DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:
I am the new owner of a tree 2uvrc, and this is my first piece of
metalworking equipment. I intend to use this in my factory, where we
produce textile products. I have purchased hundreds of industrial
sewing machines from factories that have gone out of business around
us, and intend on modifying these machines for custom styles of
stitching. A lot of these machines are solid cast iron made anywhere
form the early 1920's up until about the 1960's. Please direct me
to where I can find additional information on working with cast iron.

Cast iron is a nice material to machine, although it's a little dirty.
You may find it necessary to rig a shop vac nozzle to follow the cutter.

I have been lurking here for about 6 months and want to thank you all
for the information that you provide. One foreseeable problem that I
will have is working with very irregular cast iron shapes that might
not fit easily into a vise. Please let me know if there is any
information. Here are some images of the shapes I will need to work
with, many of the mods deal directly with the main castings.

If you do the same operation to several identical machines, or at least
machines which share the same basic casting, you will find it useful to
make fixtures & jigs custom to fit your castings. You would probably
make these from aluminum, though hardwood may be a good option.