I am beginning the process of fabricating a proper set of lifting tongs and a pouring shank. I am using the plans designed by Bob Emser from "The Art of Boat Building" on YouTube and Patreon. He has a wonderful tutorial for this pattern here, and the plans I am using he has on his Patreon here (available only if you subscribe at a minimum $5 USD for a minimum one-month, called the "Skipper" level...worth it for the plans imho). The plans call for 3/16-inch thick steel, which is what I am using. I bought my steel from OnlineMetals.com, though it took a bit of searching on their site to find all the right stuff. I like how they allow you to order small cuts, since several pieces I needed were only four to six inches long. After downloading the plans from Bob's Patreon I opened the PDF file in Adobe Illustrator where I spent a couple hours tracing and re-drawing the pattern into 1:1 scale patterns printable on an 8.5x11-inch (US Letter) size. I then printed the pattern on 8.5x11 sticker sheets and cut them out. With the pattern nicely stuck to the clean steel I was able to cut out the pieces with an angle grinder and a cutting wheel (well, two cutting wheels because I buy the cheap ones from Harbor Freight, lol). I expected the sticker paper to burn off or peel off, but it actually worked far better than I expected. Only some minor damage from where the angle grinder contacted the paper really. Once I had the pieces cut out of the bar stock I took them to a bench top belt grinder (also from Harbor Freight...it gets the job done but I can't wait to upgrade to a better machine). The HF grinder is slow...like, really slow, and while it worked as intended I spent far longer cleaning up the steel than I had planned. There are a few spots on the pieces that will become the "jaws" of the lifting tongs that I will need to clean up with a Dremel, but otherwise the project is coming along beautifully. Photos attached below because I'm told y'all like to see pictures, lol.
Nice project Riley. I’ve made a couple of sets of my own. Bob does a good job in the video. I made mine to fit a #10 and made 2 sets of “pads” that bolt in from behind the curved jaws and pouring ring so I can also use #8 crucibles with the same tool. Doing your cutting outside is a great idea, but I always always wear a face shield to keep my face and neck covered when using cutting wheels. I also wear a dust mask when cutting inside. I’ve had those wheels come apart in use, usually from applying side thrust to the wheel (it’s tempting but don’t do it!), and that can be a dicey situation. Grinding dust up the nose is a little worrying as well. A nice hot charcoal fire helps knock the fight out of steel when you’re trying to bend it if you don’t have all of the tools Bob has. That will let you get away with a less robust vise as well. An old brake rotor clamped into a vise is pretty handy for making curves in red hot steel. Pete
Great start to the project Riley! Yes, we love us some pictures... For sanding the edges and faces of the cut metal, I would look to getting different grinding and wheels for the angle grinder before overworking the belt/disk sander. Changing the grinder media before it goes end-of-life is hard mentally (if you count $ in your head) but increases your overall speed and safety of working. The beltt/disk sander combo will be very helpful for making wooden patterns and fine-tuning stuff in general.
I've been debating on making a smaller set to fit in my 5kg furnace. The ones I'm making now are sized for the bigger one, which is the one I intend to use the most. I don't have an inside space to work in yet, so outside is my only option. Upside is it has pretty good ventilation and lighting! I wore a full face shield while working on the cutting and grinding yesterday. I'm a bit obsessive over PPE, lol. Had some nice leather gloves on too, and 100% cotton denim pants and shirt. I'll attach a picture below for reference, lol. I was thinking of using the 10kg furnace to heat up the small parts that need shaping, but I love your idea of using a brake rotor as an "anvil" for making the curves. That tip is going to save me a lot of headache! I'm already heading down to the scrap yard to get some aluminum to melt (cast car rims specifically, for some A356 alloy) so I will ask about their cast iron area and look for some old rotors. I have a few different grinding wheels and flap disks for the angle grinder. The belt grinder I have might be slower but it affords me the ability to be more precise and I'm a little OCD, lol. I do track the cost of a project both "on the books" as well as in my head as I am working on it. But I also have a good concept of cost vs safety vs efficiency so I have no problem changing out consumables when needed. One of the reasons I bought the belt grinder I have, besides making this set of foundry tools, is for shaping wood for patterns. I also figured it might be useful on occasion for cleaning up parts after casting. Photo for safety reference:
If you are going to do much sheet steel fabrication, and since you mentioned a possible upgrade in the future, I'd strongly recommend you look into building yourself a 2x72 belt grinder. They are very verstile, the belts relatively inexpensive, and with 2-3HP motor and a good 36g ceramic belt, I can make the edge of 1/4" steel plate dissappear like it's wood. For even more versatility and control, most use a 3-phase motor and add a VFD for speed control. You can change belts in a few seconds and with reduced speeds, have great control for shaping and finishing soft materials too. The motor and VFD compromise the vast majority of cost. There are kits and plans all over the place for the rest. I repurposed a post and an extra base I had previously cast for another machine to mount mine. I use it almost every day. Best, Kelly
After using the HF machine yesterday I have literally just started contemplating a DIY grinder like you have pictured. Guess I am going to be researching my way down another rabbit hole, lol.
Depends on how adventurous you are but people have repurposed discarded treadmill motors and controls for drives. When you see the price of motors and VFDs you'll understand why. Best, Kelly
absolutely the best! insane amount of information available, I'm doing a Pillow block grinder with the resources he has on VFD and motor , Brian House is a saint to the DIY community https://housemade.us/products/revolution-diy-2x72-belt-grinder-plans V/r HT1
