber (RTV-31 or equivalent, the red stuff - most of the
others
as used for resin casting are not sufficiently heat-resistant), a ladle
or
old tablespoon, some talc (raid the bathroom cabinet....) and a bit of
suitable casting metal. A simple gravity-pour mould can be made with the
RTV (lego bricks are good for making a mould box to pour it in) and then
held together with rubber bands during casting. You can melt the metal
over
a gas burner with care, and always wear eye protection and a pair of
work
gloves. Be aware that working with RTV-31 is a nasty, messy and
time-consuming business, however..... and if you get it on something
before
catalysing it, then it WON'T COME OFF!

In the UK, Alec Tiranti make complete starter kits for hand-casting at
around the £30 mark, with 1 lb of RTV, release agent, a small amount of
metal, ladle, mould clamps etc. Beware their prices for metal, however,
they're about five times what you can buy it for from an industrial
supplier like Neale's or Mountstar!

There are probably US suppliers that do the same kind of thing for the
hobbyist caster.

Jon (GZG)
>
>--
>Thomas Pope
>Human Computer Interaction Institute
>Carnegie Mellon University
>http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tpope