01: To Be Able To Melt Metal Just For Fun. People do all sorts of things "For Fun" they drive fast cars & motor- cycles, they also jump out of planes & parachute to the ground, some climb mountains, & others play lot's of different types of sport, you could name another hundred things that people do everyday just "for fun". What do you like doing just "for fun"? Are you a practical hands on type of person? Not afraid to get your hands dirty? Then you might be the type of person that will enjoy having a little fun and enjoy the challenge & rewards of hobby metal casting. But, understand that hobby foundry work is not for everyone, it's hot dirty work, but it's great fun on a cold winters day, there is something addictive about pouring molten metal into a green sand mould, to smell the sweet aroma of the vegetable oil bonded sand cores as they cook in the sand moulds from the effect of the molten metal. 02: To Enable Custom Parts To Be Made. The desire to learn about metal casting usually begins when you have a need to make a special part that you know only to well will cost a small fortune to have made at a commercial foundry, especially if a pattern has to be made before you even think about producing a casting. Many people around the globe reproduce their own high quality aluminium and bronze castings for vintage and veteran cars motorcycles. Many of these people also machine and finish their own castings ready for use. Of course you need to have a well-equipped workshop to carry out all of these operations.... but the point is, it is all possible, and it can be done right in the home workshop. Metal casting is an amazing, but quite simple process, you can take something from a design concept, through to pattern production, which is then used to make the impression or cavity in the sand mould, where the molten metal is poured. When the metal has solidified & cooled, the shiny new metal casting is removed from the sand. The process may sound complex, but it is not really, once you learn and begin to understand what to do. 03: To Reproduce Old Machine Parts. There are large numbers of old antique machinery lying around in museums, farm sheds and backyards that are well past their use by date. Many of these machines could be brought back to life with some old time practical knowledge such as that required to do metal casting, perhaps you could be the person that will set to and "save" some of these old machines from the scrap heap, it is such a shame to see so many old historic machines discarded to the scrap heap, most just need a few parts and some fettling to get them up and running again, they could be displayed as working exhibits at fairs and vintage farm machinery rallies. Old machinery provide a great interest to people who have a connection with things from yesteryear. 04: To Reduce The Cost Of Car & Motorcycle Restoration Projects. Rebuilding/restoring old cars and motorcycles is a very painstaking occupation, trying to source new parts to replace old worn or broken parts can be a tiresome, expensive exercise. Just imagine the huge time reduction that's possible with your projects if you could simply "make them your self", you could learn how, just as thousands of other people have. Can you imagine the personal rewards and satisfaction you'll feel when someone compliments you on your handiwork at a vintage rally, especially when you can say to them "I made all of these parts in my own workshop". Isn't this true restoration work, making replacement parts by hand, just as they did in years gone by. 05: To Complete Your Metal Craft Journey. There are literally tens of thousands of people around the globe who can fabricate many things from metal using normal metalworking skills and tools, but many of these same people are quite lost when it comes down to knowing how to go about melting and casting metal. Learning the art of metal casting will provide you with a well-rounded set of metal working skills, no longer will you have to find other people to "cast parts" for you, because once you have learnt the skills, (which are not difficult to grasp), you will be able to create all manner of things from metal. Call it multi-skilled if you like, but there is nothing quite like have a wide repertoire of skills that you can call on to help create the things you want to. A well-rounded metal worker should be able to weld & fabricate using heavy or light steel, as well as sheet metal, and to make the metal working skills complete, learning about metal casting or foundry skills will help expand your total knowledge way beyond the normal parameters.
Col Croucher. |
Home
