Introduction: Aluminium Cast Belt Buckle
I carved the model out of jewelry wax.
I used a hand milling cutter and small sharpened screwdrivers.
The letters are embossed.
I ground the letters with rough sand paper to get this lines from left to right.
Step 1: The Furnace
I made my melting pot from an old gas bottle.
The aluminium pieces are leftovers from prior projects.
The foundry was build from porous concrete.
A tube connected to a fan was placed underneath a coal chimney.
Step 2: Prepare the Cast
I made a two frames from wood with alignment pins.
I filled the fame with casting sand (oil sand), compressed it thoroughly and applied talcum to separate the two frames later.
After that I flipped the frames and filled the second one.
Now a hole for the melted metal and holes for the air going out of the cast have to be applied.
Step 3: Casting
The melting pot has to stand on glowing coals and the fan is blowing into the glow.
Once the aluminium is liquid wait a bit longer....
The melting pot was glowing red.
The aluminium was coming out of the air holes, a sign that the cast is filled completely.
The sand with direct contact to the aluminium is burned and cannot used again.
The loss is very small.
Step 4: Finish
I am quite happy with my first attempt.
I cut of the sprue, polished the letters with polish wax and painted the buckle black.
The paint wasn't drying on the letters, I removed it with a rag and solvent.
I drilled holes into the back and connected the belt with a wire.