[ABA Scirocco]

We needed a single sidedraft manifold for a cross flow head, nobody we know of makes them commercially so I decided to make one. What make this different is I decided to cast it, something I don't recall seeing on this forum before. This is my VERY first attempt as sand casting anything and as such I'm fairly pleased with the results, the size and shape are spot on what I'd planned but the surface finish on the casting leaves a lot to be desired. For me, this was an experiment, I learned a lot in the process of doing this, I think my next casting, if there is one, will be look much nicer. Here are a couple of pics, one fresh out of the sand and one after a little bit of clean up;

Modified by ABA Scirocco at 5:50 PM 4-10-2010

 

[fastmaxxcooper]

Re: Single sidedraft manifold, something a little different. (ABA Scirocco)

i'm pretty impressed. with some machining and some grinding it should be very nice looking

 

[turbinepowered]

Did you do "lost foam" plug casting for that?
Looks good!

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (turbinepowered)

Quote, originally posted by turbinepowered »

Did you do "lost foam" plug casting for that? Looks good!

No, conventional sand casting with a pattern and core. Here's what the mold and core looked like just before it was closed for pouring.

Modified by ABA Scirocco at 5:52 PM 4-10-2010

 

[bopper]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

sick, it looks better than some of the stuff out of china on ebay,,

,

 

[jackfrost1031]

Re: (bopper)

how did you get the inside to be hollow?

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (jackfrost1031)

There's sand core inside the mold to make the hollow spaces, you can see it sitting inside the mold in my last post.

 

[ftwelder]

awesome, my father cast original mag wheels back in the late 60's

 

[jackfrost1031]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

yeah, but I can't figure out how it stays supported. It would be sand just supported on the edges and i don't know that stands up, right?
Is the sand that sticky?

btw, great to see someone willing to do something different!

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (jackfrost1031)

The sand in the main body of the mold is mixed with a little clay so it sticky to itself and will hold a shape kind of like the sand in a sand castle. The sand for the core is mixed with a binder that sets up like glue, the core is rock hard.



Modified by ABA Scirocco at 12:55 PM 6-5-2009

 

[Turbo_Pumpkin]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

Very cool!

 

[jackfrost1031]

Re: (Turbo_Pumpkin)

What do you plan to do to face the flanges?
Are you going to have them milled or do you plan on lapping them by hand against something like glass?

Did you happen to find Dan's Workshop website when researching this?

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (jackfrost1031)

I expect they'll get milled but I'm not sure. I've pasted the casting on to the guy I made it for and I'm leaving those details to him. He's got the necessary equipment milling machines, surface grinders etc, he'll do what he thinks is best. He'll probably do it some time next week, after this weekend, there's a two week break in his racing schedule and he'd like get some dyno testing in during the break.
And yes I've seen Dan's site, I've looked at a ton of different metal casting sites including Dan's workshop.

 

[Jettaboy1884]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

This is awesome.
I was just thinking the other day, how it would be nice to make sand cast manifolds to try out different intake designs.
How much does something like this cost?
Did you melt and pour the aluminum yourself, or bring it somewhere to be done?
Where could I find someone who can do this? IE: Is this a backyard business, or some sort of rare profession to find?
Thanks in advance!


Modified by Jettaboy1884 at 11:32 AM 6-10-2009

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (Jettaboy1884)

I did everything except the finish machining myself, patternmaking, mold making melting and pouring. I'm into this manifold for about $200+ but that includes stuff like my furnace and sand that I'll be able to reuse on other projects, the next project I do will cost probably a quarter of that.
There are foundries that will do small one off projects, I went and visited one near Toronto earlier this year, it was very educational. I'm not quite sure how you'd go about finding a friendly foundry in your area. It's not unusual for people working on antique boats to have reproductions of stuff cast so maybe go down to the maintenance area of a local yacht club and ask around, indirectly, that's how I found the one I visited.


Modified by ABA Scirocco at 12:03 PM 6-10-2009

 

[jackfrost1031]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

Did you use a gas or electric furnace?
What did you use for your aluminum?

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (jackfrost1031)

I used a big home made propane torch to melt it and the aluminium came for a VW alloy rim. I just cast a second one, I'm starting to get a handle on the surface finish issue, the latest one looks WAY better than the first.


Modified by ABA Scirocco at 5:04 PM 6-10-2009

 

[coastertrav]

That is sick man.
I helped out with a senior design team that made some cast parts for our SAE Baja cars.

 

[jackfrost1031]

Re: (ABA Scirocco)

I want to try this but I need another hobby like I need a hole in the head.
Are those transmission cases or something?
What was the solution to your surface finish issues?


Modified by jackfrost1031 at 1:58 AM 6-11-2009

 

[ABA Scirocco]

Re: (jackfrost1031)

It seems the first casting was poured too hot, a cooler pour made a huge difference.