The International Hobby Metal Casting ezine.
Brought To You By:
Col Croucher, administrator of: www.myhomefoundry.com
Australia.
Number: 94. September 2011.
Have you noticed the latest worldwide trend? What trend is that, you might ask, well the trend is something that's not really all that new because you and I have been involved in this sphere for quite some time, the trend I am referring to is the big resurgence of DIY.
As the cost of living keeps on climbing in most western countries, people are going out of their way to find more economical ways to do all sorts of things in their lives, everything from home wares, outdoors, automotive, building, restoration & the refurbishing of just about anything you care to name... have you thought for a moment why this is happening now more than ever
Remember the good old days (Pre 2008) when everyone had access to easy cash to spend, whether it was their own hard earned, or they simply put the spend on the plastic, people still had only one thing in mind and that was spending their money, and then to go out and spend some more, well, as we all know, the day to repay the debt arrives sooner or later, and when it finally arrived along with the global financial crunch, there were some pretty ugly things happening out there amongst Joe public.
Now the pendulum has swung back the other way, we now have major retailers screaming that Joe public has virtually stopped spending money in the big stores, many people have had a big rethink, why spend money just for the sake of spending? According to the stats, people are now saving like they have never saved before, and they are also seeking out alternative, cheaper ways to either make or build things them selves, they are also doing short training courses to learn new skills and techniques so that they are armed with better knowledge to become more self sufficient than they ever were in the past.... which makes a lot of sense.
Perhaps this is your kind of thinking right now? I commend you if you are having a rethink about things, why spend big bucks to buy something that perhaps is not all that difficult to make or create your self, I know a lot of people have been serious DIYers for decades, (Include me in that), yes, in the past we've possibly been ridiculed by others who were out in the shops and warehouses spending like there was no tomorrow... well funnily enough, many of those same big spenders have now become some of the keenest DIYers you'd find anywhere.
What happened?
I guess they simply had a wake up call, and decided that's it! No more wasteful spending, the suggestions then turned to "lets make the money stretch much further". But how can we still have unique things without breaking the bank everytime.
To every person who has been successful with their metal casting hobby (and I sincerely hope that you are one), then I bet you have moments when you are amazed at just how far you have advanced since you embarked on your hobby casting journey, just for the record, I began way back in the middle of 1984, that’s going on 27 years, I really can’t believe it is actually that long, but today I consider the skill of metal casting like riding a bike, once learnt, you never seem to forget, I find the foundry a place of much enjoyment, and a place to produce things the way that I want them made, and most times, the cost to make something is so damned cheap I cant believe it. I have mounted patterns stored in the shed/foundry just ready and waiting to be put into action should orders arrive.
It is really great to able to fill a want, or need by being able to make something, it is not that difficult to think about ways and means of how you to approach a given subject, it is not that difficult to put some thought into devising simple ways to make a pattern, work out how to gate and pour the casting, it does not take all that long to turn an idea into a solid casting reality.
To be honest, the foundry gear sitting out in the workshop is the handiest bit of gear we have ever built, much like the other tools in the workshop, we simply could not do with out any of them, they all compliment each other, but they are also stand alone individual machines or tools designed to do specific processes, and that is what provides the ability to produce many unique things that would other wise cost an arm and a leg to buy!
Are you still spending like there is no tomorrow on wasteful things? Or have you discovered the secret about how to be a super successful DIYer metal caster?
I'll just finish off by saying that you cant make everything your self... some try, but you simply cant do it, but with the right approach you can make and construct many wonderful and useful things that will absolutely amaze your friends and neighbours.
If you haven't already, then maybe it's time for you to get involved in the DIY action too.
Click Here And You Are On Your Way.
The Hot Devil.
Is this butane
burner the coolest little burner ever?
It is virtually a
re-fillable cigarette lighter, but with a bit more sophistication about
it.
Note
the neat shroud or flare, the construction of the tiny brass burner is
also quite
clever, this design could be cloned and scaled up to make a large
burner for foundry.
The air inlet hole can be seen quite clearly, the shroud,
or flare is quite effective in helping to produce a hot flame with
normal air aspiration.
The flame produces a very hot cone, it has correct blue
colour, an amazing little tool.
A side-on view
showing more of the flame. These little tools can be used for soldering
and all sorts of small heating jobs, but I am more interested in the
inner design of the brass burner, as we said above, there are
possibilities for building a bigger & meaner burner to run on gas
to use as a furnace burner... think about it. Oh, I forgot, in OZ,
these little Devils can be had at Bunnings, or just beat around your
normal hardware
store to find one, they are called The Hot Devil. (I have no
financial connection with this product)
What is a mentor? What is a coach?
When it is all boiled down, they are basically much the same thing. These days, you can pick any subject you like, you'll find there's a coach for it, but the ones that come to mind right now are: Life coach, personal coach, sports training coach, speech coach, business coach, and there's probably about another hundred more coaching options that you could write down.
But what do they do?
Can a coach or mentor really help you?
According to the people who have engaged a coach, the answer is yes, they do, a coach can help you to achieve your goals far quicker than if you were left to plod along on your own, sure, a coach can and probably will come at some cost to you, but the inside knowledge, know how and rapid advancement you'll experience would most likely far outweigh the monetary cost, and most coaching courses are set up to pay as you go, and they generally don't last for ever, a three, five, or seven month duration is mostly more than enough for most students.
At various times in this ezine we have mentioned the word coach. Over the past year or so, we have also received several emails from people scattered around the globe who want to know where they can find a coach to teach them about foundry and metal casting. I must admit, they are probably a bit thin on the ground.
But you don’t have to have a coach make a personal visit to you, while that would be ideal (But quite expensive) online coaching is the next best thing to having someone right by your side teaching you things that you might otherwise take months, or years to learn.
If you have the passion, interest & desire, and you really want to fast track your learning curve, then engaging a coach may be the answer for you, but I will be the first to say that engaging a coach is not for everyone, if you are already quite experienced and advanced with your hobby, then it would be a waste of time for both you and the coach to engage in covering further work with you, unless of course you want to do a revision, or refresher course to bring you up to speed again after a long time away from the hobby, but that would have to be your call.
The greatest advantage of working with your coach is the weekly mentoring & guidance you'll get, once every week during a given course you would be talking to your coach and asking questions that you are unable to find the answers for, even the small things, but the coach is not there to do all of the hard work for you, nope, you would have to keep your end of the bargain also, and you'd also have to be prepared to do the all of the nuts & bolts work, while it is fantastic to get the required knowledge and info passed onto you, you still have to do something positive with the valuable lessons sent to you every week.
Lets say a given course was designed to be delivered over a period of sixteen to twenty weeks, the course plus the coaching would provide you with enough info within that period of time for you to have your hobby foundry up and running, and begin to enjoy metal casting success.
Does that sound like something that you might be interested in? If the answer is yes, then you might want to add your name to a list that we are preparing as we gradually move forward to hopefully launching our new coaching division of myhomfoundry.
You might have been wondering where this article was leading to, well now you know, the cat is out of the bag, we've been working on this for months, but it is not quite ready yet, but we are at the stage where we would like to get an idea of the possible numbers of people who might be interested in an online hobby foundry coaching course.
To place your name on the priority list: Learn More Here:
But let's be clear, even though you might place your name on the priority notice list, you are NOT committing or obligating your self in any way, nor are we committing ourselves in any way to actually follow through to the launch date in the near future if there is not enough interest, but we thought that now is the time to put the feelers out to see what interest there may be.
Could this something that would be of interest to you? Of course if you still want to do your own thing, that is fine, the hobby foundry ebook package will be still available at the web site.
To get on the list: Click here to learn more.
As the northern part of the globe moves into the fall, or Autumn as we call it here in OZ, we in the southern part of the globe move into spring and then summer, with the change of seasons brings a different slant on things we do, and the motivation that one can muster up, whatever season you are about to experience, I hope that the rest of the year brings you much happiness and the bountiful fruits of success, no matter wether it is with your hobby, family, or business, make the most of what you have, and what each day brings you, do not wast a minute, for it can all end in an instant!
God Bless and Take Care.
Col.
Special Remembrance: To the victims of 9/11, they shall never be forgotten.
Special Congratulations 1: To Aussie tennis player Sam Stosur – The Newly Crowned US open Tennis Champion. Sam Stosur has become the first Australian woman in 31 years to win a grand slam title, defeating American Serena Williams in straight sets to take out the US Open in New York.…what a gal, they don’t call her Grand Slam Sam for nothing.
Special Congratulations 2: (Belated) Marcos Ambrose on his maiden NASCAR win. Australian Marcos Ambrose claimed his maiden NASCAR Sprint Cup win recently with a victory at Watkins Glen International in New York.
Six years after moving to North America to test himself in the world of NASCAR, Ambrose finally broke through for a well-deserved victory despite a crash-marred race. "I have sacrificed so much, and to finally be here in victory lane in the Cup Series is a dream come true," Ambrose said" ... No one realises how much everyone puts in to get to victory lane, and when it happens it's such a surreal moment."
Onya Marcus, you reached the pinnacle within the Aussie V8 Super Cars, now you are mixing it with the best the USA can throw at you…Great work, keep it up mate.