Follow rest repair material

[Jwest7788]

maybe mount a thermometer on the ceiling so you can keep an eye on it?

Could you do powder coat curing in it? Lower temp, 350 or 450F i think?

Powder coating was one of the original things I had in mind when I got this thing. I'll need to find a thermometer for in the kiln for curing powder coats, but yes should be possible.

Thermometer on the ceiling is likely a good idea too. Thanks!


For gear, better safe than sorry. I also have a finished floor (kinda) so will need to put some wood down to prevent burning up the epoxy floor coating, and for spills.

 

[Janger]

Powder coating was one of the original things I had in mind when I got this thing. I'll need to find a thermometer for in the kiln for curing powder coats, but yes should be possible.

Thermometer on the ceiling is likely a good idea too. Thanks!


For gear, better safe than sorry. I also have a finished floor (kinda) so will need to put some wood down to prevent burning up the epoxy floor coating, and for spills.

For a thermometer there are versions you connect to a multimeter and can pass in through the observation hole in the kiln. Might be cheap. I have one, not sure how high it goes. Ill check.

 

[Janger]

This guy has 200 fire bricks for cheap! $3 each and he has 200. You can view the ad at Hard Fire Bricks
If you buy them all please let me buy a dozen from you.
@Tom O @Jwest7788

 

[Janger]

A fan is a good idea. Leather welding jacket and long welding gloves. Face shield. Safety boots, heat proof leather. Ive seen interesting boot covers made of leather too. Theres a guy on youtube making the gingery lathe and casting parts. He had all that gear on.

Here is the video with the guy wearing the boot covers while casting, zoom to 27:30 or so.

You gotta admire this guy, he's making a lathe. He has a bunch of videos of the process.

 

[Tom O]

It is quite the undertaking! here is one being build at Madmodders by vsteam http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic,10542.0.html . The casting was interesting as you can see the pattern design is everything any thing you withdraw from the sand should have a slight taper of a couple degrees or you risk the chance of some of the molds edge breaking away as shown in the video the good part is it can be removed. I haven't tryed any cores yet the one he used was a baked core the other type is I belive sodium silicate and hardened with CO2 some using just tupperware and a container of vinegar and baking powder.

 

[Tom O]

I have my own furnace (propane/forced air) here is mine http://madmodder.net/index.php/topic,8920.0.html it works quite well there is also one at protospace. Aluminum isn't that bad but brass is copper and zink and the fumes can make you sick with flu like symptoms, bronze on the other hand is copper and tin but as long as there is good ventilation no real problem.

 

[Tom O]

well powdercoating would be a nice touch here is a oven I found a homemade take down model that looks good!
http://www.powdercoatoven.4t.com

 

[BradH]

Follow rest repair. So I have worn out the brass fingers in my follow rest. I need to replace them. So I went to metal supermarket to get a few things and priced out some brass. $14/pound. A small bar, see below, 0.5" x 2" x 10" is $71. Online metals from the states with shipping to a USA location and exchange is $74. Shipping to Canada total price is well over $100.

So where can I get brass for less than that?

Or alternatively, what else could I use? Aluminium was suggested, I think it would wear very quickly. Oak? Delrin?

What if you were to manufacture the majority of the arm from steel and fit bearings (already suggested) or a small chunk of brass as a tip that can be replaced when worn?

 

[Johnwa]

I was the one at the meeting who does casting. So far it has all been aluminum. Someday I hope to do brass and bronze but I will have to upgrade my furnace for that.

The steady rest on my southbend uses cast iron fingers. There is graphite in cast iron so it is sort of self lubricating. Another option is to use an ordinary steel bar and use an acetylene torch to add some brass to the end.

 

[Tom O]

well if you want to try some brass or bronze your welcome to use my furnace. I'm still learning but doing ok at it I have a a6 clay/graphite salamander but may get a a20 soon for a larger cast I want to do.

 

[Rick Runciman]

UHMW is used for wear plates,, and an awesome material for follower pads,, cheap too.

 

[Johnwa]

well if you want to try some brass or bronze your welcome to use my furnace. I'm still learning but doing ok at it I have a a6 clay/graphite salamander but may get a a20 soon for a larger cast I want to do.

I'm not in at rush but will keep your offer in mind.
I'm still using a steel pot crucible so can't safely do brass. I need to build a larger furnace to fit a proper crucible.
I did pick up 10 lbs of lead free solder, the msds says it is an alloy of silver and tin but gives quite a wide percentage range. I suspect it is mostly tin though, so I should be able to brew my own bronze.