Hi. Long time lurker and reader of the forum. Just finished building a beer keg furnace, done my dry out and first cast of aluminum ingots while waiting on sand and supplies. Built both LPG and siphon jet waste oil burner but only used LPG as I'm still making some bits on the supply side of the waste oil setup. Only plan to cast aluminium and copper alloys for now as a means to support my other projects. Avoiding the cost of stock for machining and making the best of available scrap in the process. Otherwise setting up for lost foam, green sand, sodium silica sand and basic investment(lost wax and PLA) casting. So have plans for an electric burn out kiln and other bits on the way along with 3D printer and CNC router some of which will also support some of my other fabricating needs.
Thanks. Just getting organised to post some more detailed stuff in some of the other sections. Here are some highlights:
Thanks. Still a long way to go but at least with a little more certainty. This madness is varied but as one forum member here mentioned - I find myself in good company.
Hey Guster!! Glad to see you! If you came here to show me up just get after it. You work always excels. Now, let's see, Guster like Rooster?
Hey OIF! Thanks for the complements. Long way before I show you up... more like just trying to catch up! Probably more like buster...
Big plans! Or a bunch of small plans ...in a cluster. Hopefully it's not all just bluster. Oooh, nice combustor, Guster! Jeff
Nice, welcome Guster, glad to see you here! I'm new here as well! Oldironfarmer got us both here! I like your setup! That's a nifty blower.. I hope to start building a furnace in the near future as well.. Mike
Thanks Jeff! Very creative - I may have to trademark the Guster combustor. A big cluster, a veritable cornucopia an all available sizes. Sometimes it feels like bluster because of my glacial pace but I do have my moments. I have a very broad need but my immediate projects will be frame/clamping components for a portable spotwelder and all kind of bracketry for a CNC routertable. Though I make and build all kinds of stuff and won't be surprised to see things creeping into home renovation and other general repair. Have been collecting components for an electric kiln and waiting on some parts to finish my 3D printer so I hope to keep things interesting. I like it... Lead actually... I used to cast lead, pewter and other bits as a kid. Fishing sinkers to buckshot and I made a lot of pewter costume jewelery. Had a school friend who's dad used to do some brass casting. I became a surrogate brother some Saturdays as my friend had no interest in anything other than videogames and his dad was just happy to have someone around who was interested and helpful. I would have loved to be able to cast when I was involved with the special effects and movie prop industry. I also did a lot of R&D and one-of concept design build. Especially for the sailing community. Practically paid for all my machinery and tooling. Family and kids meant my time became more limited so anything that saves time and money will benefit my projects. NZ has also often been compared to Alaska in its remoteness. One issue with that is the cost of materials and supplies. In the years till now I have always compromised in my designs to compensate for either material cost or availability. Here is where casting comes in. Scrap is plentiful. In fact all the stainless you will see in my work is recycled material. Much of the aluminium I have used is the same and now I have another avenue for its use. So right now casting is my project. But ultimately my purpose is not very specific other than saving time and money. Cutting down on machining time and meeting my design aesthetics. My immediate projects involve my CNC router table because the raw stock to make the stepper mounts etc. would cost too much. My interests span everything from the artistic to automotive, marine and industrial, right up to RC and CNC motion control. I still do a little work for the special effects and movie prop industry through old connections. While CNC and 3D printing has replaced a lot of what I used to do I was surprised how much of the specialised filming equipment required parts and maintenance. Thanks Mike. Andy and I have been talking about this for ages over on GarageJournal where both of us have long running threads on our work. Andy more so than me. Honestly I've been wanting to do this for 2 decades and it was always just at the bottom of the list in the little too hard basket. Andy renewed my interest and it just took a little time to work around the resourcing issues in NZ. I do have an account over on AlloyAvenue and there is a lot of good information there but TheHomeFoundry just seems a lot more friendly. Just make a start. Buy a crucible to design around and start playing with fire by making a burner. Sure Andy will be happy to send you a starter kit!Should have no issues accessing good materials and supplies in Wisconsin either.
Sure, blame me. I offered to send him a burner but I've been too busy making burner manifolds to finish anything. Glad to see you guys here. I may have to build a gustercombuster.
Purely recognition... only thing we may blame you for is the great 2019 aluminum shortage in the midsouth and perhaps the tectonic stabilisation of Oklahoma! Sure you have bigger plans than the gustercombuster. Take it the weather has not let up?
Oh yes, I've read alot of your thread and have been following OIF almost from when he started posting on GJ.. I generally read and don't post a lot unless I have something constructive or relevent to add to a thread.. It is good to see more of your interests here! Mike
Ouch! That stings. I don't really post irrelevant things, I sneezed twice yesterday and did not post it! See the restraint I have?