Aluminum Cast stocks

[Michael J]

Well, I took the plunge, cut my stock in half, and am going to try to sand cast them . I noticed we don't really have pictures of cutouts, so i thought i would provide a couple... Perhaps they may be useful thrown into "The Buffer" sticky, in the sticky section?




Anyways I have made the sand castings, and will probably do a pour tomorrow! The area where the buffer installs would not keep solid, sand kept breaking, so i'll machine that out after it's cast. I do plan to make several of these to cover the cost of ruining my stock , so i will modify the wood as needed to make them decent for casting. I'm thinking i will finish the wood with some sort of plastic finish so the sand stops sticking to the rough patches. Also thinking of making some lightening cuts on the inside to reduce the weight, considering the solid aluminum stock will be a bit heavier than desirable (unless heavy is good?)!

I'll update as i go along .

[Michael J]

Also notice the wood inserts? Thought that it was weird, like perhaps some sort of repair... Until it came to me, my best guess is to re-enforce it and prevent the tips from chipping off!

[Boondoggle]

I noticed the nubs on my stocks but didn't give it much thought. The cross section clearly shows the dowels are inserted to reinforce the cross grain in the corners. End grain also stands up to impact better, so the dowels can absorb the bumps taken by the ends.

[Blanksguy]

MichaelJ,

Prior to doing your casting.........have you thought about either milling-out parts of the solid rear-areas to remove some weight after the casts have cooled (?)....or is it possible to do something with the sand-cast to make "hollow-areas" above and below the long-bolt-hole prior to casting (?)......which would also remove some of the weight.

Regards, RichardS in MI.
Blanksguy2001@chartermi.ney

[Michael J]

I do plan to remove some of that solid metal, just how i havent decided. I'll see how the prototype works out, and modify as needed. As for hollowing out the parts prior to casting, i'll ask my teacher. I tried to do so in the area where the buffer installs, but the sand kept collapsing, which is leaving me doubtful on my ability to make such pockets. However I will mill those areas out on the milling machine after it is cast. I want to cut down on the weight as much as possible. It would be much easier if I were to make sort of a "skeleton stock", but i'm not sure if it would be considered tacky and blasphemous among you guys !

[42rocker]

WOW
Good Luck....

? Hollow insides with reenforcing ribs, 2 piece bolt together?

Later 42rocker

[Michael J]

Cleaned up the castings on the belt sander, then with a wire wheel. They are rough, but the dirty recycled metal i used and bad molds are to blame for that! Right now, I am needing WAY too much machining, therefore i must improve my production efficiency by finding a means of increasing the complexity of my molds. More that is already cast, the less i have to remove...

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Aluminum stock.... One question... WHY ?

[Michael J]

Aluminum stock.... One question... WHY ?

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9563&p=73330#p73330

Just to have , no practical reason i can think of. Seems more durable, and "tacticool"

[Mikesal]

Take the wooden "patterns" you now have & glue them to a board to make a master plate. Then make a cope & drag box out of wood in order to make a one piece casting. Then you can make a "core" to get rid of the excess in the buffer area and make the part more hollow.

Making castings is addictive once you get started. Making the patterns is way more fun that finishing the ruff casting though.
mike Sa

[Michael J]

I've already got some metal cope and drag boxes, and have been setting the wooden master copies flat onto wood plates, then packing with sand. Same concept, except no mounting the wood is necessary. However how do you make cores? I cannot seem to get the sand to stick properly in the buffer installation area, the sand keeps breaking. Is there a different method I am missing? I am fairly new to casting things that require cores. I've only ever done gear wheels for come-along's.

edit: We do CO2 cores at school , i wonder if that would work...

[Boondoggle]

Sounds like you need better sand.
A quick search turned up this home-brew recipe;

http://castinghobbyfaq.bareboogerhost.com/kbond.shtml

It uses fine sand and a bit of clay. Says it works like cookie dough.
There are commercial resin based sands that hold shape and fine detail better.

[Bil]

Very nice-did you remember to add thickness to make up for the wood removed from the kerf? And as for why-why not! It's not like you are walking around dressed like a roman centurian or something weird like that! ---bil

[12thWaffenSS]

I'm probably totally missing something here but I am wondering why you would ruin your stock to mess with casting another one in aluminum.

[Bil]

You haven't been reading all of MichaelJs posts,have you? Lots of strange stuff,he is constantly experimenting.It keeps him away from drugs!Actually,he is a student with access to some neat stuff,and is learning a bunch of knowledge in many things.Some don't make sense-a sand cast could be made without cutting it open.Personally,I think he just wanted to see what was inside. ---bil PS-now we know!

[Michael J]

Well, after reading Dan @ Angola Armory 's post, i just decided i wanted one. To put it bluntly, i have got WAY too much time on my hands, and too many resources at my disposal ... No one's done it befopre, so i thought I might. I can and will probably repair the wood stock, as i had plans of painting it black anyways, it shouldn't matter. The kerf is less than 1/32", I figured I would just space it before welding , or cut out an aluminum silhouette from some sheet metal to slip in between , then just weld it up normally.

Bil you caught me , I was just half curious as to what it looked like in there . I did actually have to cut it in half though, in order to make a casting with that core intact though. It just kind of failed when i did it first because it was so rough, the sand just stuck to it and collapsed. I gave it a coating of paint on the inside as suggested by my teacher, so that the core will hold properly and not just die. There fore cutting back on the milling required, and increasing efficiency (as necessary, if i am to do a small run of maybe 5 or something). In simplest terms, the wood stock had to take one for the team .

I know they aren't exactly pretty, but I figure I will most likely end up buying a nice german stock/buffer for my gun, so i want something cheap that i can just beat around and use while shooting from the bipod. Plus my wood stock was crappy, the bands were loose, it had two massive cracks around the buffer area, and it looks like turd!

[Bil]

Now that we have a cutaway view-how was the buffer cup to remove?The conversion using the full length springs requires this to be extended,now we also see what is required,and also how far the pins extend inside.As for your castings,you can always paint they,after etching them to look like thet have the metal tips! Or even cast them that way,screws and all! Another question-anyone know if those cast aluminium grip covers were ever made for a military,or aftermarket,so to speak?? ---bil

[Michael J]

Bil, have a picture of these metal tips? If they are specifically for the MG42 stock, then it might be tough , because of the M53's different shape. Although it should be fairly easy to mount some sheet metal steel tips to the ends with a drill and some screws? I think etching and painting accordingly would look pretty cool though...

The buffer cap was actually loose, it came right out after the nut was removed from that long bolt. To push the buffer back, inside of the buttstock would require quite a bit of modification, as the lips on the buffer prevent it from passing the wood. Unless you have a different idea in the works ?

As for aluminum grips... I could throw my plastic yugo grips into the molds! All aluminum furniture, seems pretty cool. It would almost give that shiny "chrome" look if left unpainted and cleaned up. Man are grips expensive to buy, might be worth it to make a cheap aluminum furniture set.

[DougF]

I think this is a cool idea. Do you have access to powder coating equipment?

[Michael J]

Yep, i can powder coat and bake on any color i so choose to purchase . I personally would not powder coat my own stock, but i mean, it can be done.