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Working on a new tiny shop
vtsteam:
Just plain old eastern white pine, Rob, cut here on the property on my mill. It works easy and I know what the weight proportion is to aluminum from practice, so I can just weigh the pattern to know how much metal to melt.
vtsteam:
With core prints in place:
RobWilson:
:thumbup: Steve ,
Looks like there will be some casting on the old homestead this weekend :)
Rob
vtsteam:
I hope so, Rob, the cold is so wearing. We had 1 day in the last 4 weeks when the high creeped a couple degrees above freezing. I just don't know if it makes sense to even try casting. We'll see -- we're supposed to top out around freezing early next week. That will seem like a heat wave.
Today I decided to make some new wooden flasks -- I badly burned my old ones (used for aluminum) when I first tried cast iron. Later made steel flasks for CI, but they're shallow and heavy for this casting.
If you look at the pulley pattern and how it tapers, it wants to be molded with the wide end uppermost in the drag. Which would mean gating into the rim, or a sprue directly on the inner boss -- but that has a core in the center. Plus, that's quite a drop for the aluminum to the bottom of the cavity. I'm thinking the walls might wash out.
I was thinking, I wish I could gate in to the bottom of the cavity -- the small end. But that can't be on the parting line, which has to be at the big end, or you wouldn't be able to draw the pattern.
Then I hit on the idea of making a flask exactly the same height as the pulley body, and make a triple layer flask with the pattern in the middle. I could then have access to either end, Sprue down, and gate in to the bottom/small end, and put a riser on top to keep the hub full.
Maybe connect to the rim, too -- I guess it depends where I get a shrink cavity (if I do). First cast is likely to have problems, especially with cold sand.
Probably do multiple MadModder dancy bannana guys if it works first pour..... :lol:
RobWilson:
Hi Steve
Why not bottom gate the mould or try a horn gate , I have been meaning to give the latter ago some day . :dremel:
Or as you said using a Cheek ( a flask that goes between the cope and drag ) is another good way :thumbup:
Hope the weather breaks for you soon :D , and yes the :ddb: dance is required :lol:
Rob
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