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View Full Version : Any petrobond sand suppliers in Tasmania?



variant22
2nd April 2013, 02:43 PM
I am trying to hunt down some petrobond to do some sand casting. I am in Tassie and cannot find any suppliers. Any ideas where I could find some?

SawDustSniffer
2nd April 2013, 08:32 PM
there is a QLD supplier
but i found a USA , 7kg petrobond clay seller at 1/4 of the price , using better local 99% silica sand , 100um sharp sand local 2 stroke marine outboard 2 stroke oil
Petrobond for sale coupon (http://www.alloyavenue.com/vb/showthread.php?7200-Petrobond-for-sale-coupon&highlight=pertrobond)
will fill a 7kg international box with raw petrobond clay , and ship it 1/2 way around the world at 1/2 the price of local sellers
have a look for yourself then bye from this bloke

variant22
3rd April 2013, 09:03 AM
Thanks for the tip SawDustSniffer. That said, I was hoping I would not have to import internationally. Anyone else had any luck locally?

variant22
5th April 2013, 05:47 PM
For those interested, I found 25kg sacks of "Engineering Grade" Bentonite powder at Roberts Rural supplies for ~$40. It is labelled as Bentonite Trugel 100. I have no idea how it will work out, but I figure I will make up some green sand (sharp fine for $4 per 30kg!) with it and see how it goes. Petrobond is non existent locally from what I can see and ordering form the US is expensive. I figure I should try the $50 stuff before getting $250 in Petrobond base.

SawDustSniffer
5th April 2013, 07:54 PM
sounds like good green sand coming up

bentonite clay 10%
sharp fine sand 85%

there are several mixes, some say add fine iron oxide , some say add fine coal dust

i dont use "green sand " so wont specify any because i have not used any

i understand that the coal dust is helpful for a better finish with the higher temp "iron pours " so the 10%/90% sould be fine for aluminium ,

adding chalk (calcium carbonate )will happen over time with dusting down when ramming up your patterns , so i wouldn't add any to start with if your recipe says 1%

have fun mixing it , read up on "hand mulling green sand ", there are a few utubes , mix the sand and clay then add water with a spray bottle
what ever you do , dont add water to the clay first

snowyskiesau
5th April 2013, 08:31 PM
Not sure if it's of any interest but I have a big Styrofoam box of what's labelled fireclay sitting unused in the shed.
It's definitely clay but I haven't tried putting any in the fire to see what happens.

It's yours, if you want it.

variant22
8th April 2013, 11:06 AM
I ended up making some green sand to test out. I baked a bunch of fine sharp sand, and mixed it with a ratio of 10% Bentonite. The sand looked OK, but I did have a bit of break-away at the edges when removing a simple triangle pattern. I am not sure if I needed more or less Bentonite or moisture. I guess it is a "try and see" type of deal. It was fun to make the boxes and mix up the sand. A lot less hassle than one would imagine and quite therapeutic!

snowyskiesau: Thank you for your generous offer of the fireclay. I will not take you up on the offer though as I have a ton of Bentonite and limited space.