The International Hobby Metal Casting ezine.
Brought To You By:
Col Croucher, administrator of: www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia.
January 2006. Volume: 03. Number: 27.
It's time to shake of the post Christmas - New Year holiday mode and get stuck into those
projects that you have been holding back on, the sooner you make a start the sooner you'll be finished them.
A big thank you if you were amongst the many people who took the plunge and bought the Christmas ebook package, now you can finally get your foundry up and running... no more thinking or dreaming.... from now on, there'll be lots of doing, wont there.
Judging by the number of emails recieved, it seems the new look ezine is a hit, many thanks to the people who took the time to contact us to let us know that they liked the new look Hot Metal ezine, yes, it was time for a change. Trust it looks ok on your PC or MAC computer. And yes, we decided to change the template design again, as the previous template was not behaving as it should on some browsers, hopefully this one will be ok.
Another reason for the change is that the email server filters were playing silly buggers with non delivery of some of the text based emails sent out from our list server. We will give this new format a try for awhile and see how it goes. The web based template also allows the use of images which I'm sure you enjoy looking at and they make the articles a little more interesting for you.... so keep an eye out for some interesting new things that we'll be reporting on in up coming future issues.
Feature Story.
Yep, we had full intentions of running an excellent profile on a well known foundry businesss, but for some unknown reason it did not materialise despite several requests for editorial, but never mind, we'll just get on with it. Don't be shy about approaching us to run a story about your operation, even if it is commercial, you'll get free (for HME subscribers) worldwide publicity through the ezine. I bet the story in the Dec issue about Michael White from Kalgoorlie Western Australia opened a few eyes, you may remember; Michael designs & builds his own aero engines from scratch in his home workshop... designs & makes the patterns... uses the shell moulding technique to cast the parts, and machines all his own parts... excellent work & inspiration plus. If you are new to the HME there is a link to last months feature story at the bottom of the page, it is well worth reading.
Articles.
Below you will find a summary of some interesting articles, there is a link to click at the end of each article summary so that you can read the complete article if you wish.
Sponsor Message.
Love it or hate it, you've
gotta have an
advert here and there.
OK, what’s new on the ebook front? Not a whole lot except that people
from
around the globe continue to visit our web site searching for hobby
metal casting info, most decide they want to set up a hobby foundry,
and
take action by purchasing the ebook package. For some this is the
"first
step" in
their
metal casting journey. Naturally we encourage & support them every
step of
the way. And as you already know, metal casting enables total creative
expression & freedom in the home workshop, there's no need to
wonder who
the heck you're gunna call to get things made for you, because you'll
just
crank up the mini foundry & make whatever you need. (within
reason of course).
And if you are ready to take the plunge into the mysterious world of
sand
moulds
& molten metal, then Click Here Now. To read and learn more about metal
casting.
Testimonials:
Read Them Here.
Home
Foundry Projects.
Little
Pistons.er covers and bronze tappets.
And BIG pistons.
objects in the hobby foundry then watch this space, you will
be able to learn how sometime this year.
The pistons above were cast By: Col Croucher.
About
Water Glass.
Water glass or soluble glass, colorless,
transparent,
glasslike substance available commercially as a powder or as a
transparent, viscous solution in water. Chemically it is sodium
silicate, potassium silicate, or a mixture of these. It is prepared by
fusing sodium or potassium
carbonate with sand, or by heating sodium or potassium
hydroxide with sand under pressure. Water glass is very soluble in
water, but the glassy solid dissolves slowly, even in boiling water.
Water glass has adhesive properties and is fire resistant. It is used as a detergent; as a cement for glass, pottery, and
stoneware;
for fireproofing paper, wood, cement, and other substances; for fixing
pigments in paintings and cloth printing; and for preserving eggs (it
fills the pores in the eggshell, preventing entrance of air).
Sodium Silicate.
Sodium silicate, any one of
several compounds containing sodium oxide,
Na2O, and silica, Si2O, or a mixture of sodium silicates. Sodium
orthosilicate is Na4SiO4 (or 2Na2O·SiO2); sodium metasilicate is Na2SiO3 (or
Na2O·SiO2); sodium disilicate
is Na2Si2O5 (or Na2O·2SiO2); sodium tetrasilicate is Na2Si4O9
(or Na2O·4SiO2). All these compounds are transparent, glassy or crystalline solids
that have high melting points
(above 800°C) and are water soluble. They are produced chiefly by
fusing sand and sodium carbonate in various proportions. The product is
commonly known as water glass. The greatest single use of sodium
silicates is as a raw material for making silica gel.
Silica Gel.
Silica gel, chemical compound.
It is a colloidal form of silica, and
usually resembles coarse white sand. It may be prepared by partial
dehydration of metasilicic acid, H2SiO3. Because it has many tiny pores, it has
great adsorptive power. It is
used as a drying agent, as a catalyst or catalyst carrier, and in
purifying various substances. Silica aerogel is fully dehydrated silica
gel; it is very porous and is often used in insulation, e.g., for
refrigerators.
Western Australia crucible suppliers.
This info
is for our ebook clients in WA,SA & NT.
Visit the Mathews web site for more
info.
Mathews Industrial Products Pty Ltd.
58 Gordon Road East. Osborne Park Western Australia 6017.
Tel: + 61 8 9242 1800. Fax: + 61 8 9242 2657.
http://www.mathews.com.au/
http://www.mathews.com.au/crucibles.htm
The Strengthening Of Metals.
Article Summary:
Precipitation
or age hardening was
discovered by Alfred Wilm in Germany
in 1906. He attempted to harden an alloy of essentially aluminum-2 atom
percent copper in an analogous way to steels by a quenching treatment.
The specimen was initially soft, but the hardness increased with time at room
temperature after the quench.
Later, the hardening is attributed to a precipitation effect. This was
extremely important for development of a whole host of
precipitation-hardened alloys. The solubility of copper in aluminum
decreases markedly on cooling and that quenching gives a supersaturated
solid solution. The change in solubility with temperature in the
terminal solid solution is typical for age-hardening systems. Click on
the link below to read the rest of the article, then use your back button
to return here.
Visit: http://www.key-to-metals.com/Article128.htm
Aluminum Casting Processes.
Aluminum is one of the few metals that can be cast by all of the processes used in casting metals. These processes, in decreasing order of amount of aluminum casting, are: die casting, permanent mold casting, sand casting (green sand and dry sand), plaster casting, investment casting, and continuous casting. Other processes such as lost foam, squeeze casting, and hot isostatic pressing are also mentioned.
Go Visit: http://www.key-to-metals.com/Article59.htm
How To Make Your Own Buffing Wheel.
You've seen those Baldor-brand buffing motors in the tool catalogs. You know the ones, with their long shafts and expensive price tags, but you just can't quite justify the expenditure. Neither can we, and
style="font-family: arial;"> spending time with Dr.Crankshaft will teach anyone a lot about frugality when it comes to car restoration. Thanks to his hoarding of old stuff, some years ago we came up with a cheap (and boy, do we mean cheap!) alternative. Better still, our home-made buffing wheels work just as well as the professional kind, so here's how we did it... Go Visit: http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/87.cfm?sd=2
Echuca Steam Rally. (Australia)
If you are into steam, reside in OZ, and you like all things heritage then the Echuca Steam Rally is where you should be on the Queens Birthday weekend in June. Today, more than ever before, Australians love to “touch history” – to get close to our heritage. You’ll see hundreds of examples of machinery in working order, agricultural implements being used for their real purpose, old-time trades and Clydesdale horses working the land in scenes straight out of yesteryear. (see Highlights and Program) And each year we try hard to bring you new and different attractions. (Hopefully we'll be there this year demonstrating metal casting.) Go Visit: http://www.echucasteamrally.com.au/contact%20us.html