I thought I’d try my hand at casting some old timey wheels in aluminum. These were originally intended for a cart that would carry my foundry furnace (they still might eventually be used for this).
image/text credit: Brian Oltrogge
They are extra wide for transporting something ultra heavy across the lawn where thinner wheels would just press into the soil. To cast thinner wheels, I’ll simply use half of the pattern.
For those of you who will ask why sodium silicate and not petrobond!I decided to use sodium silicate sand primarily for the texture it leaves.
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But also because I had minimal draft on the pattern (~5 degrees). Also, sodium silicate sand is much more forgiving for such deep details.All his careful preparation meant the pour went off without a hitch, and the wheels look great.
