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.