Concrete from Sand Molds

by A A Hougton
reprinted by Lindsay Publications

"A practical treatise explaining a simple system for molding ornamental and plain concrete or 'Cast Stone' with molds of wet sand. This process heretofore held as a trade secrete will successfully mold every class of ornamental concrete work."

If you haven't melted aluminum and poured it into a sand mold, you've missed something. But you don't have to restrict yourself to casting aluminum to have fun. Try concrete! Yah, I know. Concrete is tough to chuck up in the lathe and turn into something useful. But concrete CAN be cast into many useful items.

From 1910 you get: origin of the wet sand mold, the principle of the process, mixing and preparing the sand, how to make molds from patterns, making molds from clay and plaster, use of cardboard and metal plates, methods of making cores, combining molds, molding rock effects, making ornamental work, a simple lathe for turning sand molds, making concrete building blocks, molding concrete brick, and facing molds with other material.

If you cast metal with green sand molds, then much of this is old hat. But it's still a neat little book that might (but don't bet on it) show you how to cast a vault for your mother-in-law's coffin, or maybe an urn for own ashes, or some anatomically correct statue you can plant in the front yard to antagonize the ol' lady next door! And maybe you could actually sell copies to other people with tastes as twisted as your own!

Concrete is a ceramic. And ceramic is an extremely important construction material that should not be overlooked. On the surface it sounds a bit crazy, but perhaps you could support the ways of a homemade lathe or milling machine with a concrete bed. You would not be limited by the size of a crucible or furnace, but instead by how much concrete you can mix up in a 5 gallon pail. And you can buy more Sakrete for less than 5 dollars than you can easily carry! You could bolt a slab of cold-rolled steel to anchors embedded in the concrete.

These are simple techniques worth playing with. If you like the results you're getting, maybe you can experiment with making more detailed permanent molds with more modern materials. A great book of ideas. Get a copy and a couple of pails. Make yourself some overshoes! Get started! 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 softcover 145 pages

No. 23071... $11.95