I'm trying to repair some loose veneer on an antique chest and don't want to disassemble the cabinet. I need to reach in almost 16" to clamp so why not make a deep clamp. Started with a pattern of cardboard Foam molds I decided to pour them horizontally. Sprued and coated. 23" long and thin cross section (1/4") on the long end. Will it pour?
Gates are shown in the last picture. 1/4" by 4" long with a square sprue on top. I'm hoping 1 square inch of gate will be plenty. Your thoughts?
Remember this one? http://forums.thehomefoundry.org/index.php?threads/well-pump-trophy.383/page-2#post-7457 Gate it centrally, similar to what you show, but make the contact length about 1/3 the total length of the part......it should run. Best, Kelly
I did remember that, but didn't go back and look at it. I just now reread the entire thread and am feeling your pain at the multiple failures. I had envisioned making a longer gate (not full length) but settled on fairly short. Thanks for the advice, I think I'll go back and add some gate on the long side. I'm a little concerned the big side will suck up all the metal and it will move slowly through the other side and maybe not fill. 1/3 sounds better.
The webbed section of the clamp appears very similar to the pump handle. It was essentially a Tee'd cross section with each beam of the tee 3/16-1/4" thick by 1/2" wide. Any time I get travel lengths >12" or sections thinner than 1/4" pouring short becomes a habit. I had both those conditions on that part. I don't think I needed a gate the entire contact length but at that point I'd had enough of partially melted foam patterns. The other thing you could consider is positioning the pattern in the mold with a slight downhill tilt toward the thinner side of the part. Best, Kelly
Nice execution on the patterns as usual. I'll be interested to see what you have in mind for the locking mech. Off the topic but I noticed the wooden Romex clamp in the last picture. Is that regular practice for you or just a one-off expedient? Pete
Thanks, Kelly. I remember your 12" rule and was keeping that in mind. The stubborn part of me wants to see how it would pour as gated. A little downhill was planned. Thanks, Pete. The locking mechanism is still in a state of flux but basically just a screw between the short arms. Don't look at the background in my pictures, the inspection team may show up. When I built my woodshop I put wiring in the walls. It's a pole barn with 2x6 walls between the poles. When I tore off what used to be exterior sheet metal during an expansion I found my rodent friends had chewed insulation off leaving several places with exposed copper. So I decided to install all future wiring on a surface mount exposed "cable tray". I think it works well. Easy to modify, expand, or trace out circuits. This is just above the outlet circuit in the earlier picture. And these are those two cable runs through a wall and around a corner, ending through another wall. Here's the other side of the door, looking the sam eway. And lastly a typical drop to a switch. It does take some time to unroll the Romex straight but I like the results.
It looks tidy and I can see you took your time doing it right. That stuff can get messy! Thanks for taking the time to post and show pictures. It must have been an unpleasent surprise finding your wires chewed.
Bare wires in walls can feel a little risky and I'm not generally risk averse. I added more feeder to my patterns. And poured it hot But not hot enough, or not enough feed system. I'm thinking a 1" square feeder with continuous 1/4" gate to within 3" of the end. At least the ears on the bottom came out well. I wasn't sure I would get sand packed in a 1/4" gap but that part worked. A few degrees shrink so I'l spread the next set a bit. I felt Kelly's pain and frustration on the pump handles, but not near like I feel my own.
Looks familiar. Other than looking the part, any reason for the reduced cross section in the fingers? Extending the gate/contact down the finger side should cure the problem. On the pump handle, I made what was the equivalent of the runner more massive and run the length of the gate to ensure there was hot metal the length of the part and then just necked down the gate/contact area to 1/4" thickness so it was easy to de-gate and clean up the casting. - Sort of the nuclear option. Best, Kelly
Well I added a 1/4" square to the top of the arm, then a 1-1/8" square on that (and failed to take a picture). I was pressed for time and wanted to pour. Never happens to anyone else. I got my pattern buried a little shallow so I added sideboards. I said I was in a hurry. Had to take my wife to a funeral visitation. While digging in the sand I found the end of the first part. Haste makes something. I can't remember. In this case not enough depth and the aluminum broke through and gave me something to do. Surprisingly, molten metal drained out of the sprue and first half of the feeder but the actual casting was intact. I was lucky. It's going to clean up fine. One more to go. Thanks, Kelly.
It's the old.....crap! I screwed it up!......then oh....it filled anyway. Another day in the life of a lost foam caster. On to the other piece. Best, Kelly
You've got that right. A most forgiving medium. This is the first time I've actually lost foam and found it later.
Speaking of screwing up. I was throwing away foam scraps and came across a 2 diameter cylinder. I decided to screw it through my hot wire. Interesting, I may have to make a casting of this. New clamp piece with the nuclear feeder system
Thought I'd pass along the finished clamp. And in service. I've needed one before, but this job to reglue some veneer which was eluding my usual methods (internal bracing, clamp across the entire piece of furniture.
