Cydrome Leader wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
AL A wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:

What part of the world do you live in ? There's hobbycasters
scattered all over the place ... If you're anywhere near west
Tennessee I might be interested .


Thanks, Terry. I know there are a number of folks around here that
do hobby casting, though none of them well enough to invite myself
over....
I appreciate the offer, but West Tennessee is a drive from here,
I'm in NE Mass-A-chew-sets, about 30 miles N of Boston. Would love
to see Tennessee, though.

We have a pretty active model engineers club that meets not far
from here, I have a friend that is a member and regular at the
meetings. This might enough motivation to get me out the join, like
I have been planning to for quite a while.

Gotta make me a pattern, I suppose.

Thanks,
AL

So it would appear ... did you know you can melt small amounts of
aluminum in a flowerpot with a handheld propane torch ? A melt of 8
oz wouldn't be all that difficult , and would quite likely handle
your clamp part . Google flower pot foundry ...

melting alumimum is easy- making a mold that works and getting a
usable casting is where the challenge is.

My second "real" casting (not counting the 20+ ingots I poured from scrap)
is a lost-foam adapter plate that bolts to my rotary table and has a
"spindle nose" threaded 1.5"X 8 tpi to mount my lathe chucks . It's not
perfect , but it's damn sure usable . Molded thursday , poured friday , and
finished the machining sunday evening .
--
Snag
every answer
leads to another
question