Sorry but I got too tired to continue. i was going to but I was stumbling and dropping stuff . It was geting dark and that little voice inside asked "And you think you are going to do a good job when you feel like this?" I knew the answer. In my book (O-R-) I talked about "the cabbage rule" as I called it. "Quit while you are a head (ahead)" I decided to take my own advice. Here are pics of the Fabulous Four. I will pour the last two more monday. Don
Yes I am but I have to at least get 6 right? Unk, I will give you an exact figure when I know the finished size. I would think minimum would be .200" . I am working on the complete casting proceedure video. Don
Don you are killing me here. This is a true TECH post Persistent sum bitch you are! Age, some wisdom, a little cheapness, 1/2 cup of treachery, 2 boxes of stubborness, ... Keep going and get the Mrs to keep the obvious fuel boost of banana bread and hot chocolate supplied. You picked up some ET with that it seems. Can't wait for the machining segments. Please do me one favor for yourself and do pour those 8 so you have two to fall back on I would so hate to see you get 5 done and...
Keep up the good work Don, need the pics of the machining work when you are done casting............. you are defiantly in the spirit of Burt.......
I agree, very much. When I'm working in the shop and I get a little punchy, I call it. I've made more scrap by pushing too far into the evening than all the other kinds of crap-up combined. Excellent work so far.
As requested I made a video of each step. I then made it into an 11 min movie and tried to upload it to U tube. I checked at 2:39 AM and my computer had decided I had been on too long and shut down the link. I went to advanced mode and restarted it. It took from then to right now but I did get 100% upload and confirmation "Your video has been succcessfully uploaded." It said "WE are processing the video." I assume and hope that means "they are" and I am done because I then came here after the confirmation.(sounds religious doesnt it?) Estimated time for their processing was 160 minutes. The title was "donsfilm.wmv" so it may be up by noon or so. I will link it here then if it is successful. I covered each step from the sand , the core ,the baking, the melt, the furnace, the ingots, the preheat of the mold , the pour , the cool down and vent gassing and the removal, sand knock out and inspection. I did the commentary too, except during the pour. It was too dangerous to do both. For those who said they would like to spend an afternoon here if it turns out, you will have. My wife says it is me too so you will get to know me. She was grinning for some reason when she watched it after I finished. It is compressed to 54 MB for upload but was 104 before. I hope it turns out. Long upload for dial up connection. Don
Well then set yourself down Ed and enjoy. Not much action but lots of adventure. I hope you all enjoy it! Time for a snooze here. Don
Yes, excellent X's 2 Can the aluminum get too hot? before the pour. And then would that change the properties of the metal? This is the most interesting adventure on the HAMB, Thanks Don!!!
"Can the aluminum get too hot? before the pour" Yes I think so and I think on a couple of my failures that was the case. I kind of know how it should look now and will try that out more tomorrow. If i had a infared I could tell the temp but I priced one friday and it was outside my budget. If I was starting over i would change a couple of things but I am so close now and i want all pistons to be the same I will carry on as is. When i get the rest cast i will take sometime and tell what i think could be improved on. Don Re the properties of the metal. The alloy is a very big part and the speed of cooling from melt. (or natural heat treat if you will.) The mold when pouring doesnt have to be too hot but it cannot be cold and it was cold here sat. When it is too cold you get a seam in the pour. If your try and pour faster the pour bubbles . You have to pour smoothly and not too fast but never stop. The more tired you get the less chance for that there is. Once i get the rest poured successfully I will start step by step machining them. I will try and record each step. It will take a while because once I am set up for one operation I will not change the set up till all are done. The set up is the main job machining. I try and eliminate the possibilty of variety in dimensions but doing it this way. My lathe has stops which eliminate difference in cuts. Don
Can the aluminum get too hot? If you look at the aluminum when i added the last muffin just as it was starting to melt (which is a very interesting thing to watch close up) the aluminum is clear or darker . Even though the pour went well (you are pouring from underneath when using a V to pour from rather than the spout (I first tried) you may have noticed on the otherside of the pour pot. You pour beneath the skin and it almost forms a tube right down to the mold. When Aluminum is that slightly dark clearer colour like it was just as that muffin melted it goes the best. When i am fresh i can keep it there but as I tire my skill heads for the outhouse. I am ok till about 3 oclock. Then i might better quit. Age and injury has its price i guess. Don
Mechanic, machinist, foundryman, film director, Don is there anything you dont do? Great film pulls alot of the details together for people like me who have never done anything like that. pretty cool!!!!
Excellent footage. For anyone who has not been to a smaller type foundry, it is not much different than Don's procedure, other than the crucible....
How well does the D transfer to the piston? Not the best picture but is clearly visable. Sometimes now i am asked did I build such and such. i actually remember every single motor i built but that is also a mech thing. We know of we have ever worked on a car or not as soon as we go under the hood. How i dont really know but we are never wrong. So now when I am older and someone says are these your pistons I know easily just by peeking under the skirt.(that didnt sound right did it?) I was at a big US car show once and was trying to hawk one of my auto machinist tools I had made. It solved what was then a big problem and was cheap and easy to use (one handed even) During the whole show despite having a big display that clearly demostrated it I never sold a one. Just as we were packing up a guy came by and looked at it. "Did you invent that he said. Yup was my answer. Did you patent it? Nope. Did you copyright the idea. Nope. He went on to say as he paid me for one sample that he could just go ahead and sell the idea to a manufacturer since I had no protection and went on to say that is what he did for a living. Like an idiot I said "go ahead. I havent sold a one here till now so if you can you're a better man than me" and he did. Every once in a while see it in a company's catolog. A while ago I saw one from that firm in a shop. I went home and got one of mine and a set of caliphers. They didnt even change one single dimension. Not even on the handle. Twas my own fault and to be true I am no good hustling stuff anyway but since that day I stamp every single thing I make. Hence the stamp on the sand core. And I dont care about the $$. Its the other thing that bothers me. Now I stamp everything and sometimes sign it inside. Don
Hey, Don; Thanks for putting this up in detail. Kinda forgot about all the fun I had at MSU in the foundry shop learning, & in metal shop, too. Never got far enough [basic courses] to do pistons n the like. When you do your machining detail, would you please include the set-up, & maybe the why [to do something this/that way, or not do this/that way]? Have forgotten most of what I learned. Would be nice to learn again from someone good. Someday maybe a metal shop for me... . TIA. Marcus...
other than the crucible.... Candyman. You have me curious. I never though much about my crucible. What is different about it? And yes I will cover the machining in detail. I learned piston machining and modification on my own in my shop developing low buck high power race engine combos so my methods might be different than others. My lathe is a converted turret lathe which i did last year and posted it. It works well because it is a production unit but has stops so you can't cut too much. Maybe once i cover basic casting clean-up i will give a short tour of that unit and my monster milling machine as well. When i sold the automotive machine shop equipment complete I had to include my Smithy Lathe Mill Drill. I am telling you what you can't make on that machine you dont need. I miss it even yet . Don
Know whatcha mean about a snooze, Don, great, you have impressed me more and inspired me to start my own mini foundry operation, it really looks simple, I'm getting my 24 X 30 shed up, finally hired it the construction, so I can get some real work done. Thanks man, good job, Mike. P.S. I know what you mean about having worked on a car previously, I always look and see what they changed (or screwed up), LOL!!!
Jeez Don, look at your posting times - don't you ever sleep? This is one of the best threads I've seen on the HAMB. You're doing what most of us only dream about, what we buy books about and wish we could do "if only...". You are an inspiration to so many of us slackers - me included - so keep it up.
looking good Don, the shop i rent is owned by a fellow who was a shop teacher for many years, taught metallurgy, metal maths, he also has a masters degree in enginering welding, he is 76 now and loves to come out and do little projects around the shop, in his class he did some casting as well, so maybe over the winter he and i will try doing some, in his shop he started by making crusables from 6" well casing, then they bought graphite ones as they do not impart any impurities from the steel.
sometimes i have a hard time sleeping. When I used to write books and articles i would write at 2 AM. No interruptions. I have to say i was often discouraged by others about doing this. It was not easy to get by that. It was my Schwaben heritage (the people who taught the Scotts and the Dutchmen(NL) how to be cheap (ok frugal) when i needed metal to machine those adapters for wire wheels to automotive bearings that made me get back at it. After a few mis starts it began to make sense. It doesnt all go well. I try and tell you about that too. Still I wont quit. As of noon I now have 5 good ones. I am going to try after lunch to make another. Don
The Jalopy Journal
