Thanks for the replies... some more questions:

Your cheapest bet for good casting material is to use sand-cast
aluminum scrap such as cylinder heads, transmission housings,
differential housings, etc. of OLDER cars where these were indeed
sand-cast.

What's a good source for this kind of Al? A neighboring garage
is willing to let me take the occasional Al wheel, are those any
good?

What are degassing tablets?

Thanks Roy for the info, nice site too! The shaper's very
impressive. What kind of lathe and milling machine do you
have?

Mike, if you're near Boston we can have a casting party
to get you started with casting while you build the foundry...
I won't do your pattern and sandwork, but will gladly pour. :-)

Tom.
http://www.TomEberhard.com
I have two suggestions.
1. Join a casting group like castinghobby and read all the back posts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/castinghobby/
2. Add yourself to the map of members:
http://www.frappr.com/castinghobby
The latter will help you find someone in your area with similar interests, if
there are any. There is no substitute for hands on experience with a willing
friend!
The map is open to everyone, and you can put in a "shout out" with text and a
photo to tell potential friends what you like.
There is a wealth of info on the group!


Ron Thompson
On the Beautiful Florida Space Coast, right beside the Kennedy Space Center, USA

http://www.plansandprojects.com
My hobby pages are he
http://www.plansandprojects.com/My%20Machines/

Severe stupidity is self correcting, but mild stupidity is rampant in the land.
-Ron Thompson