Casey;
I'm not that familiar with the melting point of cast iron, but you could
make a few bucks and help some fellow live steamers out if you could make
cast iron wheels. I'm planning on building a Reading K1 in 1". It's a big
project and a big engine. 2 of the drivers are box poc wheels the other 8
are spoked wheels and the pilot wheels are also spoked. Lots of castings
needed!
Phil
> Keith,
>
> Much thanx for the advice. I live in Maryland, about halfway between
> Washington, DC and Annapolis, and just south of Baltimore. I belong to
the
> Chesapeake and Allegheny live steam club in Baltimore, so I should be able
> to find someone in the group with a lathe big enough to handle the initial
> cuts on the wheel castings.
>
> I spoke with the machine shop instructor of a local adult ed course a
couple
> of years ago, but he didn't want to have someone in his class of beginning
> students going off on their own project. He wanted everyone to make the
> same set of nesting screwdrivers for the class project. No help there. A
> local community college has a machine shop program but all their courses
are
> based on CNC machines, with emphasis on learning to program the machines.
> Not much help there, either.
>
> I've been doing some experimenting with scrap cast iron, "seasoning" it in
> the pottery kiln I use for my aluminum and bronze foundry work. The kiln
> heats up very slowly, taking perhaps 2 hours from a cold start until I can
> get out the first batch of molten aluminum (1200-1300 degrees F). The
kiln
> will get to a maximum of 2300 degrees F after about 3 hours of use. Eight
> hours after I shut down, the inside of the kiln is still warm to the
touch.
> I have some cast iron that I put in the kiln before my last foundry
session
> and it got to be red hot while I was pouring aluminum. I left the iron in
> the kiln for a day after shutting down, so it took 8-10 hours or so to
cool
> down to room temperature. I haven't yet tried to machine these pieces,
> which I hope are now of uniform hardness, no hard skin. If that works out
> OK I'll try the same dodge with some of the wheel castings in an attempt
to
> alleviate the hard skin problem.
>
> My Unimat can handle a cut of about .004" in a 1" diameter mild steel bar
> without slipping. Based on that, I'm sure it will not work if I tried to
> horse off 10 thou of cast iron skin at one go. However, I can fit a hand
> crank to the spindle of the lathe which would give me enough torque to get
> through that much iron. I can expect to crank maybe 30 RPM max, which
would
> be just about right for this job.
>
> Lots of room for experimenting, here.
>
> Casey Sterbenz
>
> >From: "Keith Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Subject: Re: MATERIALS FOR PROJECT
> >Date: Thu, 30 May 2002 16:07:43 -0400
> >
> >Casey,
> >You should be alright with those choices, and you may have other options
> >about doing the wheels. Does your local adult education classes have
> >anything for metal working? If so, the cost of tuition gets you access to
> >some industrial grade machines, and insructors love to find folks who are
> >into machining as a hobby, and are actually building something! Nearby
> >fellow Live Steamers can also be a good bet for assistance, off hand, I
now
> >forget where you live, but there must be some modelers nearby!
> >I also think if you are careful, you could still machine the wheels on a
> >unimat, others have done so succesfully. The big trick is to not try and
> >take off teeny little bits, as you will ruin even a carbide bit. On the
> >first cut, you absolutely HAVE to get under the skin, completely! Sure,
> >that
> >cut will be a little ragged looking, but it would if you were using a 13"
> >South Bend Toolroom lathe too! Once the hard skin is gone, you can take
> >light cuts of a couple of thous at a time, and get a fine finish using a
> >round nosed tool bit. But for that firsst cut, you have to go deep, so
the
> >tip of the tool is in soft iron, and not hard surface crud, which gives
yo
> >an intermitant cut as well as trying to turn stuff as hard as glass!
That's
> >why you are slipping the belt, if you have to, file by hand a staring
place
> >to get the point of the tool under the skin. And remember, the skin is
> >deeper than just the rough surface, you still need to go eight or ten
> >thousandths under the surface, after breaking through the rough outer
> >layer!
> >Finf some old window sash weights, when somebody is getting replacement
> >windows, you will find some great cast iron for free in those old window
> >weights! Then practise cutting beneath the skin, and you can also supply
> >your self with enough freight car wheels to last a life time, from one
sash
> >weight!
> >and they are usually free!
> >Let me know how you make out! Keith
>
>
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