Garys new hobby , NOW with video !!!!!

[KABAR2]

  Not sure what you would use for a filler rod.  Probably the best thing would be small strips from the excess (of which you should intentionally make a few after each pour.)

Now we have a new hobby for RocklockI ........ learning to draw bronze wire for welding.........

And learning how to weld.......

[RocklockI]

  Not sure what you would use for a filler rod.  Probably the best thing would be small strips from the excess (of which you should intentionally make a few after each pour.)

Now we have a new hobby for RocklockI ........ learning to draw bronze wire for welding.........

And learning how to weld.......

yea no kiddin .... doesn't tig reguire a wire feed thing ? i did some gas welding in school  but never 'stick' or mig or tig .

wouldnt it be brazing ? i did some brazing at school . what kind of torch would be needed ? would i feed it the bronze rod which i made ...? while maintianing a puddle ,like welding on a bolt handle ?

A BUNCH OF GOULS AND BUGGY MEN JUST SHOWED UP AT MY DOOOORRR ! AHGGGHHHH !!!!

[KABAR2]

I believe TIG is stick fed, we have one where I work but it has yet to be set up,
I am in the process of designing a downdraft table for using both MIG & TIG in
our machine shop, of course it has to be approved by the fire marshal......
Until then we will have to get that answer as to technique from someone else.

[GGaskill]

Yes, the filler rod is hand fed in TIG (known more formally as GTAW for gas tungsten arc welding) although I have never heard it called a stick, probably because original style electric welding (SMAW using coated electrodes that are about 14" long) is colloquially called "stick welding."

[Victor3]

 TIG (GTAW) is wonderful. Light years ahead of MIG or SMAW welding. It's even possible to weld glass using TIG.

 Phosphor bronze filler, being mainly a copper-tin alloy will probably match your bronze better than silicon bronze filler would.

 I have some 1/8" phosphor bronze rod I could send you if you have access to a TIG welder. I'm not sure exactly what type it is, but it looks pretty 'bronzy.' I imagine you'd have to pre-heat your casting pretty hot and use quite a bit of current to make it work well.

 

[RocklockI]

Vic3 , I do appericiate the offer  ......and I may take you up on the offer at some point ..., but right now all this chat about a 'new hobby' has and is inspiring me to make the absolute best friggin wax I can make and then cast it in the best way that I can .

This first smee has taught me a ton ......There will always be little imperfections IMHO , so
maybe one of those little mirco torches form a hobby store for small pinish..size voids ?
Gary

 

[Victor3]

 Those little butane 'pencil torches' are great for lighting cigarettes (if you have a cigarette lighter handy to light the torch with). Not too good for fixing castings though.

 An inexpensive oxy-mapp torch and some bronze brazing rod might be useful for filling small surface voids...

http://doitbest.com/Propane+Torches+and+Accessories-Bernzomatic-model-WB5-doitbest-sku-315125.dib

 You could also drill out the void, drive a piece of bronze rod into the hole and file it flush.

[RocklockI]

Those little butane 'pencil torches' are great for lighting cigarettes (if you have a cigarette lighter handy to light the torch with). Not too good for fixing castings though.

 An inexpensive oxy-mapp torch and some bronze brazing rod might be useful for filling small surface voids...

http://doitbest.com/Propane+Torches+and+Accessories-Bernzomatic-model-WB5-doitbest-sku-315125.dib

 You could also drill out the void, drive a piece of bronze rod into the hole and file it flush.

Ureka! that sounds like agreat idea !!!! thanks for that tip ,it never crossed my mind .  i owe you one for that !!

[KABAR2]

From my experience with torches I am thinking Smee will act as a big heat sink and the braze will just sit on the surface not really filling the voids,

you may have to place Smee in the kiln and heat it up first before attempting to use the torch.

[GGaskill]

Welding with a torch requires heating the whole base metal quite hot and you need a serious torch to do that.  Electric welding, TIG in particular, is so much hotter than a gas flame that you can melt the metal in a confined area without having to heat the whole object. 

The little pencil and related butane torches are good for melting wax and soldering low mass objects but have no chance of bringing a large object to welding temperatures.  Don't even waste your time. 

See if you can find a used Miller Econotig; they are somewhat behind the state of the art these days but I have had one for 15 years and used it for all my welding until I bought the inverter welder a couple of years ago.  It should be more than adequate for bronze casting repair.  And buy the argon cylinder rather than renting it.  You won't use it fast enough to keep from paying more rent than a purchase would be.

[KABAR2]

Both Miller & Hobart make good machines, I know people who have bought import models furnished by Harbor Freight,

and have had good results at a fraction of the cost, I mention this because unless you plan on doing a lot of welding these

units will do the job and won't break the bank.

[Victor3]

From my experience with torches I am thinking Smee will act as a big heat sink and the braze will just sit on the surface not really filling the voids,

you may have to place Smee in the kiln and heat it up first before attempting to use the torch.

 Yes, it will be a heat sink. Some large bronze castings I've seen repaired had to be pre-heated so the filler material would stick.

 Fortunately, Gary does have a couple of ways to heat stuff up plenty warm.

[RocklockI]

"Take Heart , and Prepare to CHARGE BOYS , SMEE IS RAINING HOT DEATH ON THE BASTAGES TONIGHT Hurraay!!!!!!  

"Patch" my first born Smee is laying them low tonight ! He's isnt a pretty boy ,he is shelling the with deadly and standard 1.5 " Bunker Buster green fuse factory made cracker  .

There are no prisoners with this fodder .....it is ashame   I must do this work . But I must .

Of course there are no wounded , injured or other wise distrgruntled individuales either .

well maybe the nieghbors dog ....... I have conquered his asc ! And will soon play 'Imagrant song' long and loud .


I comand all that I can see   , line of sight !!!     within 40 feet of me ! Eighty feet ! that is my kingdom .

Gary

happy happy joy joy , I made a cannon that went Pop !.......bang   !

Eta , I did video it , but i have no clue how to post it ....?

  

[Victor3]

 Here's an interesting article on making plaster molds from the turn of the century...

http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-mechanics/Amateur-Work-5/Casting-In-Plaster-Molds.html

 There are some other articles related to pattern making and casting in this compilation of Amateur Work Magazine also...

http://chestofbooks.com/crafts/popular-mechanics/Amateur-Work-5/index.html

 Look through all the volumes to learn how Grandpa did a lot of stuff. I could spend days reading them. Interesting stuff for the do-it-yourself type.

 Note that you have to scroll all the way down to find the "next" button if an article has multiple pages.

[RocklockI]

First smee and second smee !



Shinning at Filipstad !

[dan610324]

WOW  WOW 
Gary have you seen what happened ??
you just got the doll 
congratulation

ok what did you do ??
useing a wire wheel and buffing wheel ??  or what ??

[RocklockI]

WOW  WOW 
Gary have you seen what happened ??
you just got the doll 
congratulation

ok what did you do ??
useing a wire wheel and buffing wheel ??  or what ??

I Got a Kewpie Doll !

files , sandpaper with elbow grease . no tricks here .

Smee ,this ones name is 'Patch' is happy too ! 

[Cannoneer]

Congratulations, Rocklock! You got the odd little fellow for your founding efforts, and I'll be damned if I'm not envious. For cryin' out loud, I'm starting to feel like Bob Hope at the Oscars.

[dan610324]

now we just wait for the smoke and fire  

and of course a full report on what you found when fileing, sanding and drilling
was it much impurities in the center of the casting ??
or anywhere else ??

you sure have worked hard to get that doll

[Double D]

WOW  WOW 
Gary have you seen what happened ??
you just got the doll 
congratulation

ok what did you do ??
useing a wire wheel and buffing wheel ??  or what ??

It's for the original version and not the boot camp-Navy version!

[dan610324]

he he he

wait a few years and it will have another color

I would guess that almost all cannons have been in that shiny condition when they was new

what I found out from old documents they scrubed the fresh castings with sand and I would guess that it gave them some kind of semi glossy aperance , as the last finish they rubbed 2 bricks against eachother and collected the dust from them and mixed with grease from a pig and  polished the surface with that .

so I guess they all have been shiny , more or less shiny at least when they was new

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Getting it that shiny just lets you even out the surface, so you can get a nice, even patina on it.  Bet if Gary left it outside for a few days at my house, the humid air would have it looking great in no time!

Congratulations on the Kewpie!

I'm also interested in what you found when you drilled it.  Any inclusions?  If not, I'd like to see a picture of a fire breathing Smee!

[dan610324]

even if should have been full of hydrogen bubbles and slag I would still dare to use it as a firecracker cannon with 6-8 grains of ffg
I would guess its approximately 2" in diameter around the chamber
so its 3 times the neccessary wall thickness I guess
in the photo the bore looks good

lets hear now gary how it was to drill it
did it eat drill bits because of slag or was it simple to drill

its easier to work on copper alloys if you have an slightly negative cutting angle on the tools
on drills I just use a sharpening stone and reduce the sharp edge a little

[GGaskill]

In my experience, machining silicon bronze requires carbide tooling.  HSS get eaten alive.

[dan610324]

what I know I have never worked in silicone bronz , but would guess that its similar to tin bronze
hss works well for me if its a good casting, but if its lots of slag in it then its lots of problems
thats why I was curious to know how it was to drill the bore
you can also have a very hard surface on the casting , most of that disappear with sandblasting
its the same with most cast metals that you got a much harder thin skin on the surface
sorry dont know the technical correct words , but I hope you understand anyway

[Zulu]

You could name the second one "Smoe"
Congrads on the kewpie!
Zulu

[GGaskill]

Skin is as good a word for that as any.

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

First word that comes to mind which may be better is case, hence the term case hardening (not saying that's what applies to the condition described in casting, because I have relatively little knowledge of casting).  Of course, skin is easily understood by anyone, so it's fitting.

[RocklockI]

thanks everyone ! It will be as shinny as i can get it , then I will let 'patch' patina nicley .

as far as drilling , I sharpened the bits nice and sharp they went thru real good . There was a funny feeling along the way ....the bit sort of plunged itself a couple of times ...?

I dont know what it was as the bore is smooth the vent bit did the same thing , kinda got 'grabed' by the bronze and drilled very fast for a short time ...? maybe both bit edges were not cutting the same ...?

It was chambered today   counter bore with an end mill with some funnelage to help in loading  , the chamber is .22 cal. 1/8" inch deep . 8 to 10 grs cleans with  a Q tip .

the dia. of the breech end is 1.75 . the chamber is .22 the walls surrondding thickness is about 3/4" .75

So i feel safe    there was no porossity that I noticed

gary

Ike manning patch  

chips

boring

[RocklockI]

Pics of chips just above ....i added them later and am not sure the interested parties saw the edit ?