On Jan 15, 7:07*pm, "Maxwell" #$$9#@%%%.^^^ wrote:
"Fred the Red Shirt" wrote in ...
On Jan 15, 12:30 am, "Maxwell" #$$9#@%%%.^^^ wrote:



"Fred the Red Shirt" wrote in
...
On Jan 12, 11:04 pm, "Maxwell" #$$9#@%%%.^^^ wrote:

...

What's the point? If you are going to buy bentonite, why not buy a
quality
molding sand like silica or olivine as well?

Kitty litter is cheap.

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Yeah, but the castings it produces is pure ****.

I think you need to cover your sand better between uses...

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Why would anyone want to use things like top soil and kitty litter for
molding metal castings, when high quality molding sands and binders sell for
as little as 10 to 15 cents a pound, and are often reusable?

I expect the cats will **** in it regardless.

I can buy high quality bentonite clay at the grocery store and
sand at the local home center. It's really not the price, it's
the convenience. If I get seriously into casting I may look
for a local source of good green sand. If I have to buy it mail
order
I might stick with the home made stuff.

For now I'm just fooling around with pewter, but want to move
up to bronze. I may just stick to investment plaster, (which
I bought) as what I have planned are some pretty small parts.


Same thing with alloys. Scrap aluminum usually sells for about 1/4 the price
of high quality ingot, a difference of about 75 cents a pound. In a 10 pound
cylinder head you are investing an additional $7.50 per head to buy the
best.

I understand your point. Scrap is fine for practice, and is often
available
for free.