Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
special_rabbit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2021-03-18 03:55 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2021-03-18 03:55 am
Entry tags:
Shop Class; Thursday, Second Period [03/18].
Hopefully, everyone in class would remember to bring back in what they'd made during last week's whittling class for this week, but, hey, if not (did they forget? Lose it? It disappeared yesterday under mysterious circumsntances?), well, there was plenty of material to whip something else up, so long as it was quick, because there was plenty to do that day.
"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod. "I hope you're ready to get some more use out of those mini-foundries we made a little while back, and we've got a lot to squeeze into today, s we're going to get right to it. Now I asked you to bring back in whatever it was you whittled last week, because today, we're putting them to good use through a process called sand casting. That's when you make a mold out of tightly packed, slightly damp sand for founding whatever little pieces you'd like with the pattern you've made. Not necessarily the best way to cast an item, but definitely an effective, quick, and fairly cheap way to do it, and hopefully a little bit of fun, too.
"To cut down on time a little, I've already got the wooden boxes set up for you guys; all you'll need to do at this point is fill 'em in, make the impression with your pattern, and then we'll get to melting down some aluminum in our mini-foundries and get them poured. To fill the molds, start with a light dusting of powder over your pattern. It helps if your pattern is flat on one side, so those of you with more complex patterns might benefit from making two parts for each side of the mold; take a second and cut them in half, and go from there. Set the pattern down, place the first box over it, and set up a rod to the side toward the notch in the box; that's where you're metal's going to wind up coming through. And then pack it on in, nice and even and firm, using a hammer or board to really make sure it's packed well, then smooth out the edges when you're finished. Flip her over, and carefully make sure that space around the pattern is clear of debris and excess sand. Another dose of powder, clean it up a bit, and set it with the pattern face up. If you're doing a second half, settle that carefully in place, place the second box on top, and fill in the other side of the mold in the same way you've done the first.
"Let it set for just a bit, we'll get our foundries going in the meantime. Once you're all set up there, we'll carefully separate the two parts of the mold, remove the pattern slowly, and you should have a fairly good imprint of your pattern on both sides. It's ready to be used now, after placing some boards on the top and bottom and using a vice to hold it all together nice and tight. The tighter the two pieces of the mold are, the cleaner the piece will be. Some people attach clasps to their molds to help with this, but we'll just use the vices to save time today.
"Since we've warmed up our foundries, they should be ready to melt some cans, so go ahead and get that going, and, once you've got a good amount of metal, carefully and slowly pour it into your mold. Slow is important, to give it time to fill in the space of your pattern. Shouldn't take too long to cool, and then when you open the mold again, you'll have a nice metal version of your pattern. Cut off rod, use the belt sander to get some smoother edges if you like, and there you go! A fairly quick and easy way to make a mold and get a nice little metal something, and the possibility to use it again, though, I'll admit, a sand mold isn't going to last nearly as well as something more substantial, but it's great for some quick and easy jobs when your resources are limited.
"Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be checking in on you as you work, and let's just get to it!"
"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod. "I hope you're ready to get some more use out of those mini-foundries we made a little while back, and we've got a lot to squeeze into today, s we're going to get right to it. Now I asked you to bring back in whatever it was you whittled last week, because today, we're putting them to good use through a process called sand casting. That's when you make a mold out of tightly packed, slightly damp sand for founding whatever little pieces you'd like with the pattern you've made. Not necessarily the best way to cast an item, but definitely an effective, quick, and fairly cheap way to do it, and hopefully a little bit of fun, too.
"To cut down on time a little, I've already got the wooden boxes set up for you guys; all you'll need to do at this point is fill 'em in, make the impression with your pattern, and then we'll get to melting down some aluminum in our mini-foundries and get them poured. To fill the molds, start with a light dusting of powder over your pattern. It helps if your pattern is flat on one side, so those of you with more complex patterns might benefit from making two parts for each side of the mold; take a second and cut them in half, and go from there. Set the pattern down, place the first box over it, and set up a rod to the side toward the notch in the box; that's where you're metal's going to wind up coming through. And then pack it on in, nice and even and firm, using a hammer or board to really make sure it's packed well, then smooth out the edges when you're finished. Flip her over, and carefully make sure that space around the pattern is clear of debris and excess sand. Another dose of powder, clean it up a bit, and set it with the pattern face up. If you're doing a second half, settle that carefully in place, place the second box on top, and fill in the other side of the mold in the same way you've done the first.
"Let it set for just a bit, we'll get our foundries going in the meantime. Once you're all set up there, we'll carefully separate the two parts of the mold, remove the pattern slowly, and you should have a fairly good imprint of your pattern on both sides. It's ready to be used now, after placing some boards on the top and bottom and using a vice to hold it all together nice and tight. The tighter the two pieces of the mold are, the cleaner the piece will be. Some people attach clasps to their molds to help with this, but we'll just use the vices to save time today.
"Since we've warmed up our foundries, they should be ready to melt some cans, so go ahead and get that going, and, once you've got a good amount of metal, carefully and slowly pour it into your mold. Slow is important, to give it time to fill in the space of your pattern. Shouldn't take too long to cool, and then when you open the mold again, you'll have a nice metal version of your pattern. Cut off rod, use the belt sander to get some smoother edges if you like, and there you go! A fairly quick and easy way to make a mold and get a nice little metal something, and the possibility to use it again, though, I'll admit, a sand mold isn't going to last nearly as well as something more substantial, but it's great for some quick and easy jobs when your resources are limited.
"Let me know if you have any questions, I'll be checking in on you as you work, and let's just get to it!"