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Ammco 6" Metal shaper

The next issue at hand is the side cover. I have noticed that many old machines like these are missing the side cover. Options, do nothing, a sheet metal cover, cast an aluminum cover. Option number 3 it is.

There is a fair bit to cover here and it will take me several posts. Here I go. I did this based on pictures and video that I have seen on YouTube and the internet. It is a guess for sizing.
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Patterns are normally made from soft tight grain wood like basswood or willow. I have some basswood in the shop that is big enough for this small pattern I will be making and I do not need to joint and glue boards together. A 7" square blank 2" thick is cut and fastened to the Harrison face plate.
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I know some will say you should not turn wood on a metal lathe, soaks up the oil, jams under the ways. Okay that is correct, but I sold my Beaver bench top wood lathe years ago, that did not go well, but that is for another time.
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The blank is faced to make it flat and then turned to size.
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Then turned over and turned to size of the opening, minus the flange.

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Then cut from the blank, remember one of these. My arm is sore and I had to stop 4 times. The saw is a bit dull as well, but I managed.
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The part is too big to chuck in my Harrison as I don't have outside jaws for the chuck so I fastened it to the face plate of my Myford ML7.
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Test fit on the shaper.
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Looking at old pictures a section remains for the fastening knob. It is easier to install with a bit of bondo then mill the centre.
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Ready for some paint. I just use engine enamel from a spray can.

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Several coats of paint are required to seal the grain on the wood. A removable Tang is fitted, as it needs to be removable for ramming the sand around the pattern.
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A nail board is used so that I can paint of both sides without waiting for one side to dry.

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There is a lot still to come on this, but that is the way it goes. I did shoot video as well, when I get a chance I will assemble and post to my YouTube channel.


TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
TonyK said:
The next issue at hand is the side cover. I have noticed that many old machines like these are missing the side cover. Options, do nothing, a sheet metal cover, cast an aluminum cover.
Click to expand...

Looks GREAT if you ask me. If at some point, you decide you want a casting, and after mine arrives, I'll ship you my cover (which is there and is intact) to make a mould. I can live without it for however long that takes.
 
Susquatch said:
Looks GREAT if you ask me. If at some point, you decide you want a casting, and after mine arrives, I'll ship you my cover (which is there and is intact) to make a mould. I can live without it for however long that takes.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the offer, my posts are behind the actual time line. The part has been cast and installed on the machine.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Dabbler said:
I really like the idea of the bondo section for the handle. I never would have come up with that!
Click to expand...
In the mid 90's I was working in a foundry in Hamilton Ontario, once called Dominion Foundries then bought out by an American company and renamed Dominion Castings. We were installing a 30 ton 60Hz electric arc furnace to replace 2 12 ton 25 Hz electric arc furnaces. From time to time when not on the furnace floor I went into the pattern shop. These guys are amazing workers and me being me a look and then ask questions kind of person I asked a lot of questions. They didn't use bondo so to speak but a more refined product that did the same thing. And that is what this form is all about, sharing ideas and exposure to all kinds of things. This is unique group of people on this forum, dabblers, thinkers and doer's. Most younger people have no idea of what we know or can do, sad, all looking for recognition of being some one on social media.

Thank you for the kind comments. I learn a lot from this group as well.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Thanks for the overall weight. Very interesting. I would have guessed double that.

TonyK said:
Thank you for the offer, my posts are behind the actual time line. The part has been cast and installed on the machine.
Click to expand...

No problem. If you ever change your mind, just let me know.
 
Continuing on. I decided to make some new flasks. I really should have made them smaller as in the end once rammed with sand they were very heavy and used up all of my sand for such a small part.

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Next I needed to sift the sand. I have a sheet of thin plastic on the table saw to keep things orderly.

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Now the first mistake. I forgot to dust the pattern with talc and really should have had the parting line on the pattern in two sections parting at the flange. For some reason my mind just wasn't working.
Also you can see how big the flask is for such a small part. I have cast odd shape parts that have no parting line on the pattern. The flask is turned over.
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At this point I need to carve out the flange on the pattern and have it completed on the other side of the flask. ( cope is the top of the pattern) I use some small artist tools to carve the sand.
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Next mistake. I forgot to install the tang on the cover and only realized after I parted the mold to remove the pattern. It has been awhile since I have done this. So I had to install the tang and re-do the Drag. Looking at the pictures, there are gaps as I also shot video of the process which gives more detail. When I get a chance I will assemble the clips and post on my YouTube channel.


TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 

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TonyK said:
Continuing on. I decided to make some new flasks. I really should have made them smaller as in the end once rammed with sand they were very heavy and used up all of my sand for such a small part.

View attachment 61877View attachment 61878

Next I needed to sift the sand. I have a sheet of thin plastic on the table saw to keep things orderly.

View attachment 61879View attachment 61880

View attachment 61881

Now the first mistake. I forgot to dust the pattern with talc and really should have had the parting line on the pattern in two sections parting at the flange. For some reason my mind just wasn't working.
Also you can see how big the flask is for such a small part. I have cast odd shape parts that have no parting line on the pattern. The flask is turned over.
View attachment 61882View attachment 61883View attachment 61884

At this point I need to carve out the flange on the pattern and have it completed on the other side of the flask. ( cope is the top of the pattern) I use some small artist tools to carve the sand.View attachment 61885View attachment 61886

Next mistake. I forgot to install the tang on the cover and only realized after I parted the mold to remove the pattern. It has been awhile since I have done this. So I had to install the tang and re-do the Drag. Looking at the pictures, there are gaps as I also shot video of the process which gives more detail. When I get a chance I will assemble the clips and post on my YouTube channel.


TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
Click to expand...
Looking forward to seeing the casting.
 
I think mine are 12 x 18 definitely too heavy I also use the angle iron to line up both halves then put a nut on them to discourage any separation of them while pouring
 
140mower said:
There are no mistakes, only signature moves......:cool:
Looks like you have a pretty well rounded out shop. Toys to play with wood, metal, and fire.....how cool is that.
Click to expand...
I built the shop attached to my house back in 1983. The garage is 1800 square feet, cement block 12' 6" ceiling, front 900 square feet are for cars, the back is my work shop. When built I only used half of it, just didn't have much for tools. Over the years as I wanted to do a project I acquired more tools. It never ends. The fellow that I purchased the lathes, tool grinder and shaper from made this comment to me. If at 18 years old someone gave you access to 100,000 square foot warehouse, by the time you die it would be full. We live to our space and that is the truth. In 2006 I built a 1300 square foot pole barn and it is now full as well. At 69 years old, I am out there most of the time working on something. I like a challenge.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Nice! I do all my sand molding and casting out of my 12x16 detached shed, I can get a lot done in there but space to lay down more than a few molds at a time is the main bottleneck. Looking forward to seeing the casting!

Jeff
 
Tobho Mott said:
Nice! I do all my sand molding and casting out of my 12x16 detached shed, I can get a lot done in there but space to lay down more than a few molds at a time is the main bottleneck. Looking forward to seeing the casting!

Jeff
Click to expand...
I have been under the weather for the past 3 days and have not been out in the shop but have some more progress pictures. Some mistakes made, but I managed to salvage the part.
Will get to it shortly.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Downwindtracker2 said:
Oh, how I envy your 1800 square feet. I have a double garage, half a 12'x14' shed and under a sundeck. However,others will get after me for boasting. Such is life.

I'm really impressed by your work, BTW.
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Thank you. Life is full of dreams and know one knows where it will takes us. I live on a 3 acre rural lot in Grimsby I never imagined I would be doing any of this when I built my house. Just remember 900 square feet of the 1800 is car garage and my wife puts her car in there and I have to small vintage sports cars. The shop is 900 square feet. I have to say my wife is very understanding and I can say tolerant, I park the RAM 2500 outside. I will digress a bit here as I know this is Canadian Hobby Metal Workers, metal being the medium, however how much different is machining wood. The reason I do what I do, is because it is a challenge and I want what I want and do not want to settle for something less than that. So I study and think and build. When I was living at home with my dad, he taught me how to fell trees, bigger trees up to 36"diameter. In the winters we would fell trees and skid them out of farmers bush lots, my neighbour has a Wood Miser Saw mill. We made all of the cabinets and trim for the house for a fraction of what it would cost to order and pay for it. I purchased the machines, ground the tools that I needed and molded the wood. The cost, was time, personal friendships and being more isolated in my private life. I don't go to bars nor watch sports. Nothing totally wrong with that, just different, everything comes with a price, it is who I am. I can work alone and enjoy what I am doing. Dad and I worked side by side for 30 years in my spare time, weekends, holidays and barely spoke a word while working, we just understood what had to be done and did it. When someone would join us for a day in the shop they were totally lost and could not understand how we were building something and not talking.

Attached are two pictures of my kitchen completed in 2004, took dad and I 9 months to build it. I purchased 3 standing wild cherry trees for $100 each from a farmer in Cambridge
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. We used the space in the kitchen and custom built what was needed. Hand built is never CNC perfect, but displays an individual character of the creator. With the house finished and renovated I moved on to cars and metal same work ethic. Dad is 97 and has been in a home for the last 8 years, that too is different working by myself.

All the best.

TonyK.

Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
Beautiful work Tony, I love that kitchen. Good thing the Wife isn't around looking over my shoulder....I also love the diversion of conversation, and always realize we are all more similar than different.....Sad to hear that your Father isn't available to help in the shop anymore. That's tough to see them like that, I went through it with my Mother for 6 years. Glad to hear that you got to spend so many good working years together though. That's more of a treasure than those cabinets.

I've always loved the look of Cherry. My favourite wood by far. My Gramps property up north had an abundance of Black cherry, and I can remember stacking many bf of it coming off the old circular sawmill. I still have some 8/4 boards here from the last time in the mid 90's and will someday make a tool chest from it. I don't have enough to make a whole chest, but have enough to do the bookmatched drawer faces, and tambour front panel I want to do. Some heart/sapwood pieces with unique colour. Been carting this stuff around for 20+ years, and will get to it someday......I have some Cherry around the property here, but it's still a bit too small to mill at around 8-10" dbh. Maybe that's what I'm waiting for.....the trees to grow and for me to finish building my bandsaw mill lol. As the snow melts I'll have to tour around and do some trail maintenance I'll check them again and see if I need to get going on the mill :D.
 
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