Lost Foam Metal Casting - Web Update

What metal are you casting? If it's aluminum, and if you're getting lots of bubbles, have you tried degassing the melt? - GWE

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I think his problem is bubbles under the plaster, and being too picky about them. ( ;)

Tim

I've seen bubbles in plaster removed in a vacuum chamber (on a This Old House episode where they do a factory tour of an investment casting place). I've only poured one casting ever in my life, though, so I'm no expert.

Yeah. Good way to do it, but rather difficult with a foam pattern :o

You ever see when they send a styrofoam cup along with Alvin or whichever deep sea explorer vessel, and when it comes back it's a dixie cup? Same effect, opposite direction.

Tim

-- "I've got more trophies than Wayne Gretsky and the Pope combined!" - Homer Simpson Website @

(sound of hand slapping forehead)

But you could at least vacuum out the bubbles before you poured your plaster.

When I worked at Woods Hole Oceanographic, the high-end approach to this experiment was to use a styrofoam wig head. You get a small styrene shrunken head when it comes back up.

Doug White