Molder's Tools & Supplies

Metal Casting Supplies

Petrobond Sand

Achieving a perfect casting starts with the highest-quality foundry supplies. The most important foundry supply you’ll need is plenty of sand. Petrobond oil-based pre-mixed clay/sand mixture preserves its shape easily with light pressure. It’s used to cast highly-detailed pieces from precious and non-precious materials such as silver, gold, bronze, copper, and more. Molds can be made from objects composed of wood, wax, epoxy, plastic, or metal.

Parting Dust

Parting dust is a hydrophobic material, meaning it repels moisture, which makes it the ideal foundry supply to prevent the cope and drag from sticking together when creating the mold. This helps ensure your finished casting comes out in a completed form and free of errors.

Metal Melting Tools

Foundry Flask

A foundry flask made from steel provides a rugged, durable support and enclosure for sand molds. Even under frequent use in classroom applications, it will hold up year after year. Multiple sizes of this necessary foundry equipment are available to suit different sizes of projects.

Hand Riddle

When sifting foundry sand onto your mold, the right size mesh in your hand riddle makes a difference. The higher the number, the more openings per linear inch. This means a higher number mesh will produce a finer texture of sand and create a smoother texture over the pattern for a more accurate casting.

Firebricks

Designed for welding and foundry applications, these bricks are built to withstand extremely high temperatures, between 2,000°F and 3,000°F. Different models of foundry tables will require different sizes of bricks. Check with the manufacturer to ensure you purchase the correct size for your classroom tables.

Shovel

For larger floor molds, a sturdy shovel will be a useful foundry tool for heaping sand onto the form. One with a D-style handle is great for gaining leverage, which helps smaller students be more efficient. A square blade will be able to manage more sand in one load, but a pointed blade will provide more precise placement for getting into the edges of the drag and around the pattern.

Bench Rammer

To avoid imperfections in your mold and final product, packing the sand tightly is the key. A bench rammer will have a pointed end for precise packing around the edges of the flask, and a flat end for ramming the surface of the mold. A bench rammer made of hard maple will last a long time in a foundry classroom.

Bellows

Carefully removing excess sand and parting dust from a mold is a delicate task. If you use too firm of pressure, you’ll end up with divots in the packed sand, leading to an imperfect casting. However, if you’re too light of hand, the excess sand will leave a rough surface on the final casting. The light use of a bellows to gently blow away excess sand is one method for success. You may also choose to use a small, soft brush which can help maintain the joint of your mold.