Aluminum Flask

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dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

well the weather finally gave me a little break and I fired up the old furnace, used the oil burner.
Anyway heres a couple of snaps of the flask side that I modified so it has a larger handle/pin lug, and I also added a rib on the inside surface so that the sand has some thing to grip.
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David and Charlie aka the shop monster

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Harry
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by Harry »

That rib looks like it will do the job David, very nice finish you are getting on your castings too. Smaller flasks you can get away with something there but it is incredibly frustrating to have a cope drop out when closing a mold so I say give it something to grab so your heart wont drop after you spent twenty minutes making a mold up.

I am getting really close to having the time to work on my flasks, just a few more things to clear off my todo list.

A good set of flasks is well worth the time to make them, they will last you forever and after having burned up enough wood flasks you will have a great feeling each time you use them especially years down the road when they are still giving you good service.
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dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

my heart drops i'm probably gonna be following it, damn things all wired together now. but yes your right it is kind of disheartening to have one fall out, even worse it to pick one up after its poured and it falls out and the sand is so hot the oil in it catches on fire which sets the grass on fire, anyway you get the picture.

Yes this one poured really nice but the metal was also really hot like red hot, I used the oil burner in the big furnace and I should of just left it on propane cause that dang burner is hot enough on propane running 4 or 5 psi of gas to I believe melt brass. Hate to see what it will do when I go full on for iron with it.

The rib is pinned on with a couple of brads that I have stuck in it, I need to slope the ends more and slick it up somemore with shellac so it comes ouf of the sand easy. the handle molded up nice and I thing that Ihave room for up to like a 5/8" pin but will probably stick with 1/2" stainless bolts get expensive as they go up in size.

update on the burner I cut my space that I was using ot hole the nozzle up in the tube about 3/4 inch in half, I just need more burn time to tweek this thing so its right. I also need to get a two wheeler and make a caddy for the Thomas Air, Fuel Tank, control box which I need to put together, Air tank, Awe heck you know what all needs to be on it. I just need to build it.

I am hoping to maybe cast another side today but have to see what the weather does this afternoon.

David
David and Charlie aka the shop monster

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Harry
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by Harry »

How are you liking the little Thomas Pump? Now that I have it set up on the big tank it only cycles 10 minutes every hour at most, considering it only has something like a 400W motor on it I consider it to be free compressed air. I do have a 250 gallon tank on it so a small tank would be more/shorter cycles.

I found this pressure switch on eBay. It has an unloader built into it which you have to unload the compressor to get it to start at anything over 15 PSI or so. You could use a separate unloader and a pressure switch for a well pump. You just need to be able to adjust whatever you use down to a range where the little pump doesnt have to work too hard but high enough to cover needs of your burner.

I rarely run over 15 PSI on my burner but I set the switch up around 42 to 57 for the on and off so if I do want to kick some more air in there I have it on hand and the pump doesnt seem to struggle at all with it.
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I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...
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dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

lets see if I can answer this. I tried to yesterday and lost the reply and just couldn't make myself write it again.

I don't really plan on hooking up to a big tank, I have one about two gallon in size. I don'[t plan on running my furnace for more then maybe an hour at a time except occasionally when I may do like a C/I and an Aluminum pour back to back.

Yes I will probably get a pressure switch so I can use the Thomas for more then just the burner, I will buy it locally cause I don't need a switch that cost what you paid for that one.

YES I like the little compressor it works great much quiter then the other that I was using.

Yes I like my oil burner, hottest thing in town except for maybe the gal down the street.

It like to of got away from me the other day when I poured the flask side, I don't know why the aluminum didn't flame but it didn't so no more half azz watching the furnace while ramming up a mold, ram em up first then melt and pour.

I take it from what I have seen posted that your still running the propane, I found out that with my burner I can get enough heat running the propane at 4 to 5 psi to probably melt aluminum, with the spinner in the front it causes the gas to burn totally different, damn thing just get hot.

Hope to do a Cast Iron melt here pretty quick I told a guy I would pour a backing plate for a 10 inch lathe chuck, so time to go to work. will hopefully get to video it.

David
David and Charlie aka the shop monster

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Harry
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by Harry »

dallen wrote: I don'[t plan on running my furnace for more then maybe an hour at a time except occasionally when I may do like a C/I and an Aluminum pour back to back.
dallen wrote:It like to of got away from me the other day when I poured the flask side, I don't know why the aluminum didn't flame but it didn't so no more half azz watching the furnace while ramming up a mold, ram em up first then melt and pour.
Yeah, I know I run my setup differently than most. I will spend a minimum of 4 hours casting when I fire it up. Run the furnace hot for the first twenty minutes or so then dial it back so is just barely gets to my pouring temperature in 15/20 minutes after adding 6 lbs or so of ingots. This gives me time to prepare the next molds, shake out the last ones and still not overheat. If I need to once the molds are ready I can bump it up a little to get the last bit of heat into the melt quickly.
dallen wrote:Yes I will probably get a pressure switch so I can use the Thomas for more then just the burner, I will buy it locally cause I don't need a switch that cost what you paid for that one.
Hmm, at fifty bucks I thought it was a pretty good deal considering it has the unloader built into it and it is a heavy industrial unit that will last more than a lifetime. I also liked the 10 to 185 PSI range it has as it might come in handy somewhere else down the road, probably buy another if I find one for my big compressor I will be building once I get the 220v line in and of course buy a motor for the enormous IR pump head thats been sitting out by the shop for years. I also like the way this unloader works and is set up, going to try and put something together for automatic dewatering of the tank using the bleeder tank to blow it off each time the compressor cycles. Moved the little $99 HF compressor out of the shop to the utility area around back so for the first time it was outside and I could drain it without concern of a huge mess in the shop. Must have been two gallons of water in it, not sure how long it has been but surely not more than a year since I bought it.

Yes still running the propane, like it too much to give it up. When using just oil I get that smell/taste even though the furnace burns with no smoke. I think the addition of the propane is burning off some sulfur or something else that will coming out of the furnace as unseen fumes. The burn is simply very clean and with the propane use at less than a dollar an hour it is well worth it to me.
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints the sinners are much more fun...
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dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

I got rid of my big air compressor cause i didn't use it enough to have it. so I traded it off and got a small one, I could live with the noise it made but the neighbors on the north side of me might not of liked me running it a 7 in the morning, but I was more concerned about my neighbor on my south side as we been together for about 30 years and I kinda like them, and they don't say to much about what I do. So I got the thomas, nice thing is its a lot lighter then the other one. I don't have to much trouble with fumes or vapors seeing as how all my stuffs outside.

I understand what your saying about the propane, here is a week or ten days I will get to see if mine will handle cast iron and also if I have to build tongs to lift our the A20 I got if the 10 won't pour the backplate I said I would pour.

I know this much cutting that space down to 3/8 inch so the nozzle sets up in the tube that much made one hell of a difference in how the burner works, I just need to get some burn time on it.
David and Charlie aka the shop monster

If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
mite5255
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by mite5255 »

Damn nice flasks Dave, most of mine are professional snap flasks, plus I have two wooden ones plus one made of steel and I use those three the most,but will make some small ones one day soon using cast sides bolted together just like yours Dave

Mike
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dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

Thanks for the compliment Mike.
It would take some work on the pattern maker but you could turn my flask into a snap flask pretty easy if a person wanted to make a third pattern so you could have the hinge in one corner.

One word of caution or advice for someone making a pattern like the side in the picture above is to make that handle so you can take it off, two wood screws thru from the back that way you only have to make one pattern to do all four sides.

David.
David and Charlie aka the shop monster

If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
dallen
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Re: Aluminum Flask

Post by dallen »

Ok haven't taken a picture yet but will try to get one up in a couple hours or at least by in the morning.

I made another one of the flask sides with the modified pattern with the large pin boss/handle, this one came out very well with the edges almost razor sharp and hardly now flash on it I cut the gating off with a hack saw and used a file to clean up what remained on the casting.

Biggest difference in this casting and some of the others that I have done is I know how hot the melt was with this one, I dragged out the temperature indicator that i got off ebay awhile back and pulled and poured at 1400 degrees. Hopefully I will be able to get in one maybe two pours tomorrow, then I can either knock the handle off (should of made it where it was removable) or make a new pattern I have one of two choices with the last flask that I made, change the side plates with the pins to the new ones I am making now, or just make a new flask which is what I think I will do, cause I need one that is larger then this so time for a new pattern that is say 4 inches longer maybe six.

Got around to taking a couple of pictures
flask-side-0003.jpg
flask-side-0002.jpg
David
David and Charlie aka the shop monster

If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
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