Subject: What is a muller?

From: [email-masked]
Date: 28 Jun 1996 13:57:10 GMT

I am just getting into aluminum castings and maybe brass.  I bought some Petrobond
binder for the foundry sand and see that they say you should mix it in a "muller".  How
do they work and is there any work-around ? (obviously, I don't have one)!

John Lovallo

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From: [email-masked] (Edward Haas)
Date: 28 Jun 1996 08:49:13 -0700

--All the foundries I've been in (one) have used cement mixers...
-- 
	"Steamboat Ed" Haas	:	Words are nothing 	
	COMING SOON		:	Actions are everything...
	http://www.west.net/~steamer  	
		---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

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From: PPIERCE <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 08:43:26 -0700

> do they work and is there any work-around ? (obviously, I don't have one)!

Check out one of Scott Logans postings.  Get on his Web pages and look for a
link to Mr. Winston Harness.  Put Harness's page in your bookmark-real nice
pages...

Of course you should look into Dave Gingery's series.  Get a book catalog
>from  Bailey and one from Lindsay (Lindsay is online).

Good Luck

Paul ion AJ AZ
Metalworking Books and Videos

BAILEY CRAFTSMAN SUPPLY

How to videos - Lathe - Mill- Casting (Gingery)
	Stirling Engines
		(Not Hollywood quality but interesting - PP)

Books - Gingery's Charcoal Foundry and others.
	(Great series)

Listing $1 (refundable w/order - stick a buck in an envelope)

Phone:  1-314-642-5998
FAX:    1-314-642-2936

Metalworking Books

LINDSAY PUBLICATIONS

[email-masked]

P. O. Box 538  HC2
BRADLEY IL 60915--0538

Phone:  1-815-935-5353
FAX:    1-815-935-5477

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From: [email-masked] (Winston W. Harness)
Date: 29 Jun 1996 12:54:43 GMT

When working with "oil-bonded" casting sands, a muller of some sort is
ABSOLUTELY necessary. This is due to the nature of the bonding agents.
Most commercial sand mullers are "loaded wheel" type mixer/mullers that
give a good grinding action during the cycle. For small batch operations
(like the hobby caster would need), an old cement mixer with some iron
weights added to the charge works OK but is slow. Mortar mixers also are
an option for small batches. Simple "shovel mulling" is NOT enough for
oil-bonded sands. I use a commercial Simpson wheel muller with 90 pound
wheels ... it will make batch or recycle sand in about 4 minutes. With
tumble or blade mixers, expect the cycle to take 20 to 30 minutes to
condition the sand. Don't add too much oil.

--
Winston W. Harness
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/brnzcaster/
--

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From: [email-masked] (Richard Hal Buxton)
Date: Sun, 30 Jun 1996 00:13:16 GMT

I have seen a small muller made for a high school shop that was
easy to make and worked like a charm.  I will try to explain
how it worked.  It consisted of a motor, shafting, pillow
blocks, and four round wire brushes the type usually mounted on
a grinder.  The brushes were mounted on the shafting which was
supported by pillow blocks.  The shaft was driven by the
motor.  A box was constructed around the wire brushes and there
was an opening at the top of the box and the bottom.  The
opening at the top was above the brushes and a side wall.  At
this point the rotation of the brushes was such that it drove
the sand downward out the bottom hole.  The sand had to go
between the brushes and the wall.  There was little space here,
as I recall the brushes touched the wall so the sand had to be
broken up by the brushes.  The sand had to be shoveled through
only once or twice because it was so "mulled" by the brushes.
As I said it was used in a school shop that was using Petro
Bond.  It worked great for breaking up the blackend sand and
mixing everything together.  It did an excellent job of mixing
in any additional oil that was added as well.  I am not sure
that it would do the job for water based sand where you needed
to equalize moisture throughout the pile, but it is great for
conditioning PetroBond.
For what it is worth!
Rick Buxton

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From: Clarence Noyer <[email-masked]>
Date: 30 Jun 1996 22:48:42 GMT

Shucks, I thought thata muller was used to make an Old Fashioned.  Same 
operation except on sugar!  :-)

"CC"

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From: [email-masked] (Cynthia5)
Date: 6 Jul 1996 13:08:55 -0400

you can make a muller using a heavy duty cement mixer.  To get the sand to
mix, you're going to need to throw some bricks or what works better, large
steel balls, about 4-6 inches in diameter, into the mixer and sand. Its
pretty slick.  The bricks work , but could break up in the process and
then you've got molding and casting problems to deal with.  Feel free to
contact me if you have anymore foundry questions.  I've got a fairly
substantial background in casting.

Cynthia