Casting 1.5"x12" Al Rods

Hi, I like your idea but I have to agree with the sooting from the torch idea it will keep the pour from sticking to the mold and require a lot less pressure to get it out, kinda like a good babbit pour. With that being said I am going to try the same idea, I have some seamless mechanical tubing to use as the mold and a bunch of scrap aluminum to turn into hopefully a set of change gears for a little craftsman 109 lathe that I am restoring. Ed C. I have an upcoming project that requires a couple dozen 4.5" Al rods that have multiple diameters. The rods are not structural so I decided to cast in lieu of purchasing the 1.5" by 6' rods.

I put together a mold using 1.5" pipe, which actually has an I.D. of ~1.6".

The mold was preheated as the melt became molten.

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My melting pot holds about 41 cubic inches of molten metal. Since the rod mold has a 21 cubic inch capacity I used another set of molds for the overflow material.

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After cooling to room temperature the rod was pressed from mold.

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The cast rod was trimmed and the initial turns made.

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I lost about 3" of length due to shrinkage but only about 0.125" off diameter.

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The finished rough cut rod was 1.490" x 9".

I anticipate no porosity on the interior. I find that all the porosity tends to occur at the mold interface.

All in all I am very pleased with the casting.[/QUOTE]
 
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