Greetings from Ohio

Discussion in 'New member introductions' started by Kevin Longbrake, Oct 22, 2020.

  1. I’m new to the board. I have always had an interest in making some art, but I didn’t feel that rammed sand castings provided the resolution and quality I would desire, therefore I’m primarily interested in investment castings. I was really unaware of this process until recently. After watching Zapins make his octopus on YouTube I became interested. I then proceeded to watch WorldTraveler’s production of Fritz Hoppe’s Fibonacci Fox and was highly impressed with both of their workmanship. I just wanted to say hello to everyone here and look forward to reading all the details of your next project.
     
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  2. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Greetings earthling, and welcome to the forum.
     
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  3. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    Welcome to thehomefoudry!

    You called him Zapins, not Kufunklefec or Dr. Michael... That was a quick ID if you really found his octopus videos on youtube first!

    Worldtraveler goes by Jason here, but you probably already figured that out too. ;)

    Jeff
     
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  4. Jammer

    Jammer Silver Banner Member

    Welcome Kevin, fellow Ohioan here. I'm up near Mansfield. What metals would you like to work with? Most seem to start with Aluminum. Pewter is so easy to work with and contains no lead in todays alloys. Bronze is a favorite for artists, Brass is tough to work with and the fumes can be nasty. Stay away from pure copper, it's very hard to work with.
    I have a lot of stuff (aka Junque) if you want to come up and look around.
     
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  5. Hey Jammer, I have about 3400 lbs of aluminum on hand and maybe 300 lbs of copper. The copper is mostly scrap 20 conductor wire from an old wiring job in 2002 that I never got rid of. The aluminum is mostly 7052, and some 5000 series, some 6061 and a little 1000 and I think 2071?? One of the largest aluminum supply companies in Ohio was trying to get rid of their scrap metal so I bought in bulk at a pretty decent price a few years ago. I intend to mostly use aluminum and aluminum bronze but will have to scavenge around for a little bit of iron. Probably get it from local auto repair shop from old brake rotors. I’m not to far from you, maybe I can stop by in the next couple weeks. I’m in Florida driving home tomorrow and maybe Sunday and work has backed up some while I’ve been on vacation.
     
  6. Jammer

    Jammer Silver Banner Member

    That's a lot of Aluminum. I've got Manganese and ferro silicon plus a little silicon, if you want to try some everdur. I've made some Aluminum Bronze but didn't add any Iron. I think it may help machinability..? maybe someone else knows for sure. Most of my stuff is still packed up we move back from Tenn. and haven't got everything out yet...Only been 2 1/2 years.
     
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  7. crazybillybob

    crazybillybob Silver Banner Member

    Welcome Fellow Ohioan! I'm further North and East of you (Canton-Akron Area).
    Make sure you look around here you'll find that the Gentleman that setup this board (DavidF) Also does some very nice investment casting. If you listen to Zaps, Him and Jason you'll do just fine. Those boys turn out some nice investment and shell parts.
     
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  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Welcome Kevin! I see you found us! There are 2 sub sections here for lost wax casting. One is for ceramic shell and the other is for block investment casting. These sections are probably the best resources on the net for demos of running these processes. Start with the ceramic shell section... but not while your are driving home!:p
    Safe travels, looking forward to seeing what you create!
     
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  9. Zapins

    Zapins Gold

    Welcome to the madhouse! Ask any questions you like, we've probably got the answers.

    What sorts of things are you planning to make?

    Good work tracking us down :)

    I didn't know rotor brakes were cast iron. Very interesting. There are a lot of those in my local scrap yard. I'll have to pick some up for casting if/when I get into iron casting.
     
  10. Petee716

    Petee716 Gold Banner Member

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    They're pretty handy to have around anyway. Good for weighing stuff down among other things. I've used them to heat n beat the curved parts of my crucible tongs and lifting ring.
     
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  11. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Remember when a brake rotor was 120bucks?? Now you can buy a new one for 20bucks..
    A new one is perfect for tramming a mill.
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2020
  12. Tobho Mott

    Tobho Mott Gold Banner Member

    FWIW, Clarke Easterling from Windy Hill Foundry uses brake rotors exclusively for all his cast iron parts...



    I believe that is what Indiscriminate Scavenger from alloyavenue used to use as well.

    Jeff
     
  13. My internet has been spotty lately but I made it back to Ohio last weekend. My place is 15 miles from the closest town and I really haven’t taken the time to get the internet service set up as it would really be a distraction from the work. Just received a PrimeWeld CT520DP plasma torch. New toy = Happy! I have some deconstruction to do and it was much cheaper than the oxyacetylene torches that I was looking at. I am considering a stainless 0.5mm mist nozzle and nipples/valves for the diesel injection. Planning to connect my air compressor to the diesel fuel tank and run the fuel in under low pressure into the furnace inlet. Cheap $30 leaf blower for oxygen and adjustment to the fuel pressure for proper burn. Probably will start a new thread on this over in the furnace section. Used Brake rotors are practically free.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2020

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