Rocket Man VW Heads... What alloy?

"Stealth Pilot" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:42:55 -0800 (PST), "

maxwells investment reference gives little actual detail but they must
do some cunning stuff with the additives that they allude to in their
plaster. they've certainly developed the process way beyond what I've
achieved.
Stealth Pilot

It wasn't an investment reference, just a casting plaster.

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.

=========================

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

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

--

FF

"Fred the Red Shirt" wrote in message
...
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.

=========================

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

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

=============================================

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?

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.

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.

=========================

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

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

=============================================

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.

On Jan 14, 9:59*pm, "
wrote:
On Jan 14, 12:46*pm, Fred the Red Shirt
wrote:

Kitty litter is cheap.

PLEASE don't mention anything about "kitty" around a casting sand
heap ........ Bad Karma :-)
=================
Leon McAtee

Leon,

You and I may know that bentonite is a local phenom that is generally
a pain in the a**. Others think it is a ephemeral magic substance.
We live in one of two places on earth (the other is in central Russia)
that have an excess of the stuff. While we can get a ton or so from
down the road, others have to resort to kitty litter or draining the
local Hooter's mud wrestling pits (in Wyoming, Hooters are goose calls
or pickup horns).

For those of you who don't drive on greenish, slick as snot, expansive
clay as a rule, or build your houses on land that rises and falls
annually by a couple of feet due to humidity, bentonite sucks.

Should you want some....let Leon or me know and we can UPS or
otherwise ship 50 pound bags of the stuff. We have it in our back
yards.

Mark