Well it was a mixed up session today with the dustpan completed (including some nice artistic paint runs - done on purpose.....honest....) with a turned tapered aluminium handle. Then for some silly reason I thought I would melt some pistons that came my way into a bar I can turn to make the 8 pistons needed for the pair of Seal engines I am building.
I have written my guidance notes for the melting of metal and at the top, in bold is the reminder to only melt aluminium at the beginning of a session when I am at my freshest. So what did I do today? Ignored it!! Fortunately it went reasonably well but it did takes its toll. When making the mould I searched the memory banks for how to set the mould for a round bar. It has to have a parting line at the half way level. I then remembered one of myfordboy's video's where one half of the mould is set the sand removed to allow the bar to settle to its half way mark. Then I covered the bar and sand in baby talc and filled the top box.
Once the second box was completed this was then turned over and used as the base. The first box sand was removed and sifted and with the bar and sand covered in talk the top box including the feed and exit pipes added. Once this box was completed the boxes were split and cut outs between the feed and bar mould were cut for both tubes. the boxes then put back together and the feeder and exhaust tubs added.
After adding some weight to the boxes the pour went well enough and when the mould split I have a bar to turn! So I suppose in the end it was a success. Whether the sophisticated alloy used will be of any benefit to the small engines or whether it will machine well has yet to be answered.
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Method of securing the handle to the pan
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Completed pan complete with taper handle and paint runs!
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Results of the piston alloy bar to machine up the pistons for the Seal.
About Mike Freeman
Hello, my name is Mike Freeman and I am a retired Chief Fire Officer from the United Kingdom with a keen interest in model engineering, silver caddy spoons and sea fishing. I live in the pretty fishing port of Brixham, South Devon, in the United Kingdom.
I am a sufferer of degenerative osteoarthritis, which impacts on the amount of time I can spend in the workshop, and is the reason why you will see seats and a stool in some of the photo's. I have only recently added the above sentence after a discussion with one of my Doctor's from the excellent pain clinic, based in Torbay. This does affect concentration one of the reasons why I double then re-double my measurements and set ups.
Before completing nearly 30 years of public service I and my wife Sandy, owned and ran, a small restaurant in Okehampton Devon. Prior to marriage I worked for my father in his various businesses, in the early days these were garages, which he bought in a run down state, then built them up before moving on, to start again.
I took every opportunity in those early days, to work in his workshop's
learning 'on the job' rather than as an apprentice. This, I suspect, is the reason why my building various model's in the early days, turned into model engineering, when funds allowed the required equipment to be bought.
My workshop comprises one half of a detached double garage. It has a
stud wall separating the two halves and unusually perhaps, its own
shower/toilet/washbasin compartment! (the true reason for buying the
bungalow - don't tell the wife!!!)
It is fully insulated with a ceiling and fluorescent lighting supplementing the one window. Several double electrical sockets are dotted around in
relevant positions.
Equipment consists of 2 lathes (1 Myford ML 10 and 1 Chinese variable
speed motor with etched glass DRO's), 1 milling machine (RF25 far East) floor standing pillar drill, Proxxon bandsaw, Warco bandsaw, 6" wire brush and polishing mop motor, 6" coarse and fine grinder, Proxxon mini drill, various benches and an engineers vice. I have just acquired a third lathe, a Myford ML7 which I am at present evaluating so I can decide which of the Myford's I will keep.
I have only just bought the Chinese lathe and had it fitted with DRO's prior to delivery. And what a bonus they are! So good in fact that I decided to buy another set for the Milling machine. Whilst my engineering experience can only be described as limited, I find the use of DRO's has affected my accuracy levels which have improved tremendously (although that's not saying much!) and would recommend their fitting to any model engineer.
Prior to retirement I built for my son's 17th birthday a Locost car. This
was a tremendous project and a great feeling when it passed its test. The book it was based on suggests it can be built for £250. Ours was nothing special in the sense of all new parts but still cost about £900 to build!
