Читать книгу Henley's Formulas, Recipes and Processes (Applied Chemistry) - Various - Страница 680

—Until recent years metal castings were all made in sand molds; that is, the patterns were used for the impressions in the sand, the same as iron castings are produced to-day. Nearly all of the softer metals are now cast in brass, copper, zinc, or iron molds, and only the silver {150} and German silver articles, like wire real bronze, are cast the old way, in sand. Aluminum can be readily cast in iron molds, especially if the molds have been previously heated to nearly the same temperature as the molten aluminum, and after the molds are full the metal is cooled gradually and the casting taken out as soon as cooled enough to prevent breaking from the shrinkage. Large bicycle frames have been successfully cast in this manner.

The French bronzes, which are imitations, are cast in copper or brass molds. The material used is principally zinc and tin, and an unlimited number of castings can be made in the mold, but if a real bronze piece is to be produced it must be out of copper and the mold made in sand. To make the castings hollow, with sand, a core is required. This fills the inside of the figure so that the molten copper runs around it, and as the core is made out of sand, the same can be afterwards washed out. If the casting is to be hollow and is to be cast in a metal mold, then the process is very simple. The mold is filled with molten metal, and when the operator thinks the desired thickness has cooled next to the walls, he pours out the balance. An experienced man can make hollow castings in this way, and make the walls of any thickness.

Casket hardware trimmings, which are so extensively used on coffins, especially the handles, are nearly all cast out of tin and antimony, and in brass molds. The metal used is brittle, and requires strengthening at the weak portions, and this is mostly done with wood filling or with iron rods, which are secured in the molds before the metal is poured in.

Aluminum castings, which one has procured at the foundries, are usually alloyed with zinc. This has a close affinity with aluminum, and alloys readily; but this mixture is a detriment and causes much trouble afterwards. While this alloy assists the molder to produce his castings easily, on the other hand it will not polish well and will corrode in a short time. Those difficulties may be avoided if pure aluminum is used.

Plaster of Paris molds are the easiest made for pieces where only a few castings are wanted. The only difficulty is that it requires a few days to dry the plaster thoroughly, and that is absolutely necessary to use them successfully. Not only can the softer metals be run into plaster molds, but gold and silver can be run into them. A plaster mold should be well smoked over a gaslight, or until well covered with a layer of soot, and the metal should be poured in as cool a state as it will run.