| If you have been thinking about making a | | | | guarrantee there are tens of thousands of |
| start in hobby foundry work in your home | | | | home made wood lathes sitting in hobby |
| workshop, you may be forgiven for thinking | | | | workshops the world over. A wood lathe will |
| that the tools and equipment are going to | | | | repay itself many times over when you start |
| cost you an arm and a leg, this need not be. | | | | to make patterns for your hobby foundry.Your |
| Sure, you could trot off to the downtown | | | | bench-ramming tool can be quickly turned to |
| industrial tools supplier and take home an | | | | shape on your wood lathe, in fact, while |
| arm full of expensive tools.But if you take a | | | | you're at it, make two or three of them in |
| good look at some of the tools, you'll | | | | different shapes & sizes, they will all come |
| discover that the design principles and | | | | in handy when ramming and moulding patterns |
| fabrication could well be undertaken in the | | | | of differing sizes, you could get away with a |
| home workshop if you have metal fabrication | | | | single tool, but you wont regret making extra |
| skills and a reasonable amount of basic metal | | | | tools.After a pattern has been completely |
| working equipment.Take for instance "crucible | | | | rammed in a sand mould, and before the metal |
| lifting tongs", once you understand how these | | | | is poured, the pattern has to be removed |
| tools operate; you could quite easily make a | | | | without disturbing any of the surrounding |
| set or two over a weekend. The basic design | | | | sand. Draw pins and spikes are used to remove |
| action operates on the "scissor principle" | | | | timber patterns from sand moulds.Simple draw |
| but they don't cut anything, they are | | | | pins can easily be fabricated from long |
| designed to "clamp securely" onto the | | | | slender wood screws, particleboard screws are |
| crucible to lift it out of the furnace when | | | | ideal. The easiest way to convert woodscrews |
| the metal has melted. Great caution needs to | | | | into draw pins is to braze-weld a short |
| be taken while carrying out this operation, | | | | length of 1/4" dia mild steel rod onto the |
| as one slip due to faulty or badly designed | | | | head of the screw...that is all you need to |
| tongs, and you could have a disaster on your | | | | do... make a set of them with different gauge |
| hands.The best way to design and build a set | | | | screws as well long and short ones and you |
| of tongs is to copy a well made set, or to | | | | should have the field covered as far as |
| follow directions set out in a textbook or | | | | lifting pins or draw spikes go... simple |
| ebook downloaded from the net, we'll give you | | | | isn't it.Blunt hacksaw blades are usually |
| some links a little further on in this | | | | thrown in the bin, from now on you should |
| article.Some of the most frequently used | | | | save them, as many useful little hobby |
| basic tools you'll need in the hobby foundry | | | | foundry tools can be made from old saw |
| are; Bench ramming moulders tool - Tube sprue | | | | blades, quite often small sand carving tools |
| cutter - turned wood sprues - slick & oval | | | | can be quickly made by grinding and shaping |
| spoon - hand riddle or sand sieve - draw | | | | using a normal bench grinder.By being |
| pins, screws & hooks - rapping bar and spike | | | | resourceful and thinking how you can use |
| - gate cutter - strike off bar - sand carving | | | | scrap materials, you should see now that |
| tools (made from old hacksaw blades). | | | | there is absolutely no need to spend large |
| | | | amounts of money to get the tools and things |
| The tools mentioned above seem to be the | | | | you need for your hobby. If you are not sure |
| ones that will be most used in your hobby | | | | about your own building & fabricating |
| foundry... and all of them can be home made | | | | abilities then you should always ask |
| if you have metal & wood working skills, it | | | | advice.Col Croucher.Metal craft has been a |
| will take time and effort to make the tools | | | | lifelong interest, ever since my grandfather |
| required but they wont cost you a red cent if | | | | introduced me to the blacksmiths forge at a |
| you make them from scrap materials, and if | | | | young age on the family farm where I grew up. |
| you are like most hobbyists you will know | | | | Several decades later, I become addicted to |
| where to "scrounge stuff".You may have to | | | | melting and pouring molten metal into sand |
| experiment with different ideas before you | | | | moulds. Then began the move into publishing |
| arrive at the most satisfactory design, but | | | | ebooks for the hobby foundry worker. We now |
| you will learn a great deal about why things | | | | have a very large number of global customers. |
| have to be made in certain ways.Do you own a | | | | To learn more about hobby metal casting |
| wood lathe? Even a most basic machine will | | | | visit: there are free ebooks to download and |
| suffice in the home workshop, you could even | | | | a world wide ezine to subscribe to. |
| make your own if you were keen enough,I | | | | |