dangerous doug Posted August 30, 2023 Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 minute ago, Stellaghost said: Never at you At me for faffing around and screwing up my adaptor Regards Stephen Faffing or exploring avenues to new skills? sometimes the journey is more important than the destination 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 1 minute ago, dangerous doug said: sometimes the journey is more important than the destination I agree, but in this case I wasn't happy earlier on, instead of wasting time trying to make it work I should have started over, then I would still have a nice length of aluminium flat bar for something else The joys Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share Posted August 30, 2023 On 8/13/2023 at 3:13 PM, dangerous doug said: You can flatten it off with a multi setup on the mill or a rotary table My only gripe ( it's a nice gripe ) with you at the moment is this, you got me thinking and now I have said rotary table coming, and an empty project jar.....lol Regards Stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stellaghost Posted August 31, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 31, 2023 Rotary table has arrived, adaptor slightly too big but won't take much to make a top plate to hold adaptor just need success casting a blank Regards Stephen 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fmmv Posted September 2, 2023 Share Posted September 2, 2023 (edited) I'd echo the comments re expansion. I haven't done any casting for decades either but we had to leave risers to allow molten aluminium to drop down into the cooling object, otherwise there would be a hole. I used to live opposite a bloke who was making a miniature railway (ie narrow gauge) and he used to happily melt pistons etc to cast bogies for the carriages. Outside though, it can be sporty if you spill it. Are you just going to have a huge fire going under that steel plate? Edited September 2, 2023 by fmmv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2023 Well a bit of casting fun was had, it's not perfect, might have another go Hot, hot hot after pouring Inner dam ring left loose to allow it to move when aluminium contracting during the cooling process , it was still very tight to remove and required a slight adjustment with an angle grinder Outer removed From underneath A small recess underneath but it is where I need to mill out for starter motor, so not a problem Casting on its own then side by side with my previous attempt It looks lower but it actually isn't, just a bit of an illusion, having said that I could have done with it being slightly thicker Previous one sat on top this one might be ok, we will find out once machining commences Regards Stephen 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wytze Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 25 minutes ago, Stellaghost said: Well a bit of casting fun was had, it's not perfect, might have another go Hot, hot hot after pouring Inner dam ring left loose to allow it to move when aluminium contracting during the cooling process , it was still very tight to remove and required a slight adjustment with an angle grinder Outer removed From underneath A small recess underneath but it is where I need to mill out for starter motor, so not a problem Casting on its own then side by side with my previous attempt It looks lower but it actually isn't, just a bit of an illusion, having said that I could have done with it being slightly thicker Previous one sat on top this one might be ok, we will find out once machining commences Regards Stephen Good work, can't wait to see it milled, and drilled😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 So managed a wee bit of machining this afternoon ( still on nightshift ) By shear good fortune I was able to hold casting in my 12" 4 jaw chuck, luckily for me the casting after a wee bit of grinding to take a step out was a knock on fit to chuck body with enough room for jaws to grip it internally and also just clear the lathe bed ( obviously with removable section of bed removed) Casting on chuck with a fairly crude method of setting it up Once reasonably happy I started cutting, worked well only 0.3mm difference in thickness when I stopped machining, that can be sorted in the mill 20230903_142048.mp4 left in chuck for now so I can cut the recess in for gearbox bellhousing, this will give me a good datum to dial the casting in once on the rotary table Very happy the thinner section is better than I thought with only about 20% lower than the rest of the casting and that is only on the outside edge. This will get better once external diameter has been milled down So far nothing tragic uncovered in the casting itself, also any minor discrepancies can be Welded up with spool gun and Machined back Need to make the extension plate for rotary table now as it will be needed imminently Regards Stephen 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 Another short video of machining 20230903_144912.mp4 Regards Stephen 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wytze Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 Very little porosity , very well done ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 8 hours ago, Stellaghost said: Inner dam ring left loose to allow it to move when aluminium contracting during the cooling process , it was still very tight to remove and required a slight adjustment with an angle grinder Shrinkage for aluminium seems to be quoted at 6%-8%, does that mean the diameter of your casting shrank by about 3/4" ? I'm sure I must have that wrong, but it would explain why the inner ring was pretty stuck. Proper impressed with your casting ...... and your crucible! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 4 minutes ago, CwazyWabbit said: Shrinkage for aluminium seems to be quoted at 6%-8%, does that mean the diameter of your casting shrank by about 3/4" ? I'm sure I must have that wrong, but it would explain why the inner ring was pretty stuck. Proper impressed with your casting ...... and your crucible! Those gaps were around 1/4" , if I did it again I would make them 3/8" , outer part of casting shrank by about 1/16" Regards Stephen 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 Once you've made a "proper" adapter can you use that in a sand mould to pour more or do you have to make it slightly oversized to allow for shrinkage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 i think sand casting needs the plug to be a fraction oversize Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 2 hours ago, CwazyWabbit said: ...... and your crucible! Ha crucible is a deep pan that cannot be used on our new induction hob, so it is reporting for duty elsewhere... regards Stephen 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Share Posted September 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Ed Poore said: Once you've made a "proper" adapter can you use that in a sand mould to pour more or do you have to make it slightly oversized to allow for shrinkage? I suppose you could, but this way has worked, so I will file my mold into the might be used again section of the garage along with Lightweight bulkhead, vent panel and gearbox tunnel formers..... Regards Stephen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 21 minutes ago, Stellaghost said: Ha crucible is a deep pan that cannot be used on our new induction hob, so it is reporting for duty elsewhere... regards Stephen This may be the greatest re-purposing of domestic tools ever, certainly way more adventurous than a dishwasher running diesel to clean stuff Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stellaghost Posted September 3, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 3, 2023 11 minutes ago, steve b said: This may be the greatest re-purposing of domestic tools ever, certainly way more adventurous than a dishwasher running diesel to clean stuff Steve There was a small disappointment with this, the heavy base on the pan which I am assuming is soldered onto the stainless pan, has leaked some solder....shocking quality, it was only glowing orange not yellow...... regards Stephen 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted September 3, 2023 Share Posted September 3, 2023 Modern stuff eh, just won't manage the unexpected use... It looks great btw, I'm sure there will be other ally casting projects along the way now- 3D printers? ppfff Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnoK Posted September 4, 2023 Share Posted September 4, 2023 22 hours ago, Stellaghost said: Inner dam ring left loose to allow it to move when aluminium contracting during the cooling process , it was still very tight to remove and required a slight adjustment with an angle grinder If you cut the inner ring sections at an angle, they should slip out after it has cooled. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stellaghost Posted September 4, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 4, 2023 A bit more potter on today A couple of plates for my rotary table extension needed some 1" shaft to go down the central hole in table to help keep plates central those of you with sharp eyes will notice my piece of bar has an hrc number, its actually a piece of pan hard rod, perfect size plates drilled out and tried for fit, needed the smaller one in to allow the top plate to clear winding gear engage mechanism plates drilled and countersunk and casting tried for size You will notice I've Machined out the recess for the gearbox bellhousing to slot into just need to rig up a dti to fit in mill quill to dial casting in for further machining Regards Stephen 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 That casting looks amazing quality for the setup you had! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Did you indicate that plate while rotating the table at all? Probably doesn't matter much for what you're doing. 2 hours ago, Bowie69 said: That casting looks amazing quality for the setup you had! Agreed, quite amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Stellaghost Posted September 5, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 5, 2023 A wee bit more done in-between erecting scaffold and sanding facias down First off I drilled all gearbox and 1uz holes into adaptor Set up casting onto rotary table extension With the dti and fixed into position Drill getting a workout on with first cut, using the mill as a lathe..... two cuts later its looking champion and flywheel fits in nicely will start machining the outside after some painting regards Stephen 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted September 5, 2023 Share Posted September 5, 2023 Wow. What more can I say? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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