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Lost Foam Casting: a Crankcase in Zinc Alloy

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vtsteam:
Leather boots these days tend to have synthetic fabric tongues, which hot metal will go through like foam. Never had it happen while pouring, but did when a spatter from welding hit the right spot. The tongue and lace area are a perfect shape for trapping hot metal.

I have a pair of welder's leather boot protectors now -- purchased cheaply on the Internet -- basically just a flap of cheap cowhide with leather straps the wrap around the bottom of you boot to hold it in place over the top. Metal will bounce and roll off leather as long as there is no recess to trap it. You could probably even make some kind of guard out of old welding or work gloves. Just something to cover the tongue area of a boot.

I get more serious with leather protection for iron than I do for aluminum -- but my aluminum pours are small. Jeans for aluminum in hot weather. For iron, I have a leather shop apron that goes below the knees, and a leather welder's cape for topside protection. I wear a welder's helmet with a clear glass when pouring any metal, and of course welder's gloves

Eugene:
Thank you both.

Steve, the trolly is at least in part a matter of storage; I'm so hard pressed for space it's impossible to keep the smelter and the bits and bobs indoors. If it, the pouring table, and tool rack are all of a piece I can make a waterproof cover for the assembly and stash it behind the kennels along with sundry other crap err vital equipment.

As a kid I worked in drop forges and die casting shops. In those days foundry boots were wooden soled with steel rims and heel segs nailed on; the heavy leather uppers were a bit like a wrap round jodhpur boot and fastened with a buckle at the back of the ankle. They were surprisingly comfortable and easy to wear. Looking back I probably spent the first 15 years of my working life in boots of some sort and even at my great age my tootsies are in fine fettle; the rest is falling to bits but the old plates are A1.

Eug

Dawai:
Neat steam engine crankcase.. I tinkered a bit with a triple expansion one years ago. (H2O2 steam generation by silver catalyst)

Casting:
You must really pay attention to the clothing, I was using a cutting torch and my "polypropylene" tennis shoes caught fire.
My old instructor would have been happy with the way I was flip kicking that foot trying to put the fire out. Finally the shoe came off and blazed in the corner while I hopped about. (plasma cutting in flip flops is worse)

Cold weather Snow-mobile suits, zip up style, are also highly flammable.

My green welders jacket that came from a Nuclear job, the fire retardant was "washed" out long ago by improper laundering. I think it is cotton, which smolders and burns, but does not burst into flame.

I seem to burn my beard back to the welding helmet monthly.. It is half the length of my profile pic, never burns back evenly, always one side or the other.

vtsteam:
Photos restored after Photobucket broke the links.

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