recipes

K-Bond - for Kent State where it was developed by one of Tom Cobett's Students.
It is an almost smokless oil bonded foundry sand for casting zinc, aluminum, brass, bronze and iron.

Ingredents for K-Bond:

100 lbs. sand - 100 mesh or finer
6 lbs. Organo-bentone
3 lbs. Polybutane (2 US Quarts) Indopol L-100
0.2 lbs. (3.2oz or 91grams) Gelling Agent, Propylene Carbonate

Mixing by weight is the best for dry materials.Liquids may be acurately measured by volume.

1. Combine the sand and bentone. This is a very dusty operation, so use a closed container.
2. Blend in the oil thoroughly. You can do it in 10 lb. batches by hand with good results.
3. Add in the alcohol and mix thoroughly. Done!
The sand won't seem like much until the alcohol takes effect and then it will become like stiff cookie dough.

Sand is available from most sand blasting suppliers.

Organo-bentone is available from casting suppliers. Don't try using bentonite, kitty-litter or speedy dry. They don't work.

Indopol L100 is difficult to get in small quantities but you can sometimes find it at industrial lubricant distributors who will tap off 5 gallons for you. As an alternative you can use synthetic 2-stroke oil.
Some people have reported that Kerosene or diesel can be also substituted but with a higher flammability risk.

Propylene carbonate works the best, but these easier to get alcohols can be substituted.
Isopropyl: Rubbing alcohol from Wal-Mart
Methanol: Dry Gas from Wal-Mart
Ethanol: (Methylated Spirits)

Safety Note - silica dust is a known carcinogin so wear a dust mask when mixing. Oils are also dangerous so wear rubber gloves when mixing.