Author Topic: Made without castings ???  (Read 21577 times)

Offline DavidF

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Made without castings ???
« on: October 26, 2012, 10:30:31 PM »
  I have seen many times  "made without castings"  Im curious as to peoples thoughts on this issue,  Is it that not having to make castings is appealing to them or what is it??  I personally enjoy making patterns and castings and find it to save much time and expense. There is safety to consider when dealing with molten metal, but there are also many added benefits to casting as well.  Im just curious as to what your thoughts are on casting and im surprised more arent doing it themselves on the forum....

Offline Peewee

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2012, 11:22:33 PM »
I have to admit casting myself has never even occurred to me,   probably because it would be another skill to learn and i have limited time for my hobby.

not to mention a happy marriage to maintain  :paranoia:  and more equipment may be frowned upon  :toilet_claw:
Ian
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Offline DavidF

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2012, 11:39:02 PM »
LOL peewee,  I know the feeling on the marriage thing. I need to do something special for my wife since all I have been doing lately is cleaning out garages and moving cars around from my dads and back to dads. Man what a nightmare!!

Offline stevehuckss396

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2012, 12:35:28 AM »
I think people just shy away from projects that involve casting because they are not setup for it. When i was a beginner I stayed away because I couldn't risk screwing up expensive castings. It takes time to get setup to do garage casting and alot of space to store the equipment when not in use. There is alot that goes with it and most don't want to bother so they look for the "casting free" projects.
Do not be like the cat who wanted a fish but was afraid to get his paws wet.

Offline DavidF

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2012, 02:17:39 AM »
steve,  I understand where you are coming from. Yes there is a bit of equipment to build and set up, but I feel the good out weighs the bad.
Its just a personal opinion and nothing more.  Hopefully I can turn some heads and get more interested in casting as I feel it would be of great benefit to the hobby. But its not for everyone and I can undestand that as well.  Im about to try something new, it may not work out, but Ill have fun trying.  More on that one later on

Offline ReFlad

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2012, 02:56:21 AM »
David, I for one can see the many benefits of casting, but have not yet gone down that road.  How did you get interested in casting?  How did you learn the trade?  What advice would you have for some one who has never attempted casting but would like to learn?  Let us know!
Ronald

Offline Don1966

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2012, 03:36:12 AM »
David like I had said before I have the furnace I built, the sand, the coupe and drag. I just never started doing any casting yet. I have read all the books on making molds and doing the casting. It's just getting there and doing it that keeping me. I have so many things going at once here and it makes it hard to get motivated. 

Don

Online Jasonb

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2012, 08:08:30 AM »
Well as one who makes quite a few engines without castings but hates the "barstock" look here are my reasons.

For a single item why put the time into making a pattern and then have to machine it when I can just fabricate.

I can make items that if cast would need several core boxes, loose pieces and probably a few test pours to get things right in less time. For example how much more work would this bit I've just finished need, its also hollow inside but a blind hole.



Fabrication gives me the largest choice of material, most home foundrys are limited to aluminium and maybe brass/bronze. So I don't have to worry about lightweight flywheels, lining cylinders or the wrong material on bare surfaces like bronze flywheel rims. Something like this pully would just look wrong with an alloy rim and the spokes are 1/4 x 1/8 at their thinnest so may be a few failed pours. Not to mention having to core the 4 bolt holes as they can't be drilled



With limited space that I want to give over to the hobby I don't have room to set up a foundry.

J
« Last Edit: October 27, 2012, 08:43:24 AM by Jasonb »

Offline Jo

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2012, 08:16:58 AM »
To add to Jason's comments:

Sometimes even when you have the castings it is quicker and simpler to fabricate the parts. Take for example my Armstrong Hydraulic engine Cotswold Heritage sell the castings do it in three sets, set two is a very nice and expensive ?200+ set of lost wax castings, 95% of these can be considered to be simple turning jobs from bar stock. The more complex lost wax castings such as the hydraulic pumps would be very difficult to hold to machine so whilst it will take a little while to make these odd few I will be fabricating them, much as Jason has shown 8).

Jo
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Offline Deko

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #9 on: October 27, 2012, 10:27:08 AM »
Another factor here in the UK, would be the cost of fuel. Many old folk here cannot afford to heat there homes in winter, let alone afford fuel to melt metal. :(

Cheers Dek. :old:

Offline DavidF

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2012, 12:37:47 PM »
I kinda stumbled into the casting just as a curiosity to see how it was done and my very first attempt was a success producing a useable part. I was hooked from the first melt.  I was also working for an industrial maintence company and had accumulated alot of good scrap brass and bronze that I wanted to put to use. Im into restoring old cars and am the go to guy when you cant find a part or need something fabricated in my area, casting was a great help for many projects and kept me from having to purchase large chunks of metal that 80% would have been turned into swarf.
  My first furnace was nothing more than a piece of pipe that I was using to burn yard waste in and I quickly descoverd how easily it could melt aluminum and then brass by adding a bit of draft. This furnace didnt cost anything to run, but it took a couple of hours to get a good bed of coals going so I decided to build a propane furnace.  My first propane powed furnace is made out of a coffie can, uses a harbor freight plumbing torch for its heat source, and is lined with a mix of fireclay sand and pearlite.  This furnace only cost a few dollars to make and melted brass and bronze easily but I quick found its size very limiting, the crucible was a 2" by 2" piece of pipe, Probably ideal for small models but I wanted bigger, so I constructed my next furnace that is made from a propane tank and lined with a commercial refractory good for 3200' F.  I have been using this furnace for 3 years now and have been very happy with it.  Its still a nice small furnace and doesnt take up alot of room (no more room than a bbq propane tank) and can melt 12 lbs of cast iron in 45 minutes from dead cold.  The down side is the a couple of the castings im working on now weigh 10 lbs so a bigger furnace is underway that will melt 60+ lbs of Iron.
  Casting isnt ideal for everyone or everything and you guys are so good at building up parts that I can see why you wouldnt bother getting into casting parts but there may be a time where casting is your best solution especially when you have to make multiples of the same part.
And the main thing I like is being able to melt scraps and save on buying materials, lets face it metals arent cheap.


Offline DavidF

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2012, 01:23:37 PM »
JasonB,  neither one of those parts would be difficult to cast, and the one part with the gussets is actually easier than the pully. I know that seems odd but its just a matter of how you split the part.  But like you said, would it be worth making a casting? probably not if you only need to make one.  Jason, you do some awsome work!!!  :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp: :ThumbsUp:

Offline steamer

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2012, 01:44:11 PM »
I don't know....that part with the gussets would not be fun to pull from the mold....I'd say you would need a core or two there....

Dave
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Offline DavidF

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2012, 02:14:47 PM »
I don't know....that part with the gussets would not be fun to pull from the mold....I'd say you would need a core or two there....

Dave

 Make the one flange removable and use a 3 piece mold box, no core necessary.  Im going to try lost wax iron casting real soon. Im not sure how well it will work out but something like that gusseted part would be an ideal canidate for the process.

Offline steamer

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Re: Made without castings ???
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2012, 02:22:20 PM »
Ahh   3 piece Box!    there's where I went wrong!   cool!

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

 

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