Aloha Brian, You may want to check out, lindsaybks.com and
request their metalworking catalog. They have nice reprints of
out of print (and hard to find) books and new books from
craftsmen trying their hand at writing. A lot on green sand
casting, foundry work, pattern making, machine tools and things
like that.
As an inexpensive alternative, you may want to try green sand or
molding sand (foundry sand), and mix it yourself. Another is
Portland cement and burnt motor oil (used and filtered (magnet
wouldn’t hurt), for metal shavings and debris). I have seen some
very amazing things done with them. If you want the mix recipe, I
will give it to you. Its basically fine white silica sand (125 to
85 mesh) and bentonite clay or fire clay. Mix a couple of
hundred pounds and it will last a lifetime.
Best Regards,
Christian Grunewald
Precision Modelmaking
Hawaii