midmichigun wrote: Old Coot, Would you break out your post into a different thread? I would VERY much like to see your operation!! Especially if you have any photos of the work you are doing!!!

Ask, and ye shall receive....  Pictures are not much use with my rig, because it isn't very visually attractive, and the interesting parts tend to occur when I'm too busy to pour and handle a camera at the same time.  Diagrams and process notes I have in profusion, and you guys are welcome to those items.  Say but the word, and I'll start posting them. I'll get these sorted out and ready to post for next weekend's session.

Now having said that, I'll continue the stirring of the pot....  Chip machining is not a very efficient way to build things.  If you start with a chunk of steel, it takes time, horsepower and dulled tooling to wind up with a useful part.  As a way to bring things down to a finished dimension, it is needful sometimes, but it isn't the best way to do business.

Forging is a better method of rough-shaping.  So is casting.  Forging a precisely cast blank is probably the best, giving the best control of grain structure.  That said, the building of a forging die is considerable work, and they're good for three or four thousand copies before they swage out of specification.  I work with steel from a melt to get a given degree of carbon into the mix, or to get other components into a lump that I can forge to the size and dimension I am after.

"The word".

Paraquat wrote: "The word".

I agree!

If you make up a model its actually quite cheap to get a casting made at a foundry can be as low as $10 unless you are in it for the experience.

Most foundry work here in the States is cast iron, and they're a lot prouder of it than they are in your part of the world.  Lot of that is EPA driven, and most folks here won't even talk to you unless you want a hundred of something at a grand apiece.  Between the greed and the government, a lot of us wind up doing our once-offs ourselves, especially when we need an alloy that isn't one of the usual ones.

Second point is that cast steel has a fairly amorphous grain structure that isn't nearly as tough as a forged piece when it comes to fatigue strength.

At least we can get something cheap.When you buy steel they cut then weigh the stuff then pass it to you with white gloves mounted on a silver tray. The old days of how long a piece do you want disappeared with the mining boom

God (however you may choose to worship Him, Her or It) bless the scrapyard keepers....

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