Making stuff

So, further to my previous shopping list post, I have constructed some additional stuff. These are the simple items I felt I could manufacture myself for significantly less cost than purchasing.

The first of these was the ramming dolly which I carved out of a handy piece of wood I had lying around the workshop. It’s not massive but should serve me well for the sorts of projects I have in mind.

The dolly is made out of pine and after sanding it smooth I coated it with boiled linseed oil to seal it off a little.

I also made a couple of flasks. One of these was sized for a specific project I have in mind. The second one is smaller although I do wonder whether I need an even smaller one … I may well make a third one if the need calls for it. The smaller of the two in the picture below has a total depth of 4 inches. Again, I’m not sure if I can get away with a shallower flask but I guess it depends upon the depth of the pattern.

The boxes are made out of 12mm plywood purchased from my local DIY store. All sides are securely glued and screwed. Each box was made as a single piece and then cut in half to make the cope and the drag. Lengths of stripwood were fitted inside to assist in holding the moulding sand in place. The tapered keys where then added on each end so that the two halves line up perfectly when engaged together.

The keys were also offset to prevent the cope from being inadvertently placed on the drag the wrong way around. I’m not sure what the likelihood of this happening is but thought it couldn’t do any harm.

Finally, the last bit of kit I constructed was a sand tray which you can see in the photo below with the flasks and dolly sat on top of it.

The tray is designed to contain dry sand over which I intend to pour the molten metal. In the event of a spillage, this will prevent superheated metal coming into contact with the potentially damp concrete floor of my workshop – a situation I’d prefer to avoid! 🙂