For anyone else making foundry tools and wanting to get something close to what the pros would use, there are pages from Smelko Foundry Products Ltd. still online that haven't been blanked out or taken down. (Smelko was bought out and replaced by another supplier a few years ago. Still in Milton ON) Some of the pages have measurements and pictures and drawings, such as the pages about molder's towels and slicks: http://smelko.com/?page_id=477 http://smelko.com/?page_id=476 Just a couple examples. Good info about different bentonites as well there. Worth poking around to see what else is still available online maybe. Recently tried to show one guy who's in Ireland, and he could not access the site, so here are some screenshots: Jeff
Unlike some industrial suppliers, Smelko had a reputation for being very hobbyist friendly, does anyone here have any experience with the new owners?
I've ordered from them (Foundry Supply Source) but I haven't been in person to their new location in Milton. They were still getting settled in at the time (2 years ago) I think, and had a lot of their inventory still packed up in trailers from the move up the street, from what the sales guy told me. I did have to get him to redo my quote a couple times to put what I actually asked for on it, but we (local blacksmithing school) got what we ordered in the end without too much hassle. You're close enough to just drop by I suppose, but for anyone else, note that if it works like 2 years ago you'll have to have a loading dock and a forklift if you want them to ship to you. We had to hire a freight company to pick up our order of sand and parting for the school. I didn't get the same feel good family owned business vibe as I got from Smelko, but they still sell the same stuff and they'll still take your money whether you want a 50# bag or a dump truck load as far as I could tell. Jeff
