How not to Do Backyard Metal Casting

[100model]

But.... absence of proof is not proof of absence.

35 years of melting iron is proof that that it is a myth.

 

[100model]

I was in the learning phase, and really was clueless about backyard casting at the time these videos were made.

If only I had a video camera when I was learning to cast metals it would be so entertaining to watch. Cameras are a great coaching tool so you can watch them and see where you to improve your methods.

 

[ajoeiam]

Ok,

Let's go the other way. Below is a short video of one of my casting pours.

I'm not trying to be stupid here.

Review and let me know what, if anything, I'm doing wrong. (I already noticed my arms were bare and I wasn't wearing a jacket. So you can skip that critique.)

...Ved.

(I've only poured one project and I most definitely wasn't expert then (and still know precious little!!) but I have lots of related 'hot metal' (welding) experience.)

It looks like the gloves that you are wearing are leather with a fabric (of some kind) wrist protector (not really a gauntlet).
Would you suggest that you invest in some all leather gloves. For welding these we called 'oven mitts' as they were big and bulky and really didn't necessarily fit very well - - - but - - they had some of the best back of hand protection to reduce heat and were fairly resistant to even large bits of slag.

( https://www.amazon.com/ATERET-Weldi...850330&sprefix=welding+gloves,aps,115&sr=8-37
not really recommending this particular brand just wanted a pic so that you could see what I was talking about - - - - these are the cheaper welding gloves

have used :
https://www.amazon.com/Cowhide-Leat...0478&sprefix=welding+hand+spats,aps,91&sr=8-4

for extra protection when I was using lighter gloves and doing high amperage work.

Dunno if mr GreenTwin has mentioned these protectors but they just might be of interest as one more level of heat resistance - - - metal pouring is 'hot' work!)

HTH

 

[Lloyd-ss]

.................................................

Review and let me know what, if anything, I'm doing wrong. (I already noticed my arms were bare and I wasn't wearing a jacket. So you can skip that critique.)

...Ved.

Just one comment, based on personal experience.
I hope you didn't steal that muffin tin from the kitchen cupboard!
I took (and kept) an old worn-out one (or so I thought) from the kitchen to cast some lead and am still hearing about it 20 years later. Why did I do that ?

 

[earlwb]

I can attest to the concern about water getting into the molten metal, many years ago I was casting some lead. A drop of sweat fell off of me and before I could get out of the way it fell into the pot. A small explosion of lead and steam then occurred. One of the molten lead droplets landed on my arm and it instantly vaporized the skin there and left a hole too. Yes it really hurt still. I still have a scar there from it today.

I remember some guys casting aluminum using a BBQ grill. They would melt their scrap aluminum and collect it into small ingots below the grill. The metal would melt and dribble down through a hole in the grill. They would place a ingot mold under the grill to catch the aluminum metal. It did take a while if they melted down some old utility engine blocks though.

 

[GreenTwin]

Water and even invisible moisture on the surface of the metal is the bane of casting work everywhere, not just in the backyard.

One has to be extremely vigilent, and wear lots of safety gear.

I have seen moisture in molds cause an explosion too, in the art iron world.
I know of a video showing that, I will dig that out.

.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is an example of moisture in a mold, causing the expulsion of the iron upwards and outwards.
See 0:14

Notice the guy in the back with his face sheild up (a definite safety error).

They have full face shields and safety glasses under the full face shield.
Either the face shield or the safety glasses need to be shaded (as seen in the video) to protect the eyes from the very high levels of IR.

One should always expect, anticipate, and prepare for an event like this, with molten metal traveling upwards and outwards, and also molten metal raining down vertically as it returns to earth.

The hazards are manageable if you are aware of them, and know how to protect against them.

.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is a magnesium inoculation that went wrong.

They make a magnesium alloy that minimizes the reaction, such as nickle-mag4, or some other products.

Using raw magnesium is dangerous, and could burn a hole in the crucible or ladle.

This is not realy an explosion, but I think just a magnesium flare-up.

I have studied how to make ductile iron with nickle-mag4, and it uses a very special technique in a ladle.
I could make ductile iron, I just can't find anyone who will sell me nickle-mag4.

Note that these folks (I know them) are very well trained, and there is a situational awareness on the part of all involved.
There is no panic, just slowly moving into a position where folks get moved back into a safer position.
These folks have very extensive safety meetings, and plan every step before they light the furnace.

 

[GreenTwin]

Here is another mold explosion.

There is really no excuse for this type of mold reaction.

This tells me that either the mold was wet, or the mold was some sort of lost-wax, lost PLA, lost foam, etc..

I suspect it was some combustible material in the mold that they were experimenting with, because you can see a lot of flame coming out the vents before the explosion.
A simple steam explosion would not have heavy flames out the vents like that.

This explosion could have been anticipated and avoided in my opinion.

The art-iron folks try a lot of crazy stuff, which makes it fun and interesting, but also very dangerous sometimes.

.

 

[100model]

It is a pity that the person in the first video did not watch this video first to save himself the trip to the hospital. It came out 8 years ago and has nearly 3,000,000 views.

 

[minh-thanh]

It came out 8 years ago and has nearly 3,000,000 views.

Stupid videos usually have a lot of people watching and they "Like" it

 

[dazz]

I am looking at the metal mesh face shields and thinking they will stop molten iron like nothing is there. Molten iron looks too much like water to be stopped by metal mesh.
Happy to be proven wrong.

 

[timo_gross]

I am looking at the metal mesh face shields and thinking they will stop molten iron like nothing is there. Molten iron looks too much like water to be stopped by metal mesh.
Happy to be proven wrong.

I am not so sure about splashes ( never tried, good luck ). I remember that metal mesh keeps a good part of radiation heat from your face, without getting damaged.