Casting custom Heatsinks, What Metal to Use?

[Mohrenberg]

You know, I could probably put some bar stock on my automatic bandsaw and cut it to length for you.

Or, better yet, you could just come over to my shop and "borrow" the saw :crackup:

lol...automatic bandsaw....if only i were so lucky.
I cut mine crooked with a portable band saw from harbor freight. Then i have to face off both sides, then i have to turn it down to the proper length. doesn't seem like much until you do it with 50 different pieces.

the problem is i have to turn the pieces down to the right diameter before i cut them, which means i cut them into about 4" pieces, turn then down and then cut them.
So i don't know if the automatic bandsaw would work out for me.

 

[Helios]

I think casting full hosts would be far more useful. Then you can get odd shapes. Heat sinks are almost always round and easily made on a lathe so casting isnt necessary or really practical.

 

[Helios]

lol...automatic bandsaw....if only i were so lucky.
I cut mine crooked with a portable band saw from harbor freight. Then i have to face off both sides, then i have to turn it down to the proper length. doesn't seem like much until you do it with 50 different pieces.

the problem is i have to turn the pieces down to the right diameter before i cut them, which means i cut them into about 4" pieces, turn then down and then cut them.
So i don't know if the automatic bandsaw would work out for me.

I use good ole elbow grease and a hack saw... I refuse to work with greater diameters than 1.5" for that exact reason :gun:

How do you like your portaband?

I tried metal cutting blades in a sawzall but the aluminum gums them up about .5" deep into the first cut...

 

[Mohrenberg]

it works really well. they cut a lot better if you put some oil on the blades so the metal doesn't get stuck in the teeth.
I've been thinking of building a table and finding a way of mounting the portaband on hinges so that i can cut things a little straighter

 

[Pontiacg5]

Ahhh, what you need is a lathe with a bar pulling attachment. Just shove a 1" bar through the spindle and it spits out heatsinks automatically!



Or half of a Groove head, same thing:crackup:

 

[Helios]

That video makes me want to jump off a bridge.... manual lathes are fun but.... yeah

 

[blue laser research]

I had better luck today. Used a stainless steel mixing pot, and the remains of the aluminum pot I accidentally melted before as my metal. Once it went molten I poured it straight into the flashlight head with an axiz module packed in the middle of it. I packed dirt around the bottom of the module to give enough room for the driver. I used hot glue to center the module before packing the dirt in. Then I covered everything with a thin layer of moly grease.

Everything turned out great except I didn't poor it completely full the first time. I had to melt some more aluminum and poor a second time. The flashlight unscrewed perfect.. It did change colors from the heat, but there was no other damage. It is now an orange color instead of black.

I learned a few lessons.
1. Don’t forget to remove all of the o-rings.
2. Be sure to poor it on level ground so you fill it the first time around.
3. Have some very long tongs. I used the ones from my fireplace, They worked really well. At least 3 feet long if you don’t want to burn the crap out of your hands. Get some welding gloves too.
4. I tossed in some aluminum cans at the very end, and I wouldn’t mess with them again. They put off some nasty fumes and don’t produce any metal worth pouring. I guess if you collected enough tops it would be ok.

I’m ordering some more hosts. At only $10 shipped it’s cheap enough to play around with. I don’t have a lathe, so this was my best option.

Pictures to follow when I am finished with dremeling off the excess.

 

[Ray J Neal]

Moh, Helio...I don't use a band saw. I'm surprised no one else does this. A WOODWORKING TABLE SAW, with a diamond cutting blade. Wam bam, nice perfect cuts. :beer:

 

[Helios]

Moh, Helio...I don't use a band saw. I'm surprised no one else does this. A WOODWORKING TABLE SAW, with a diamond cutting blade. Wam bam, nice perfect cuts. :beer:

really?!

or is this just an attempt to thin the host maker herd :tsk:

haha

 

[qumefox]

While there's no reason it wouldn't work.. Sounds overly dangerous to me. Especially when dealing with really short cut lengths or short stock.. Can we say high velocity projectiles and/or missing fingers?