New progress on the Morko ......now W/ SUCCSESS ! and NEW wax

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Ok, that's what I thought you were meaning in the last description.  Is the bronze poured only into the white areas?  It seems that some would flow into the feeders throughout the pouring process.  I initially thought it would be poured into the main feeder tube and the white bells (filling up the white bells then filling the feeder tube), which seems like it would do about the same thing, though this configuration may give a more even flow of hot material into the feeders throughout the pouring, keeping the feeder material hotter for longer.

[GGaskill]

Is the bronze poured only into the white areas?

No, remember the wax is upside down in these pictures.  The bronze will be poured into the red square cavity which will contain a ceramic filter.  It will flow down the big red sprue to the bottom of the Morkos and then flow up through the Morkos.  Once the level reaches the upper laterals, it will flow through them into the white shrink feeders, putting the hottest metal in them at the end of the pour.

[RocklockI]

Andy , come on  , help me to help you  , it's a simple matter of rearranging your thoughts to where you can see upside down  , B4 you can see right side up .

But in reality you really need to see it both ways at the same time time .....very much like being in 3D or water imersion ,

Bubbles up baby   , think and live . Kinda an alphbetical indifferance ,

Tonight ! there is a Blue moon W/ partial eclipse in the northern climes . ON NEW YEARS EVE !!!!!!! thats sweet ! I bet that happens 1 time in 30 K years . Get out there and look up !  


Oh  yea ! also in Negative and Positives too ,......yep at the same time . Solids are voids and Vise versa .

The inside out and upside down , left is right sillyness , plus the upward moving bubblage's are fine by me . It sings  

Andy , are you picking up what I'm laying down ?  

BTW yours is the one on the right if you look at it from the pouring sprue being in front .

Gary
btw #2......texture on the tail of a frill shark ? It's male for christ sake ! They dont have any scales on their tails ,unless you go to the lesser known Braverian Frill Shark  . Those wine bibbling ,beer swilling deep dwellin scaley tails have no place in decent company .....  

Sorry   I'm just having some sport wit you !


Tracy you ruined my New Years Eve Celibration ! The Dom made French 75 is loaded with a blank ....but I cant bring myself to torch it ...........the ozone above , high overhead has only recently recovered since the ....'last time' . Plus I'm sure at least one neighbor has 911 on speed dial now .

I can almost hear the damn helos warming up in Denver ......Tracy ! I owe you booby . Flight of the Valkrie music blarring !!!!!

One cracker and I'm a gonner . maybe I'll just yell bang outside in 4 mins .

I faced my fears and overcame them 






 

[Ex 49'er]

One cracker and I'm a gonner . maybe I'll just yell bang outside in 4 mins . 

If you yell: "Bang"   at least you won't have to clean it in the morning. Happy New Year, Gary!!!!!!!!

Morko's are looking good. This is an interesting thread. Looking forward to more.

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Ok, so the bronze flows to level itself off like water, down the tube, and up the Morkos...got it.  The difficulty is picturing the viscosity of molten bronze.

BTW, this is the sort of fringed shark I was thinking of, which looks a fair bit different than yours, but you were saying yours was "loosely based" on one, so I didn't know to what extent you were loosely basing it.:

[dan610324]

Gary dont forget the funnel , without that one you will just use a very small piece of the filter and it will end up as a very slow pour , that could give you difficulties

gulfcoast , molten bronze is somewhere in between water and syrup , just a tiny bit hotter 
castings in this size should be done at a mold temperatyre of 450 - 500 celsius and bronze temp at approximately 1150
smaller things may need 600 - 625 celsius in mold temp and 1200 celsius in bronze temperature
larger items as an full size coehorn for example could be cast in an almost cold mold , maybe 200 celsius ,
with an bronze temperature of approximately 1100 - 1120 celsius
its a bit difficult to explain
it flows good , but brass flows better
so far I havent seen any original cannon made from brass , and bronze is in my opinion also more beautiful

[RocklockI]

Funnel ...what funnel? are you talking about the filter recesse ?

GulfCoast Yep thats the ugly thing allright . In that serries of 4 pics the thing looks differant in every picture . None of them are good !

Viscosity of syrup ? mine is MUCH closer to water than syrup . all these months and hours of thinking ,working , doing .......IT ALL comes down to having the bronze ready to pour at the 14 hour burnout mark ....

Then there is 30 secs of fluxing ,skimming getting the crucible into the pouring shank .

Then 5-10 secs of pouring and .........its a done deal .

The only other part of this that has a dropdead timelimit is the investing .....@7-8 mins from getting it wet till done and in the flask . And if this goes wrong after the pouring of investment begins .....the whole friggin thing is a bust .

I dont even winch anymore looking at those Bronze Model Guns from Europe when the tube is 3-4-5 K dollars .....Part of why I'm posting this is to show just how much is involved in doing this .

I would give almost anything to sit and listen to the guy who made Morko around a fire at night ,

Awe is the word !

[dan610324]

check this attacment again Gary
its important to use as much as possible of the filter area

yeah you are correct , its much closer to water then syrup , just didnt know how I should describe it .
if I say its like raspberry syrup maybe someone will point out that its the wrong color   

[RocklockI]

I can add that easy enough . I must have been sleeping thru that lesson ....sorry .

Still nothing from your email today .....

I can almost here it now .

"Great sounds like a great pour ! Gary ! ,As long as the inversion dampers were angled in towards the Obsfuctionachamber . Next to the minor input location for the interceptuall disapator or tockknocker ."

uuh h   hhhuug yea I did all that
But I'm gonna have to call the plumber to install them tomorrow

Gary

[carronader]

just get the damn thing poured..........then... maybe even from me...you get the awe.........well......I maybe be nice for a day.............Hurry up !

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Mmmm...syrup!!!  Can you pour some on some waffles for me?

It makes much more sense with that in mind!

Bet you really had no idea what you were getting yourself into when you first thought it would be nice to cast some bronze, Gary!

[dan610324]

wouldnt be any problem as long as you got enough of asbestos in your waffles   

[seacoastartillery]

      Rodney Dangerfield once said, "I came from a real tough neighborhood, I put my hand in some cement and felt another hand."  I'm beginning to feel as he did, that I don't get no respect.  I answer people's questions, but I get no response.  I am continually castigated for blowing up your backyard.  Huh, a little miscalculation, I mean just an itty bitty small one and I hear about it forever.

      And, when I finally come up with a breakthrough idea, I get no credit at all, not even an honorable mention.  Example of a really thorny problem in the casting preparation process is the strictly limited time allowed to mix the large quantity of investment material needed to invest 3 Morkos simultaneously.  See Gary's own description below:

          

The only other part of this that has a drop-dead time limit is the investing .....@ 7-8 mins from getting it wet till done and in the flask . And if this goes wrong after the pouring of investment begins .....the whole friggin thing is a bust .

[/color]

      So, when I mentioned to Gary that he could use one of these hand drill mounted, paint mixing, stirrers to quickly and thoroughly mix his investment powder and water quickly and surely, do you think his excitement over the phone would translate into a simple mention?
Well, did anybody see one?  Anyway, I'm used to this treatment so I guess all this complaining is just evidence of the New Years resolution blues.  Oh well, the item is pictured below and I will test it out as I use it to mix a big batch of Plaster of Paris up so I can show my grandson how to cast animal tracks; I saw a set of coyote tracks behind our fence and a set of muskrat tracks down by nearby Cottonwood Creek.

I really don't need a Thank You, but I will be pleasantly surprised if ANY comment is uttered.

T.K.

These are available at Ace Hardware for about 6 dollars.  You just pop the blue hanger and tag off and place into your hand drill chuck.

[RocklockI]

    So, when I mentioned to Gary that he could use one of these hand drill mounted, paint mixing, stirrers to quickly and thoroughly mix his investment powder and water quickly and surely, do you think his excitement over the phone would translate into a simple mention?
Well, did anybody see one?  Anyway, I'm used to this treatment so I guess all this complaining is just evidence of the New Years resolution blues.  Oh well, the item is pictured below and I will test it out as I use it to mix a big batch of Plaster of Paris up so I can show my grandson how to cast animal tracks; I saw a set of coyote tracks behind our fence and a set of muskrat tracks down by nearby Cottonwood Creek.

I really don't need a Thank You, but I will pleasantly surprised if ANY comment is uttered.

T.K.

These are available at Ace Hardware for about 6 dollars.  You just pop the blue hanger and tag off and place into your hand drill chuck.


Oh yea I got your comment ......swinging on a Whahh Tree .

I atolya it was a great idea ! When you bring your drill up for the 'event ' leave a little earlier a pick one up for me . Make sure it will fit your drill .

BTW .....Tracy that will be a great Grandpa /Grandson adventure ,I've never actually seen a plaster casting in the snow   .... IIRC I saw Barney Fife do it one time .

"The New Years Resolution Blues ... " Wasnt that one of "The Soggy Bottom Boys biggest hits "
"No Cotton Pickin way Muskie"

Oh Brother' try casting the tracks of your tears .  

Ohhhee "that was a good one"

Gary

You got your nerve Nilly Willie !

[Victor3]

 Gary,

 I hope all goes well. Sure is a ton of work you've put into this and you deserve to have it pay off in good castings.

 After reading your posts on the subject, looks like it's gonna only be sand casting for me. I don't think I'll ever have the time, resources or your artistic ability to do lost wax...

[RocklockI]

Gary,

 I hope all goes well. Sure is a ton of work you've put into this and you deserve to have it pay off in good castings.

 After reading your posts on the subject, looks like it's gonna only be sand casting for me. I don't think I'll ever have the time, resources or your artistic ability to do lost wax...

Dont underestimate sand casting it can be very good . IM me if you are interested in it . I've found some very good sources for doing it .

[GGaskill]

Three of my four half scale mountain howitzers and the half scale Coehorn were sand cast.  The only real difficulty with sand casting is getting/making flasks that allow vertical pours.  And then manhandling the heavy moulds without damaging them.

[dan610324]

just one small advise gary , use very cold water when mixing the investment .
that will give you a minute or so in extra working time before the investment sets .

as this is a family board you will have some problems when you are going to explain how you do to get the trapped airbubbles out of the investment mix  

many years ago I worked at a company that had an large iron foundry also , when they made large and complicated sand molds they add a little standard cement to the sand , just to make the molds a little more easy to handle without to destroy the sand
it will be a little more difficult to remove the sand from the casting , but not that difficult if you use the correct amount of cement , should just be very little .
I dont know any proportions

[RocklockI]

Thanks for that tip Dan I will use it for sure !

Since it is a family board , I will leave the 'excessive bubble extraction disposal and it's intricate detail to you Master . .

What attracts me to sand casting is ONE thing ! No BURNOUT (14hours of babysitting) and you can pour many casting at once because there is no limiting size restrictions in the burnout oven .

I will try it sometime ...... but As there are about as many ways to do things as there are casters ,it's a 'free form ' hobby . as long as you dont vilolate certain paramiters.

[RocklockI]

Today I invested the three Morkos WITH MUCH help from MT !  Tracys idea to use a paint stirring attatchment saved the day ....!

32 lbs of investmentment   THATS A BUNCH ! We laid it all out and it went off like clock work .




In the top pic you can see 32 lbs of investment in three containers ....including my wifes spaghetti boiling pot . Done cleaned and into the dishwasher slick as a whistle ,nobody knows nothin bout anythinnn !  

Bottom pic shows some of the flask all taped up ,ready for investing ,and the last known pic of the 3 Jezzs .

Tracy has some much better pics ,I hope he will post them . I was kinda busy .

32 lbs investment mixed with water done and poured in 6 mins flat ! smooth , real smooth .

Gary

[RocklockI]

here is the only pic I have of the flask just after pouring .

No clue what happened to Tracy and his 'in process' pics ...?

[seacoastartillery]

    Haste makes waste, Gary.  I'm pretty sure you will be pleased with these pics.  You can readily see what Gary and Mike had to do to pull off a perfect investment pour, but you don't know what I do except take photos.  I'm the "Cleaner"; I eliminate all potential problems which could negate a perfect job, like removing all tripping hazards, suggesting work flow patterns and keeping tools in handy places.

Tracy and Mike


Here Gary applies some wax to the bottom edge of the investment container.  This will bond to the layer of wax on the cardboard attached to the top of the lost wax assemble which is shown upside down in the next pic.




The Tri-Morko Wax Assembly




Accurately weighing the investment powder into two bins of 10 lbs. and one spaghetti pot with 12 lbs. for 32 lbs total.




12 pints of water goes in first, then 32 pounds of powder; Mike uses the paint mixer near the bottom of the bucket.




Gary tossed the wisk and picked up the spatula which proved to be a perfect tool to direct the lumps and bottom corner of bucket material into the paint mixer. 




The first bit of thoroughly mixed investment cascades over the wax as everyone holds their breath and fervently hopes NOT to see any floating pieces of wax, (remember, those Morkos are Hollow, not solid).




Pouring continues quickly to this point.  Still no 'floaters'!!  I suggested to fill 'er up to give the bottom of the fired investment waiting for the heavy, molten bronze more support to resist the forceful surge of metal.  They did.  The pour was done logically and almost perfectly.
There was one teeny, tiny leak at the bottom edge of the flask, easily stopped.  Next time two layers of masking tape instead of one.




One very pleased Backyard Bronze Foundry Guy.

[carronader]

I hope very much all goes well....................good luck Muskie .

[dan610324]

good teamwork guys

Im so jeallous when I see you outside in the sun, but shorts ??
here we got almost 2 feet snow and -11 degrees celsius
so no shorts for me yet , maybe in the end of may  

ok Gary , now its just the 14 hour babysitting and pouring to wait for

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Is it warming up yet, Gary, or did you just decide you couldn't wait any longer?  The snow on the ground makes me think it still may be a little too cold to do the actual casting, in spite of the shorts.

[GGaskill]

Did you take the investment into the garage so it doesn't freeze?

[Victor3]

Did you take the investment into the garage so it doesn't freeze?

 I was thinking just the opposite.

 Is it possible for a large volume of curing P of P to generate enough heat to distort the wax at all, or does the flask/plaster hold the wax in position regardless?

[RocklockI]

It was never frozen . The powder invsetment is stored in the garage . I brought the flask in B4 dark .
The wax does not melt untill the the burnout oven melts/burns the wax out .
If it did ......there will be no morkos .

Gary