Lost-Foam Metal Casting the Saga
Continues...
Sprue Guides & Slot Glides
I was trying to establish a time line of when I and what I changed and when I started to have success and problems.
During this process I was re-reading some older Email and I realized that I have been claiming that I was the inventor of the pop-can sprue... Well that isn't the case, the person that turned me unto the idea was Paul Smithling last Oct. I didn't start using it until late Nov.
Paul, my humblest... obviously I didn't consciously try and grab all the glory, it just happened that way... regardless, I will gladly split all the profits I've gained from the innovation in the form of a cheque should they ever materialize...
A standard pop-can yields 2 (two) sprues, by cutting a slit half way up on opposite sides almost any size funnel can be made upto a maximum of the cans original diameter.
This is a mindless time filler that can be performed during a hockey game and like all repetitive tasks has a calming effect on the restless mind...
The Panasonic Logo is an anomaly of the Video Camera I use to strip images for this web site.
The sprue guides are pinned to the foam sprue prior to placing in sand...
If you're a purest, you best leave now, as I use a steel crucible, and remelt the cut sprues pins and all... This is Hobby Casting, not ISO9000 certification...
These pieces are all the same, but when I have 2 or more pieces that are different in size I write the name of the piece on the top of the sprue so I can gauge which will require more metal...
Unfortunately none of these turned out, due to what I suspect is pouring too cold... but that's documented on the previous page...
Enhanced Drill-Press/Router Table
Parallelism & Perpendicularity are 2 buzz words that keep resurfacing as I do what ever it is that I do... and to that end I've tried to stream-line the process a bit.
The drill press doubles as a simple milling machine for Foam molds, and there have been numerous occasions where I wanted to make square or parallel cuts. Up to this point I'd been using a length of Alum channel and clamping it where ever I needed it and re-clamping as required.
That is now a thing of the past...
I found the truest corner on the existing table, and used those as the reference faces for routing the grooves into the table top.
The grooves meet at right angles, according to my steel carpenters square.
The Push-T as I've come to call it... is from a piece of Oak Skid. It to has been routed with a tongue to follow the groove. The face had to be cut a couple of times to bring it to near 90 degrees on the Bandsaw.
The fit was a bit too snug and was sanded back until it was a tad on the loose side. Lastly I ran a thin skin of carpenters glue over the edges, after it cured and dried, sanded it smooth.
Certainly not an earth shattering innovation, but a nice to have for next to nothing type enhancement...
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