Does anyone know anyone else who does sand casting of magnesium parts? I have a magnesium valve cover and need another and can't find one anywhere and am consistently told by those who know that I won't find another one. I can't find another (need two) and am thinking of replicating this one. Am open to other forms or reproduction since I hardly know what I'm talking about when it comes to how these things are made.
Check out the American Foundry Society website. Keep in mind that making 1 off castings is WAY expensive. You might want to talk to a shop that does rapid prototyping casting.
I've never done it. If I was trying to do casting cheap I would buy a book from here http://www.lindsaybks.com/. They're from an era when stuff wasn't made from magnesium. Plus isn't that stuff highly flammable [inflammable] ? ? :huh I did some more searching... http://www.metalcastingzone.com/metal-casting-forum/general-casting-questions/magnesium-casting says: To which someone else replies: Sounds maybe dangerous and complicated? Fill a pottery kiln with argon, get a 4" tall heat resistant person with an oxygen tank setup to cast your cover inside the kiln while at 1202F? Does it have to be magnesium?
I could tell you step by step how to do it in Aluminum I have no clue how you would do it with Magnesium, the only thing I've ever done with magnesium is add it to fireworks.
What does it fit? Pictures might help. I know nothing of the process but I do find odd ball stuff quite often. just curious
Normally, those types of parts are die cast, not sand cast. It may be cheaper to have a new die cast mold made than a sand cast mold. Either way it's gonna be VERY cost prohibitive to make just one. Is this a cover that lots of other people will want if you have them remade? Might be able to get a casting house to do a limited run of them. Mold cost is still high, but selling off the copies makes the per part cost lower, thus lowering the overall cost of making the mold. Mass production baby!
What about machining it vs casting? A little bit of sand blasting would give it texture and magnesium oxidizes pretty quick when its cut so could have the right look or just have two done so they will match
I have an old boat I am restoring. The project was one of two I was planning with my father but he died several years ago and I've changed my plans a bit to make it a little more of something to remind me of him than I would have done otherwise. The other project was a simple '32 Ford Roadster with an unusual engine. Here's a long story about the boat project starting at Post #1270: http://www.performanceboats.com/showthread.php?25075-Old-Circle-Boat-Pics&p=887843#post887843 The part I want to replicate is the McLaren valve cover. Everyone said I'd never find one but I did. <a href="http://s720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/PioneerRider/Cold%20Duck/?action=view&current=McLarenValveCover2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/P/PioneerRider_Cold%2520Duck_McLarenValveCover2.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s720.photobucket.com/albums/ww202/PioneerRider/Cold%20Duck/?action=view&current=McLarenValveCover.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.advrider.com/advrider-photobucket-images/images/P/PioneerRider_Cold%2520Duck_McLarenValveCover.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> I can't do this myself and have burned enough old fatally wounded VW Bug cases in the Dez to know that Magnesium ain't for the faint of heart. Perhaps it was Die-Cast. It appears to me to be sand cast but I'm far from knowledgeable on these things. Machining might work but I'm assuming chunks of billet magnesium that large are really bucks up. I'm in LA and there ought to be 500 guys here who know this but I can't quite figure out how to find them... Thanks for the great replies!
I am a gating and process engineer in what is the largest mag house in the nation, and I would have to agree with most of the information posted thus far. A prototype casting would first need to be reverse engineered to have a pattern made, as all of the alloys I work with are cast in sand. Just the development of tooling can cost into the thousands, thus rendering a two or three hundred dollar part un-producable. Now, if the intent were to cast a thousand of these, then that changes its viability. My advice is to seek an alternative to the various Mg alloys as these are very volitale and require a level of saftey not easily achieved. Al alloys prove to be just as effective castings as Mg where weight is not a critical issue. By choosing to use Al, yoou open the door for a more cost efficent casting, and one that more people are familiar with as it pertains to its casting. Even a fully machined billet cover could prove to save your dollars in the long run. Please, take caution that melting and alloying any lite metals requires a strict level of saftey. Please do not attempt to alloy Mg on your own in the shop, even in small quantites. I had a mold blow a few years back and it spewed molten Mg 25 feet in the air. The spooky thing with this was the total pour weight of the casting was only 17 lbs. Ride safe dude, and live to ride often.
