Lost Foam Cast Aluminum Skull Casting

[jdsprince]

Yes, you can shape polystyrene with a hot wire, soldering iron, a heated knife or sand it. I have a homemade hotwire cutter that uses a car battery charger, dimmer switch, a wood frame and a guitar string with a tension spring on one end to take up the slack when the wire gets hot

[MrJmak223]

I take it the foam you use is polystyrene? If so do you need a hot wire cutter to shape it, or can you use a knife?

[kayzen76]

Do you think this technique will works using wax instead of foam? Thanks for reply :)

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

what m3sca1 said..very cool man

[jdsprince]

@CheapEnergyIdeas Thank you! :D

[m3sca1]

reminded me of the terminator when the skull came out of the mold!



[TheStarfkr]

That's cool. But I thought it was called the lost wax method. 

[NastytheGREASERZOMBI]

i must have a bat for my grill >:D

how would i go about making a faom figure!?

[jdsprince]

@NastytheGREASERZOMBI Do you have any pictures or a sketch and some dimensions of what you would like the bat to look like? I'm sure I could make it. :D email me at hank AT whosyadaddy. c o m -Hank

[NastytheGREASERZOMBI]

@jdsprince now that you mention it, the body i want about the size of a pool ball, with little stick feet, and exagerated wings and ears, maybe an 8 inch wingspan, would this still me 45 dollars!?

[joesmoe71]

BWHAHAHAHAHA I love your choice of music!

[pr4wn5tar]

so what, you just pour the aluminium into the sand while the foam is still in there?

Or do you somehow remove the foam first?

[jdsprince]

@pr4wn5tar The foam stays in the sand. It vaporizes when the molten aluminum comes in contact with it. anything foam is then replaced with aluminum.

[NAMTRIP]

Thats way cool,I like it.Now,you made me have to do one.

[mower26]

what does lost foam mean?

[TGLymantaiste]

@mower26 It means that the foam used to make the positive mold is burned off (lost) when you pour the aluminum..or what ever metal you are using into the negative mold

[45madman45]

haha i love this song xD

[cambigfoot88]

do you sell them

[teyacapan]

looks freeking awesome!

[zerosix1786]

i have a plastic receiver off a P90 airsoft gun that i want to mold and make an aluminum casting but i cant seem to find any info on how to do... im wondering if i can make a complete one piece or if a 2 piece would be easier (cast left and right sides of the receiver separate)

[k0ent]

Hi,

that looks like a realy nice cast! I got one question: what type of sand would you recommend to use for lost foam casting? Will plain green sand do the job or will you need something more fancy?

[flaviusicafsz]

how much can you sell a skul in your region?

[legoaan]

at 0:53 you can see the aluminum still boiling inside the mold!

and at 2:38 you can see the terminator that has headic... xp

nice! 5/5

[groutaone]

nice skills 5 stars

[EmperorAst]

Nice song! Appropriate!

[rodrigoobill]

Hello!

Great job with the lost foam method... 5/5...

I think you had way too much molten aluminum, didn´t you?

I´ve got a question, what kind of foam was used? I´ve tried with regular foam (like the ones used for party signs) and I got a very rough surface where I can see the little foam balls. Yours looks like it has a good finish right out of the mold....

[jdsprince]

Thank you ! It's always a good idea to melt more than you are going to need to fill the mold so you don't end up with an incomplete pour. Aluminum doesn't lose any properties and it can be remelted over and over.  The foam was like foundation insulation foam that was sanded and painted. The paint vaporizes on contact leaving a smooth finish but too much paint will make a mess of the surface... Best of luck with your projects and if you have any questions feel free to ask. -Hank

[colorsoluble]

@jdsprince What kind of paint can you use? I know a lot of spray paints will melt foam? I'm curious want to try. Also were did you get the kiln/furnace type barrel? What did you use to heat it? Thank you!

[joesmoe71]

With it sitting there on the mold smoldering it looks like a Terminator rising out of the ashes

[pr5021]

What is best for the mold>> Clay or ceramic?

[boi560]

Sand.

[pr5021]

sand sea beach ?

[boi560]

greensand, sorry i wasnt more specific

[rredd7777]

That's amazingly creepy, watching the skull smoking like that!! The skull looks awesome, though! How does lost foam compare to sand casting? I'm just starting out and really know nothing, so it is a little frustrating.

[smartpartzzkidd]

it looks like the flesh (sand) is burning off the skull

[sdime59]

where do you get the sand in the us.california specially....nice work by the way

[jdsprince]

I get my Petrobond oil bonded sand from Budget Casting Supply. They are good people and the prices are very reasonable even for the backyard guy that wants to get into metal casting that wants results. Believe me when I tell you that it's better to go with the good stuff right from the beginning. It will speed up the learning curve and you will get more excited than discouraged...

[Arombz]

What did you use to make the mold? I use a plaster investment.

[jdsprince]

the mold was just a little foam skull that i got at wal mart for $1.00 I packed it in Petrobond sand then poured it.

[wulfshelmut]

Pretty awesome. Look like a Terminator. LOL

[EdmundSquid]

Lost foam means the foam skull is left in the sand and is consumed when the hot metal is poured in??

[jdsprince]

Yes, the foam that is rammed in the sand vaporizes on contact with the molten aluminum and replaces it with metal. It's a quick way to do a casting that surface texture isn't too critical. For higher quality you would do a lost wax casting which is very time consuming but the results are amazing.

[EdmundSquid]

I thought so. I did quite a lot of sand casting in high school metals class, but none like this. We removed the pattern piece and poured the molten aluminum into the void

[562kenny88]

i was just wondering if wax would react the same way would i be able to place the wax sculpture if i were to carve it then place it in the sand and just pour aluminum over it, its just that with wax i would be able to make my own creations.

[ConquerorWorm1522]

when doing lost wax (investment casting) you first coat the wax pattern with a type of plaster, then melt the wax out leaving a hollow mold to pour the metal into. Google it for more info.

[breezebro]

The CryptKickers, I believe!

[FlatBrokeForge]

That is a totally wicked pour. Good job, how much time to finish out and polish?

[jdsprince]

Thank you. It takes about an hour to clean it up and polish it. I sell them for $45 plus shipping for one of these skulls...

[thelynchster1]

Hank.. I chuckle everytime I watch this one! Very good! I held that skull!

[KelleyMag]

The song is appropriate for your outfit. You may want to think about shooting your tailor. Just a thought.

[berkelusa]

Nice boots BUDDY!.. lol

[jdsprince]

Nice... You give me the booty's then bust my balls when I wear them ! haha Thanks ROB ! :D

[tonyravens]

thats fkin cool

[INFAMOUSzooYork65]

nice video 5/5

[jdsprince]

Thank you :D

[kode1303]

AYEEEH!! A guy's head was in that box! 8-O

[Energermany]

Woot, very creative, nice one.

I like bones and skulls :o)

Very nice, where you "harvest" the skull out of the form, it looks a bit like a birth.

Best regards Stefan

[jdsprince]

Thank you for the compliment. I got the foam skulls at Wal Mart for $1.00 each (great deal but easy enough to carve one out of foam) I also saw some on eBay pretty cheap. Thanks again.

[strantor]

thats awesome! I think i am going to start into casting aluminum. do you just use soda cans or what?

[cricko8]

That was great! My daughter asked me to ask you for one! LOL :) Hope all is well!! Keep up the good work!