The Restoration Merry Go Round.

June 25, 2004 -- The joy of turning a great hulking oil or steam engine, from a heap of rust, into an item of gleaming iron, brass, and paint, is no doubt a great enjoyment for enthusiasts spending countless hours dismantling,inspecting, cleaning, polishing & refurbishing the old cast iron & brass monsters of yesteryear.

One of the biggest problems encountered by restorers of all things old is, a great many parts are always corroded & deteriorated, the constant search for replacement parts can be a real headache, not to mention the time lost in trying to source or locate that small, but absolutely vital part necessary to complete your restoration project.

If the part happens to be an item which was originally machined, then the old part can be measured & used to create a new part, either by the restorer, or by a professional machine shop.

If the restorer has the required workshop skills & equipment, then remaking of any special parts can be easily undertaken in the home workshop for the relatively low cost of materials only, as time, etc, is not generally a cost factor.

But, what if your "vital missing part" is made of cast iron, aluminium, brass or bronze, and can't be made by machining alone ...what then?

It would appear that the only thing to do would be to visit your local foundry jobbing shop (if you can find one), to make a pattern from the old part and recast a new component for you, which will still require machining, and finishing, ready to fit onto your restoration pride & joy.    

The professional cost of this exercise (pattern, casting, machining) can be significant, to say the least, some restorers may simply accept this and not worry too much.

The budget conscious restorer may not wish to pay for professional work of this nature, which will empty ones wallet at a rapid rate.

The Alternative is:
DIY, or Do It Your self, it is possible to carry out a complete self rebuild or remake of most parts required to rebuild old engines etc,
and metal casting in the home workshop is the answer to this

The skills required to remake wooden patterns of small parts is not as difficult to learn as you might expect, like wise the basic skills needed to make sand moulds. To melt metal and pour it into sand moulds can be learnt by most people who possess the ability to absorb and learn the basic skills, as well as the skills required to fabricate the simple tools & equipment required to carry out hobby foundry work.

Metal casting in the home workshop can complete the picture when it comes to major restoration projects, your home foundry can save you a lot of time & money while undertaking restoration projects.

There will be no need to spend days scrounging around swap meets looking for that illusive or unobtainable part...you'll just make it your self.

Items the home metal casting worker will be able to create range from small handles, various knobs, wheels, bushings, bronze bearing shells, name plates, covers...the list of remake itemsis limited only by your imagination.

A free ebook download is available from our web site, which allows People to read at their own pace to see if metal casting is "for them"
or not.

There are also other free ebook downloads that contain old time formulas and hints. which could be handy when working on old items.

Or perhaps you want to know how to make your own charcoal, well that's all there to, and for FREE, so get to it and make several bag fulls for your forge, cupola or furnace.

myhomefoundry.com have been helping many people all over the world,to rediscover how easy it is to utilise hobby metal casting, to reproduce
almost any part required for restoration projects, such as old oil engines, vintage & classic cars and antiques of all kinds.

The URL of the web site is: http://www.myhomefoundry.com

Contact information:
Col Croucher
Administrator of The home foundry publications
http://www.myhomefoundry.com
fax + 61 3 57 224 654
Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia



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