playing with fireclay

[xlchainsaw]

ive been busy "playing" with a bag of fireclay it cost approx $10 au. ive had a lot of firebricks i scrounged from an old pizza oven for years. i ground these up into sand added fire clay and "potash" (potassium) mix six tins of "firesand" (grog) 4 of fireclay and desert spoon of potash dissolved in water about 2 cups. i used a small soup tin for a measure. i made a "crucible mold by casting the aluminium and machining it up. ive also lined a new furnace and still have about a sq ft of fire clay left. when my new furnace is dry i will be using it to "fire" more firebrick items. mostly crucibles and a crucible for a spin caster.

finished and set aside to dry.

 

[Powder keg]

Looking good!!!

 

[xlchainsaw]

thanks. when my lining eventually fails (they all do) i will grind it up again (im not looking forward to neck and shoulder ache.lol) add clay and reline. im going to add graphite powder to my next batch of crucibles. ive tried out a crucible ...melting brass ...but i broke it by poking at the metal too much (my fault) they take 15 minutes to ram up so its not a big deal.. the most exciting part i have melted brass and poured from one. im waiting for my new furnace to dry and then i will try again.

 

[Powder keg]

I like brass) Gets pretty hot though. I made an emblem for my Goldwing this summer out of brass. It's turning out pretty nice. I need to bend it some then finish polishing it up.

 

[xlchainsaw]

excellent! ive cast heaps of brass flywheels ect. todate ive used just a peice of 2 inch pipe with a fence cap welded on to it. this is very hit and miss and ive suffered many pot leaks. i need to cast up a brass "wells traction engine set" for and old guy out of brass! its going to weigh over 7 kgs.... this guy gave me heaps of stuff this time last year including the old gas bottle featured..so im oblidge to do him this favour. well i set out and cast one rear wheel and fell short of metal. then my second attempt my pot leaked!!! then i blew a hole in side with the welder.... so ive spent the last fortnight working on this project. its been planned for the last 6 months but never done till now.

 

[Powder keg]

I'd love to see more pictures ;D

 

[xlchainsaw]

this was my "short pour" its 4 inches round approx. my brass crucible is small ...i normally cast these in aluminium 2 or 3 at a time ...but this is brass!!!! i intend to fill one of new crucibles with aluminium and cast this wheel again so i can gauge how much brass to melt . it will be one at a time!.

here is a pic of my first casting from my new crucible ...just a 5/8 brass bar. and my second attempt ....you can see the brass fitting i was melting....it had a "flange" and the pot was tapered (im used to to straight sides) and i "poked" the fitting.... the pot had no choose but to crack!!

some samples i kept ...the rest has been reground.. lol

some more assorted pics from "playing with fireclay"

 

[Powder keg]

That looks great!!! Here is one I cast. The pattern was made on a CNC mill and drawn up by me)

 

[xlchainsaw]

ah yes ive seen that one before.. didnt "birk" cast some too!???? ive been working on these

the red in original and the green is mine.. dont look too close at the green flywheel/pulley as the holes arent round. i didnt have a 22mm drill bit!!lol

 

[Powder keg]

Yea, I gave one of my castings to Birk. I think he's made a dozen engines with the "Pilley wheel" on them now

Looks like your having fun!!! I have a few projects I need to get back onto.

 

[xlchainsaw]

thats the thing with casting ...all you need is a pattern ... here is train track i cast.

this started with 2 peices of mamod track one straight and one curved. i must get back to this project!

 

[Powder keg]

Hey! That's pretty Awesome!!! Those tracks turned out good.

 

[xlchainsaw]

Hey! That's pretty Awesome!!! Those tracks turned out good.

they sure did. im still to machine them so they "hook" together. the track will be twice the size. its for a group im involved with. i went for it!! (casting) believing the group would help to fit it up!! yeah right!!! so its still to be finished but first i have a home built loco to finish and then im back to the track so i can run it!

 

[RobWilson]

Hi XL :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: YOU HAVE BEEN BUSSY

i recognize that green traction engine wheel


Regards Rob

 

[tmuir]

Hi XL :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: YOU HAVE BEEN BUSSY

i recognize that green traction engine wheel


Regards Rob

That wheel gets around. :big:

Here it is back on the roller with one of XLs large brass pulley's half machined sitting on it for show.
I hope to finish it off tonight or tomorrow night.

Looking forward to watching your progress Glen.

 

[Tin Falcon]

Nice stuff the casing furnace has been on my want to do but haven't done finished for some time.
I have the books on the how tos.
Tin

 

[xlchainsaw]

Nice stuff the casing furnace has been on my want to do but haven't done finished for some time.
I have the books on the how tos.
Tin

thats great. i had help from my wife. although she is in a wheelchair i put her to work ramming it up. the base took 1 1/2 hours and the lid took me by myself with mixing and ramming 2 hours. this is my first lined furnace and im pleasantly surprised how easy it was. ive given it a light firing tonight and im very pleased. tomorrow it will get two light firings... then i give it to it!

 

[xlchainsaw]

Hi XL :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: YOU HAVE BEEN BUSSY

i recognize that green traction engine wheel


Regards Rob

thanks rob. i basically followed the gingery method from the book you gave me . i actually enlarged the wheel and machined it back because i wanted a wider wheel but it does machine back to an original size.

 

[xlchainsaw]

That wheel gets around. :big:

Here it is back on the roller with one of XLs large brass pulley's half machined sitting on it for show.
I hope to finish it off tonight or tomorrow night.

Looking forward to watching your progress Glen.

thanks tony. your machine work does the "casting " proud. i gave a big box of seconds to corey so he can get his hand back in on the lathe.... i was going to remelt them but he wanted some practise material.i cant believe how far we all have progressed in the last year.

 

[RobWilson]

Hi XL

the crucibles look great :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: pleased the book came in handy ,,,the engine looks better with its fly wheel on ,,,it a well travelled engine :big: :big:

Regards Rob