The easiest way to cast aluminum wing nuts without a muffle furnace, thread cutting and other difficulties

Wing nuts made of non-ferrous metals are very rare, and you can’t buy ordinary steel ones in every store. If you can’t get nuts of the right size, you can simply cast them from aluminum. It's not difficult at all, you don't even need to cut threads into them.

What you will need:

• sand;
  
• Portland cement;
  
• engine oil;
  
• small board;
  
• bolt;
  
• aluminum scrap;
  
• crucible;
  
• gas-burner.

Nut manufacturing process

Molding sand is collected in a bucket or box. It consists of 90% sand and 10% Portland cement. To make it plastic, you need to pour a little motor oil into it. It is better not to use water, as it will cause the molten metal to spit out in drops.

A small area of ​​the molding sand is compacted. A small board is inserted into it sideways, equal in width to the wing nut that needs to be obtained. With its help you need to form a rectangular recess.

A bolt is inserted into the recess with the thread facing up. Its head goes deep into the sand. The bolt shank is aligned so that it is perfectly centered and vertical. Only the threaded part should be inside the recess. Then you need to sprinkle sand and tamp down the bolt head. It is convenient to do this with a thin metal rod or a flat wooden stick. The wall of the recess should be widened around the bolt shank.



Next, aluminum scrap is thrown into the crucible. Since there is not much metal, and its melting point is only 660 degrees Celsius, it can be melted with a regular gas burner. It is optimal, of course, to use an insulated stand under the crucible to reduce heat dissipation. It can be made from a tin can filled with perlite.



After melting, slag will appear on the surface of the liquid metal, which must be collected and discarded. The aluminum is then quickly poured into the mold in one go without pause. Once the metal has cooled, the casting can be removed by the bolt. It is easy to unscrew, since as the aluminum cools, it will shrink and a small gap will appear on the thread.

All that remains is to sand the rough casting using sandpaper, and it can be used for its intended purpose.

If you need more of the same nuts, then in the future, when forming a recess for casting, instead of a board, you should use an existing prototype. Then all subsequent nuts will be the same, and they will practically not have to be ground.

Watch the video