08-18-2013, 09:11 AM
glad you liked it, I'm not very good at taking or editing videos and this one started out pretty long.
yes I use oil bonded sand, here in the summer time you have one hell of a time trying to keep the moisture content correct, so I built a muller which made a world of difference in the way the greensand was mixed and the moisture distributed through the sand, but I switched to oil bonded sand which allows me to make a mold one or two days before I pour if I want to. And except for the addition of a little petrobond powder, oil, or methanol at times the stuffs ready at the flip of a switch. And in cold weather when the sand can be a bear to work with, I just stick some steel bars in the furnace and heat them up them stick them in the sand.
I don't think the oil bonded sand is any stronger then greensand, your using a natural sand, right?, if you are and you want to toughen it up some, add some bentonite to it to boost the clay content. There are other things you can add like wheat flour (which I wouldn't, makes a helluva mess, causes you sand to mold and stinks when the hot metal hits it), and wood flour/sawdust, sea coal/powdered coal and a host of other things. I keep the sand you see in the video pretty simple some silica sand, petrobond powder, and used motor oil.
What amazes people that come over is how little oil you have to add to bring the sand back to normal strength, that muller full of sand when needed will only get about a 1/4 cup of oil to rejuvenate the sand.
yes I use oil bonded sand, here in the summer time you have one hell of a time trying to keep the moisture content correct, so I built a muller which made a world of difference in the way the greensand was mixed and the moisture distributed through the sand, but I switched to oil bonded sand which allows me to make a mold one or two days before I pour if I want to. And except for the addition of a little petrobond powder, oil, or methanol at times the stuffs ready at the flip of a switch. And in cold weather when the sand can be a bear to work with, I just stick some steel bars in the furnace and heat them up them stick them in the sand.
I don't think the oil bonded sand is any stronger then greensand, your using a natural sand, right?, if you are and you want to toughen it up some, add some bentonite to it to boost the clay content. There are other things you can add like wheat flour (which I wouldn't, makes a helluva mess, causes you sand to mold and stinks when the hot metal hits it), and wood flour/sawdust, sea coal/powdered coal and a host of other things. I keep the sand you see in the video pretty simple some silica sand, petrobond powder, and used motor oil.
What amazes people that come over is how little oil you have to add to bring the sand back to normal strength, that muller full of sand when needed will only get about a 1/4 cup of oil to rejuvenate the sand.
dallen, proud to be a member of MetalworkingFun Forum since Apr 2012.
If life seems normal, your not going fast enough!
If life seems normal, your not going fast enough!