Author Topic: Cylinder casting for 5.25" SIMPLEX  (Read 3450 times)

Offline Rik Shaw

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 15
Cylinder casting for 5.25" SIMPLEX
« on: November 30, 2012, 06:16:56 PM »
I am in the land of nostalgia at the mo and will travel back 30 years to when I had started on a build of Martin Evans 5.25" Simplex. A skilled pattern maker knocked me up a wooden pattern for the price of a pint - it was a work of art, really! My mate and I made a couple of mould boxes and we managed to cadge some Maidstone red sand from a small local foundry (long gone I'm afraid).

We tried to do it on the cheap so instead of buying (shriek!) a crucible, we welded a bottom on the end of a bit of 6" steel pipe and lined it with fire clay.

Saturday afternoon - mate and me assembled in our back yard with all the gear and a HUGE sack of gunmetal swarf - very heavy! Bricks were positioned on our back lawn to make a hearth and a coke fire was started which took for ever to get going. Her indoors complained bitterly when we half hitched her hoover, put it in reverse and jollied up the fire no end.

By the time we had all the swarf melted in the pot it was only three quarters full - how could that be we wondered - nevertheless, I faced my oppo over the fire and nodding to him through his crash helmet visor (what a wimp!) I muttered "pour".

After it had cooled down we knocked it out and were not surprised to find three quarters of a perfectly formed cylinder casting. Bu*g*r!

Last of the summer wine? You bet - Norah Batty would have laughed her wrinkled stockings off.
Stuart

Offline ths

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1801
  • Kangaroo Valley, NSW, Australia
Re: Cylinder casting for 5.25" SIMPLEX
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2012, 12:23:57 AM »
A lovely tale, Stuart, and I assume that in the intervening 30 years the three quarter casting has seen sterling service as a doorstop/paperweight/boat anchor?

Cheers, Hugh.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2012, 03:32:55 AM by ths »

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal