Found Dreaming

I'm setting up my foundry almost from scratch. A friend is helping me make a Vontorne muller. Now I think I need a molding bench and want to get it built before the muller is available. Are there any good molding bench plans available? I will be using green sand to start.
I have a couple ideas but want to ask the experienced to avoid design errors. What plans did you build from? I need to know basic dimentions and usefull features. I'm thinking 24" x 48" and 12-24" deep, slats on top for holding flasks, room underneath for tubs to hold new/mulled sand.
Is 1/2" plywood strong enough or should I go with 3/4"? Should I divide it into 2 sections for conditioned vs used sand?
Thanks in advance.

Chuck

Mine is just a set of concrete wash tubs

Mike

I like those concrete sinks they just weigh too much. I move stuff around too much. The bench I built a couple years ago didn't work out very well. I through it out before the move. There are some good plans out there for ones with a plywood bin and a gate for clean-out. We'll have to look around for the plans.

Molding stations are as individual as each person's desire. Dimensions depend on the volume of sand you care to manipulate and maintain, and an individual's own height and ability to lift and manipulate packed sand molds. My work station will hold a full 1600 lbs of green sand. It's built of 1/2" plywood and 2x4's. I drafted it out on paper first, cut each piece, pre-drilled for lag bolts that would assemble it, then painted each piece, inside, outside, and edges. Once dried I assembled it. I also added a sifting screen/tool catch-all that slides out of the way when needed. Works great for having to re-do a packed mold that I goofed on, just release the sand flask latches and plop the packed sand on the screen, then sift it through by hand and repack the mold. I also have two 2x4's that support the flask being packed. I can slide either item one way or another to get to my sand below. When the job is done, and my sand is recovered back into the bin, I cover it with a cut-to-size blue tarp that keeps the sand from drying out. Note also, I made the bin smaller at the base on the front and wider at the top. This way I can stand and work with my legs up against the bin and my feet don't have to be at 45 deg. angles. It also gives me optimum ergonomics for lifting my packed molds.

My sand recovery system is just a shaker screen that jerks back and forth with a 3" stroke. You can dump a hot mold on top with product inside, hit the on switch and it'll rattle the sand through, and when the cast appears just grab it with a claw hook or welding gloves and remove it. Extreemly hard burnt chunks of sand just sprinkle a bit of water on it, and hold your palm on it while the grizzley does the work rasping it through the mesh. It's loud, but works awesome!! LOL....