The International Hobby Metal Casting ezine.
Brought To You By:
Col Croucher, administrator of: www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia.
Number: 77- April. 2010.
Do you ever think about just how many people there might be just like your self, who might be involved in hobby metal casting? Would it be possible to estimate the number of hobby casters spread around the globe? I think the number would be in the region of many, many thousands... but very hard to put an exact figure on. But it does not really matter though, because the hobby casting numbers are expanding by the week.
It says something about the practical challenges & personal rewards that many people are looking for.... and it's true, you just cant beat that deep down primal urge to create things with your own hands... it doesn't matter how precise the CNC factory assembly robots become... there is still something really special & unique about hand made items! Especially cast metal items.
And you cant get much more "hand made" than an item made in the backyard foundry!
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It’s now official, the OZ casting party weekend workshop will be happening at Tambellup WA (Western Australia) in May, it looks like it is now fully subscribed with several WA people booked to attend, it should be a lot of fun & learning, I am looking forward to meeting up with some of our WA customers... no doubt there will be lot's of foundry questions being asked... just hope we can answer them all??
And would you believe we even had an inquiry about the OZ casting weekend from a chap in Canada.... Jim F, where are you? Are you coming down under? we have not heard from you yet.
We aim to demonstrate green sand casting, there will be discussions on all sorts of foundry related things... and our host John has developed a secret project, which he will reveal - show - demonstrate on the day... John will also demo the lost foam casting technique, which he employs to reproduce parts for old oil engines. Should be a lot of fun.
Watch this space for a report on the OZ casting weekend in a future ezine.
About two weeks ago we sent out an email about a new ebook, which was written by: Olivier Duhamel, a leading sculptor of New Zealand. He has published an ebook called the Bronze Casting Manual, there have been many good comments on it... several people have purchased a copy. If your goals lean more towards art metal casting then this is the book for you.
Learn More here>>
http://tinyurl.com/ygbfcb5
Have you ever lost all of your hobby foundry ebooks?
What do you do when you find that they have just disappeared from your hard drive? Has that ever happened to you? This can happen when you've had a computer crash... yes, it happens more times than you think, or you might have accidentally deleted the files, whatever the reason, if you have lost them, we can help you to re-install your lost ebooks.
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Message from: C Rose
Subject: Past customer
E-mail: c-----@australia.com.au
Message:
Hi I have brought your book package in the past and have lost the PDF\'s over time. I was wondering if it would be possible to download them again or do i have to buy them again?
I\'m not sure what email address i used at the time. could have been f----@hotmail.com or cl----@geaustralia.com.au
Thanks for your time.
C Rose.
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Answer.
When this happens... please don't panic, as long as you can provide an original Clickbank or Paypal receipt you wont be charged for a new ebook download.
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The following message is one we quite often receive!
Message from: Sam B
Subject: Suppliers
E-mail: sam-----@yahoo.com
Message:
Does anyone know where to get foundry supplys within phoenix, arizona i.e. crucibles, furnaces. That sort of thing.....
Yes, we all want to know where to get things, but when you live in a vast country like the USA, Canada, Australia, etc it can be difficult to know where to go. First off, try the search engines... but use specific search words... one I use is the word Thermal Ceramics... it throws up all sorts of good supply leads.
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Another issue we've been having is people who have subscribed to the MHF member’s area, only to be denied access at later date
Message from: Michael O----k
Subject: my password will not allow me to enter
E-mail: oly@uk----egg.com
Message:
I had the computer redone previously and probably that is why the password will not work.
I tried it a number of times amd also verified it by sending for my password.
There's been a few glitches, I wont deny that, the sofware script was updated sometime ago and that caused some problems which have mostly been sorted out. The biggest issue is when you install a new computer, the membership software on the server senses your new computer address and will prevent access, (The software thinks it is being hacked) even though you might be using the correct user name & passwords. The quickest solution is to contact us about the problem, we'll delete your membership details and then you can re-subscribe again through your new computer, yes, it's a bit of a pain, but there is not much else we can do about it.
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Another Interesting email from a fellow Aussie.
Subject: Just new to home metal casting
E-mail: k--------n@mcmedia.com.au
Message:
Hi Col, by accident I find you live in VIC and here I am communicating with the USA via web page and they link back to you. I am in Tallygaroopna, VIC.
New to casting, no equipment as yet but have a 1927 Hudson I am restoring and need to try and fabricate some bits and pieces. Quite a lot of what i need i could cast.... once I know how.
Regards
john K.
The Internet can be a place of confusion, every web site sits on a server somewhere around the globe... and not always in the country where you think it might be... I guess that's why they call it cyberspace... it's real, but it isn't, if you know what I mean?
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OK, back to things about the ezine, a couple of interesting things for you to read and learn from below, shows that metal casting has a gazillion different applications.... what is it that you want to cast?
Read & learn more... get your ebooks... learn from others who have walked the casting journey before you, don't try to re-invent the wheel... it's already been done.
Col.
Sourcing Hobby Foundry Supplies.
Just recently I received an email from an Aussie client explaining that he was having a hard time finding a supplier who would listen to and fulfil his hobby foundry requests & requirements, he explained that he was met with blank looks when asking for information on refractory, crucibles and other foundry products.... I can understand that problems may arise within certain geographical areas... but generally I have always found the various foundry supply house staff members to be very helpful, many of the people who work in the foundry supply ware houses are generally former foundry moulders and worker’s who have much experience and knowledge to share.
If you have a foundry near you it really does pay to make friends with the right people in the foundry operation, the first step is asking for a guided tour of the works, and when the time is right ask a few questions, tell the guide what you are doing and chances are you will be introduced to the right people… you get a foot in the door so to speak.
These people can be a great help in getting all kinds of materials in "small quantities" that you cant get from some of the big foundry warehouses because some of them don't like supplying in small quantities.... I know that is not the case in USA, as there are serval suppliers to the hobby foundry... small art casting studio shops.
But as with all hobbies of this type, you do need to be prepared to do some leg work in making contacts in the right places, so if you have hit a few brick walls here and there, don’t give up, keep knocking on doors or making phone calls, you will eventually find someone to help you out.
I can well remember many years ago when I was starting... I had no idea where to go or who to see, but eventually I built a small contact list of very helpful people who could supply refractory, crucibles, fluxes, and other much needed product information... It took some time and abit of legwork, but it was worth it in the end. Now see what you can do.
Whatever It Is...
We Would Like To Help You To Reach Your Goal.
Check This Out.
Metal
Casting Skills Applied To Gunsmithing.
Rifles- Top one is faithfull repro - Bottom is original Rifle.
Beautiful craftsmanship.
Cast bronze butt plate.
Replica Rifles & Cast Bronze Butt
Plates.
Colin.
I would like to show you the bronze gun butt plate that I cast...
(Above)
the
other picture (Top) shows the hand built rifle that I made, below that
is the
original rifle that I measured/copied... I made the barrel from rifled
barrel
blanks, and I bought the tubular magazine, but I made every other
single part,
every bolt and all seven springs in the rifle... And this is just a
hobby.
I like reading your emails... I already have a full foundry, been
casting for
all of four years now, and I’ve made hundreds of castings. I cast both
aluminum
and bronze & brass with regularity.
I am lucky as I have a very well equipped machine shop, multiple lathes
and
manual milling machines, even have two cnc mills, plus bandsaws,
welders,
plasma cutter, surface grinder, compressor, forklifts, 100ton
hydraulic
press. Heat treating furnace and Rockwell hardness tester... I am a
retired
construction worker.
I built a 60 by 60 foot work shop and hauled in equipment and learned
how to use it
all... Its all very easy, honestly.
The REALLY great thing about metal casting to me, is that I can use free or cheap salvaged metal to
cast a part that would be otherwise prohibitively
expensive if I
had to machine it down from a large and very expensive solid block of
aluminum....
I like to share the metal casting enthusiasm with about anybody who
will listen... I really enjoy metal working and being able to cast
metals helps out immensely..
Steven H
Bismarck Arkansas USA.
Good work Steven, you've done a great job on the
reproduction rifle parts..
Col.
Keeping The Dream Alive.
Dear Col.
Just a quick note to let you know that the ebook package is now downloaded I am now a very happy bunny, thanks for your patience & help.
Just thought I would let you know a little about why I'm so keen to try and mould & cast my own parts
I was born & raised in South Africa and moved to England when I was 25 years old to pursue my dream of motor racing.
Well, after twenty years in the motor racing industry have been subjected to all aspects of race engineering - Design - Welding & Fabricating - Machining Glass fibre moulding & electrics. In 1995 I designed and built my own formula Renault single seater racing cars
I did most of the work myself except for the pattern and casting work, which I had done by a company in Birmingham, this was largely due to time constraints.
Consequently I never got to do all of what I initially set out to do. I quit the racing game for family reasons and moved to Ireland, changed jobs and found I was stimulated enough
Hence, I decided to build a project I designed 5yrs previously, It's a trike powered with a V6 Alfa engine and fairly radical in concept. But tis time I have no time constraints. I intend to do everything myself!
So to achieve this I need to learn how to do all of the casting work. I know this wont happen over night, but it will be a challenge which is what I need right now
I'll keep you posted on the progress.
Regards
Ross.
Great work Ross, you will soon realize your dreams, I will look forward to watching the progress of your project.
Col.
There are lots of reference sites on the net, the one below is one of the best... check it out.
MARTINDALE'S CALCULATORS ON-LINE CENTER.
You could get lost here for hours.
.
Are You Keeping Your Hobby Foundry Dream Alive?
I hope you are, as there is nothing worse than having a great vision, and then watching as it slowly turns to dust through neglect and lack of nourishment. If you want to do something in your life you have to take the bit between your teeth and get stuck into it. A determined focus will keep you moving ahead... on some days, you might only move forward a very small amount, but that small amount is moving you towards your final goal.... do a little bit each day and very soon you'll see BIG results... it is not that hard if you keep at it.
Start Building Your Practical Dream Here.
Casting Masters 2009 Ebook.
Unfortunately time has been very short over the past few months, and as much as I would like to say it is ready to go, it isn't... but we will get it published soon. The Casting Masters 2008 ebook still proves to be a very popular download... there's been thousands of downloads of this ebook... and it's yours compliments of