I picked up this boxcar yesterday. I had to get it since its the year I was born.
thats very nice…bold
John - good videos!
LAZ - ERIE’s look great!
Great photos all!
I got to get that one too, was born the first day o '57.
laz57
Laz57 - is that what makes you so classic…?
GREAT PICTURES EVERYONE, I alway find time to view the sunday photo fun thread.
95% heavy metal wheels
decided to try my hand at metal casting so I picked up some supplies from Ace hardware: a $10 cast iron pot; a $10 5lb bar of lead; and a $10 1lb bar of solder.
I haven’t yet tried the lead out but did some castings with the solder. With that bar, I should be able to create a number of wheels. The bar says 50/50, which I take to mean 50% lead and 50% tin (would be cheaper if I could learn how to combine those 2 materials myself). Unsure what the 4 in 1 means (stamped on the bar). The solder is certainly cheaper than white metal and I can’t really think of any disadvantages it has compared to white metal.
Used propane torch to melt the solder and a work glove to hold the pot when pouring. Incidentally, the pot stays really hot for about an hour. Pretty amazing pot.
My initial fear was that the solder would solidify on contact. That fear was unfounded, however, as the molten blob stays molten for around 8-10 seconds, giving enough time for it to settle in the mold.
My biggest disappointment was that the molten solder for some reason didn’t settle in a few spots. Of course the spoked wheel offered a challenge, as there are numerous crevices to fill. I tried shaking and tapping and blowing, but try as I might, it wouldn’t settle completely (but it still got into more than 95% of the mold). A more simple mold should give better results.
So what to do now? Plan B and C.
I haven’t yet (but will) try plan B, which is to build a centrifuge. My plan would be to set my power drill in a heavy vice with the drill pointed straight up. Attach a platter to the drill, ensuring it all is level. And then place the mold on the platter. Quickly cover the molten solder and then spin the platter on high speed, thus creating a sort of poor man’s spin casting device.
Plan C was the easier to execute, thus the chosen path of least resistance for me. I simply recast the mold with the already ca
Woe now big fella…
You’re way outta control…but it looks awesome!
Perhaps try some sand castings with some steel/iron or brass alloy, for some durabiility…I bet you could get some pretty good sand molds out of a hand press.
I’ll bet Bob will be able to provide some info on melting points of steel/iron alloys. You may have to switch to MAPP gas, or Oxy/Acetelyne, to heat them up. Also try some of those liquid fel camp stoves…I have a wisperlite stove, and it gets really hot…too hot to cook with sometimes, but I haven’t tried to melt any metals.
Kurt
FJ&G - You must have been a blacksmith in a past life. If those wheels don’t work, you can always use them for fishing sinkers…
Kurt,
You’ve got my attention; sounds interesting; may have to look into that!
Fiftedog.
Fishing lures; now what an idea!
Or, dog tags
It all depends on what you’re after. Some white metal alloys are lead-free, so they will offer lower toxicity (I’ve heard both sides of the debate on the safety of lead, but suffice it to say even the people who swear lead is perfectly safe aren’t exactly putting it on their pancakes). Some offer a lower melting point, which can be an advantage. The melting point of Wood’s Metal is about 160 degrees, so you can melt it over a candle flame, and you can use molds that would never withstand metals that require higher temperatures. There’s another alloy whose name I can’t recall with a melting point that’s slightly higher, but still under 250 degrees. Both of them contain a lot of lead though.
There’s one metal, bismuth I believe, that actually expands slightly as it cools, so alloys that contain it are very good for casting. Most metals shrink ever so slightly, so they won’t pick up as much detail as a metal that expands.
I’ve read up a lot about casting, but as accident-prone as I am, I’ve been very hesitant to try anything involving molten metal. I’m following what you’re doing with interest.
thanks, Dave, a friend who lives nearby just told me that he uses cerobend which melts at 158 F. No shortage of stuff out there apparently.
Opens up a whole nother world of alchemy and the black arts.
I knew I’d heard that name before. I looked it up, and Cerrobend is a trade name for Wood’s Metal. Some interesting stuff at the Wikipedia article for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerrobend
There are some similar alloys that melt at as little as 117 degrees F. Due to the likelihood of children coming into contact with anything I make, lead content makes me nervous. But those super-low melting points sure do have some appeal. It makes 3rd-degree burns a lot less likely.
I have a stack of old Model Railroaders from the '50s (yard sale find!) and one of them contained an article on low-temperature casting, probably using Cerrobend. Interesting reading. I just found an article online that talks about it too: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass/models/casting/SpinCasting.htm
Jefelectric,
Nice photos, looks like you were at the Pennsylvania Railroad museum for the photos of the GG1, like the BB1 electric a.k.a. tunnel rat, the BB1 used to run into the Pennsy Station in NYC before the station was demolished in the 1960’s.
As for running a GP-9 the correct way for the Pennsy I put an unpowered unit up front of the powered diesel facing the correct way for the Pennsy.
Not sure but did Pennsy also run their SD-45’s the same way as their GP-9’s?
Sort of off topic but can I use a Flash Drive to down load some of the stuff on my computor so that I will have more room to down load my digital camera? My problem is that my camera won’t down load to my computor after one time, something about files full.
Lee F.