I stumbled across this pattern letter maker who is focused on model makers. The nice thing is the letters are available in small sizes. They look to be of a nice shape with good draft. They have a distributor in the US: http://www.railwaymodels.com/content/slaters-raised-letters-and-numbers And they are based in the UK: https://slatersplastikard.com/plastikard/alphabets.php In the US you can buy a set for around 8 dollars with 7.50 USPS Priority shipping which still means they are significantly cheaper then Freeman and, based on my poor experience, likely better. Denis
Amazon seller 'Felt Like Sharing'. You should post Slaters in the 'Link For Various Suppliers' thread for future reference.
I found my signboard letters by searching on "letter board sign letters" and looking for sets that had the most pieces for the best price in a useful looking size. Haven't actually tested them yet, but they look good and the draft looks right... I doubt I'll get much use out of the emojis that came with the one white all-caps set, for example the 'thumbs up' in the pic above. The smaller sizes available for model makers seems promising; site bookmarked... Jeff
Here’s a link that goes to one of the 3/4” letter sets by “Felt Like Sharing” https://www.amazon.com/Hongfa-Plast...words=Felt+like+sharing&qid=1603109183&sr=8-9 I will put the Slaters link in the thread set aside for supplier links. Denis
These are the ones I ordered. https://www.amazon.com/Changeable-Felt-Characters-Like-Sharing/dp/B07YNYLYSL/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Felt+Like+Sharing&qid=1602811133&refinements=p_89:Felt+Like+Sharing&rnid=2528832011&sr=8-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRURJWTJaT0JHQ0g3JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMjAxMzgyMTc3S1FDQzJUU0NNTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNjk0MDA3OVJORERZMkpNSzU3JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1
Got it cast this morning. The ridges on the top took out all signs of metal flow. What I thought was shrinkage around the tabs must of been where I pressed the radius into the sand with my finger and hoved up the area. I was trying to make up the shrink by adding a layer of cereal box cardboard under each tab. Looks like I need to remove them since there is no sign of shrinkage now. I pressed lightly this time. The pattern is a work in progress so nothing is attached permanently yet. This took about 3/4 of the A10 so I don't need to fill it like I did today. This thing really creates a LOT of burnt sand. All the sand between the tabs becomes crust and quite a bit in the center too. The lesson learned today...I need to throttle back the burner once a heel gets started. It melts so fast that it's hard to keep it from over heating the aluminium. The spa blower is more powerful than the Aerobed blower so the air and gas need turned down. The melt was actually swirling, not a good thing.
That look s really good Bonz. What was the source metal? If it's 356ish a post treatment at 450F or so for 5hrs can increase strength over as cast though over time, it will likely catch up. Best, Kelly
Three spots need tweaking, strip the letters and a coat of paint. Yeah Kelly, it's wheelium. The last of two rims I chunked up. Need to slice up a couple more. T5 treatment sounds good. I need to find me a 1 ton boulder to test it on.
Yep, the outside ring needs another coat of paint. I use a couple small dabs of contact cement to adhere the letters so they pop off easily.
I now know the head will withstand more pressure than the boards will. Used it to pull concreted fence posts and one was really nasty. Concrete was 16" x 22" deep, one leg cracked but we got it out.
I'm going to upgrade the tripod legs to 2-1/2"steel tubing so I need some adapters. Made a couple jigs to guide the hole saws through the foam to cut the rings that will insert into the tubing. Hand carved the top plate and the pivot for each one. One test piece sprued and coated.
Of course my first thought would just be to stick the steel tubes in a big vise or hydraulic press and squish the ends, then drill a hole in it. But this works too.
That was how my first build was, just a pipe through the 2 x 4's. It was pretty wobbly and not very user friendly so the tripod head was born. I would also have to radius the top of the pipes for clearance when erecting and adjusting the spread of the legs. And then there's the esthetics value. We often have spectators/trainees when using it. And that's what having a foundry is for, having fun making what you want.
Got these cast too. Since the hole saw was the same diameter as the ID of the tubing, I applied a layer of packing tape on the OD of the sleeves to make up for shrink and to hide the seams. You can see the gap on the far right one where I left the tape a little short. Perfect fit except where there was a pucker in the tape. Flap disk machining.
