Cast Iron Wheels for Pouring Trolley

Discussion in 'Foundry tools and flasks' started by Melterskelter, Sep 9, 2022.

  1. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    Well, I couldn't wait til tomorrow to cast them. And the results were quite good. I did knowingly vilate one principle and cast with the logo down. I did so as I had not made a peg and registration hole for a riser pattern and was worried the riser might shift in packing and spoil the logo. In one case the riser did shift. But, in one case, the logo did suffer from degradation too. I may recast that wheel.

    Each wheel with runner, pouring basin, and riser weighed 16 pounds. But with the runner and basdin cut off it weighed 9# 12 oz or 4447 gms.
    Onshape predicted 4499 grams without the riser. I'd guess the riser is a bit less .4 pounds. So pretty close agreement with Onshape. However, onshape may have been calculating the finished size to be about 1/8" diameter greater than the cast dimensions. In other words it did not have allowed for shrinkage from the molded size but rather calculated the wheels mass as if it were CNC'd from a block of iron. Had they done so, the preduicted results and actual results would have been within a 50 grams or so. And then there is the matter of the seams etc in the casting. bottom line is Onshape was very accurate in its prediction when allowance is made for shrinkage from molded size. First Casting.JPG First Casting1.JPG First out of the sand.JPG First out of the sand1.JPG

    The other wheel was comparable except for some distortion of the logo Second wheel out of sand.JPG

    I think I will make the registration pin for the riser and recast the second wheel with the logo up.

    Denis
     
  2. Tops

    Tops Silver Banner Member

    Looks great Denis. Will you clean them up on a vertical mill and/or a lathe or ?
     
  3. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    I have cleaned one up on the lathe uing my four-jaw chuck. I'll post pics later. Before I bore the hole I have to double-check my axle diameter. I am nearly certain it is 5/8." But screwing that up at this point would be just too sad. I intend to recast the second wheel as the logo is not sharp.

    I picked up 750 pounds of cast iron returns yesterday from a foundry 60 miles to the south. Always good to walk around the foundry and see what they are doing. One money-losing (got stiffed) project they recently did was the aluminum screening for the African-Amaerican Museum at the Smithsonian. 3600 about 5x4 foot panels requiring a massive amount of work. "The tooling for the Corona panels was made at Peerless Pattern Works in Portland, Oregon. The panels were cast at Morel Industries in Portland, Oregon." ( Note:Actually the casting company is in Arlington Wa.)

    upload_2022-9-23_6-5-12.png

    Here is a link: https://nmaahc.si.edu/object/nmaahc_2016.41.3

    This was a huge casting venture that nearly financially ruined this well-established foundry. It was interesting (actually made me angry) to hear the backstory on this.

    Denis

    09D890BE-F09D-4BCD-9D04-3F3433DDFF2F.jpeg
    I used an inverted boring bar to reach across the face of the wheel and ran the lathe in reverse. I used a live center to as extra protection against the part working its way off the Chuck.
    E0002B88-0CA5-49E2-9364-5B96D3CC72C3.jpeg



    Denis
     
    Last edited: Sep 23, 2022
    Tobho Mott, DaveZ and Tops like this.
  4. Billy Elmore

    Billy Elmore Silver

    We used to cast a lot of wheels. Some we would cast with the center hole molded into the wheel hub. They would still have to clean up the draft by drilling them out, so on the new patterns they went with cores. This was thirty years ago and we no longer make any of that fun stuff. Pretty cool stuff Dennis!
     
  5. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    The trolley wheels got their first exercise today. I installed them on the trolley and used them for a pour. I guess there was not a lot of question as to how the would work. They did not disappoint. I did not dribble any iron today so the pneumatics would have worked as well. But it was nice to have one less potential fail point.
    9AF43736-D131-43F0-A32A-E366DA8B4984.jpeg 91286B56-DFFC-4F87-BE01-A2A02411928A.jpeg

    Now that pneumatics are out of the picture, I can remove the aluminum heat shield that protected the tires. Once in a while the shield did cause a little interference when maneuvering the trolley close to the flasks.

    Denis
     
  6. Imagine getting mistakenly raided by the ATF for running a moonshine still with that setup.
     
  7. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    You are not the first to think of that!

    I guess I’d offer them a stool to sit on and a glass and a bottle so we could talk:cool:

    (And the now-deceased owner of the barn did have a small still where he made the finest spirits he could manage. There are some copper coils and fittings “still” in the loft.)

    Denis
     
    Billy Elmore likes this.
  8. Tops

    Tops Silver Banner Member

    Denis, do you see yourself making more of those wheels? You did a nice job on them.
     
  9. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    I don't really need any more. I enjoyed casting them and have the pattern, but don't expect to cast more.

    Denis
     
    Last edited: Dec 12, 2022
  10. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    One small upgrade I made today that compliments the iron trolley wheels was to place a semi-permanent cement board surface instead of using plywood or sheet metal. The plywood and sheet metal worked OK, but because of numerous burn-holes in the plywood, the rolling motion over the wood was not perfectly smooth. And the sheet metal also had gotten somewhat banged up over the last couple years as well. I noticed on various pours that I sometimes had a hard time rolling to just the right position due to the roughness of those surfaces. So, I bought a couple 3x5 foot sheets of 1/2" Hardibacker and used construction adhesive to laminate them hoping to improve its bearing strength. I also raked out and leveled the gravel before placing the boards. (I think I will add a third layer of board to ensure a longer lifespan.)

    Now the trolley rolls very smoothly with no hang ups anywhere. Minor slops of iron should cause no burning issues but may cause some "pops" I suppose. That remains to be seen.

    The financial investment was minimal---about 35 dollars and will be well worth it if this proves a good long-term solution.

    I'd pour a concrete slab if I were working on land that I owned. But, I am working on property I do not own as a "guest."

    Denis
     
  11. ddmckee54

    ddmckee54 Silver

    Back in September you teased us with this:

    "This was a huge casting venture that nearly financially ruined this well-established foundry. It was interesting (actually made me angry) to hear the backstory on this."

    Don't keep up in suspense any longer, tell us the backstory, if you're allowed.

    Don
     
  12. Melterskelter

    Melterskelter Gold Banner Member

    Don,

    I'd love to tell more of the story, but I think it is not mine to tell. I don't want to stir up trouble for my foundry friend, nor am I anxious to have some firm (the goats in this story) sue me for defamation.

    Denis
     

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