Has anyone ever tried steam casting? I found a write up from a Colorado Springs college that wrote up a great way to cast on a pick up tail gate. But I do it indoors. Simple. Use a tuna can, small tomato paste can, a single burner propane camping stove, & a flower pot.
Good luck too. The theory is easy using 4 each 14 gauge "sprues" that allow you to melt the metal inside the cylinder's top without it flowing into the mold, until.....you bring the tuna can/wet paper towel (with wood dowel handle) into contact and whala, the steam produced forces the molter metal into the burned out mold. It works great, real great. I need to do a video, however currently I'm in my final steps of fabricating a 20" slab saw & just joined this forum.
For casting, I normally use a Mapp & Oxygen torch. Designed by myself (with a drilled out orifice) for more heat.
Looking at the youtube variations, I guess there are some others doing it, but not exactly like I have learned. Typically a solid tomato paste can is employed with the plumber's putty funnel, the 4 each 14 gauge sprues are key to the whole process. A standard (not the wide design) 6 inch flower pot is used with a metal coat hanger (what's that?), used to hold the red hot red clay pot. The cylinder is placed on a new bottle of butane & it's single burner using the standard mixture of investment for the full time (1.5 hours) until it's at full temperature. Remove the red hot mold-cylinder placing it right side up on some concrete masonry board and approach with your pre-made melted amount of casting metal "slug", not grain. With torch lit, & flux in hand, re-melt the metal in the 4 sprue crucible. Make that molten metal spin, then add a small amount of flux & keep heating until it still a deep red color, then with a half sheet of damp wet (not dripping) paper towel laid flat inside the tuna can, place it very firmly to rapidly produce steam & pressure (you got only one chance) forcing your molten gold or silver into the burned out wax mold. Hold it for apx 30 seconds firmly, then toss it in the cold pot of water.
I've completed this process many times. You can cast up to an ounce of metal making good sized castings. The key of this whole process is floating the molten metal above the burned out mold using the small sprue holes to never allow the molten metal to flow down the holes until the wet paper towel - tuna can- wet paper towel is firmly allowed to come in contact with the hot crucible-cylinder-mold making steam pressure to shoot the liquid metal into your burned out wax mold.
I have done this many times. Besides using my own design vacuum casting machine, steam casting is how I compel others (& couples) to DIY their own wedding set. It's something you can try for cheap by themselves.
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Topic: Steam Casting Anyone?? (Read 23127 times)