Making flasks.
May 26th, 2012Today, after going out to buy a scroll saw, I stopped at Bunnings and got some wood to make some flasks for casting. When I got home I first did something I have been meaning to do for a while. That was to route out a slot and bolts a length of angle iron to the edge of my workbench.
Metal edge.
This edge is handy for hammering and bending things over. By clamping some angle iron to the top of it I can make a simple metal bender.
Metal bending.
I got enough wood to make two flasks. One is 12 inches by 8 inches internally and the other 6 inches by 6 inches. These seems to be fairly standard sizes. I just used pine boards. I cut them all to length using my skill saw.
Wood cut to length.
The larger flask is also deeper than the small one. I cut wood for the sides as well as for the alignment pegs. To help hold the moulding sand inside the flasks I routed grooves into two of the sides on each half of the flask. This gives the compacted sand something to hold onto.
Routing slots.
Then all the pieces were simply glued and screwed together.
The flasks are in two identical halves that sit on top of each other (one called the cope and the other the drag). The wooden blocks on the ends allow the two halves to be joined up together accurately. They might need a bit of sanding since they are very tight. I also cut some flat boards used to cover the flasks when turning them over.
Next I need to get some green sand!