A great example of the old saying. "Necessity is the Mother of Invention". Good work.

Very clever ideas! From the incredibly simple string, to the elaborate precision arm that you designed. Well done!

Some really great tips for those of us with shaking hands. Thanks for sharing these invaluable hints, it will make a tremendous difference to a lot of folk. Another great video, thanks Mark.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Adapt and overcome! Regards, Mark

The Preso Stability Mold Lift ........ awesome execution. 👍👍😎👍👍

Love your presentation. You have a very pleasant voice to listen to. You might want to thread the end of your lifting guide, so that it works as a tap guide as well, with screw on adapters such as a drill chuck. I prefer the string, as it can be done off the work bench.

Great camera work as always. Thanks Mark!

The string system is all together the best method, it is simple to make, and the best of the two systems, the crane system has the disadvantage of still allowing sideways movement due to the clearance needed to be able to run in the overhead bush, I can see the string method, providing the CofG is marked on the pattern, being fool proof. Many thanks for posting this! Chris

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

As it turns out, if you design your patterns in Autodesk Inventor, Solidworks or Fusion360, the CAD software will tell you exactly where the centre of gravity will be. Regards, Mark

My hands shake due to medications I take. Been dealing with it so long that I've just gotten used to ruining a few molds every time I want to cast. Never crossed my mind that I could make a tool like this. Thanks so much for putting up this video!!!

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

My issue gets worse when I have the camera running. I believe it's called the "observer effect". In most cases, bumping the mould cavity just makes the casting bigger, but I have had lumps of sand fall down into some hidden spot and you don't always see it until after the pour is done. In those situations the casting will have a defect that you cannot fix by filing or grinding. Regards, Mark

I have the shaky hands curse too! That's a very good idea!

Really great idea Preso 👍

I like it. I've had the same notion... "Why don't any of these... casters... use a lifting gizmo of some kind?" They have minimal assisting devices, but with my motor skills, I can't imagine doing it without something like what you've made! Seems obvious to me; I'm glad you made it for real -- simple and effective. My imaginary one had linear rails. :-)

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

You should have seem my initial sketches. Rack and pinion mechanisms, (also thought about linear V slot rail) but in the end I went with the KISS principal. Regards, Mark

That's a great piece of kit! With a cheap chuck and a tee handle you could use it as a tapping guide too!

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

This has been pointed out by others and to be honest it's a great idea. I will definitely follow up on this. Regards, Mark

Gday Preso, that a great solution and easy to fabricate, I think there will be plenty of these made around the world now mate, Cheers

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Matty. It's all about sharing. Regards, Mark

Aussie ingenuity at its best, nice work

Is very good project Very good project At 62 I'm starting to feel The problem Too Thanks for the video

Thanks, Mark. I really enjoy and learn from your videos every week.

Awesome job Mark. I think I would want a snap lock on the square shaft above it's pivot , that way I could get the pattern out of the way before removing the freed pattern from the shaft .

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

That's a good idea. You do need to be careful not to let go of the lift mechanism until you can slide the mould out of the way. The first version of the 3D printed square shaft adapter had some spring loaded fingers to provide some friction but I found it also allowed the square shaft to move off axis. Regards, Mark

Now I'm gunna blame you when I run out of beer😁 The string idea is so simple and effective👍 My first thort when you mentioned this was some sort of mini gantry crane/gear puller type mechanism? To find COG of an irregular object with one flat plane simply balance it on the edge of a bench and mark a line on the underside, repeat this as many times as needed to get a good average point. Cheers Presso 🍺 Oh yeah, were those "French ladies" anything like " Brazen bits" ? ....brace and bit 🤣

@zumbazumba1

Жыл бұрын

Cheap fishing reel .Mounted on a simple U frame with 2 boards as feet. You can use a drawer slide to position it and a hose clamp to fix position.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Bill. I must try that COG trick. Regards, Mark

very clean build,..thanks kimber

Excellent work! It's great to see people overcome physical limitations and show others that they can do things too, even if they have limitations or disabilities. There is always a way, you just have to figure it out.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for that. I once met a man who made two 1/4 scale steam traction engines, and he was a paraplegic! The work he achieved was second to none and I kept wondering how he was able to move such large pieces around by himself. As you say, you just treat it as an engineering problem and overcome. Regards, Mark

Yeah, a spool of string may not seem like something needed around a shop but it's an answer to some problems that aren't obvious until you run into them.

Great video. Super solutions. Awesomely fab'd. Mahalo for sharing! 🙂🐒

Great gadget Mark for making life easier. It's not an easy job guessing what your next video will be about but I'm already looking forward to it. Take care & stay safe sir 👍🇬🇧🍀

Great work Mark. Even if you don't have shaky hands the idea could be adopted for a tap guide to reduce the chance of broken taps or wonky threads when hand tapping.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I had not thought about that. I have a small machine called a Universal Pillar Tool which was designed by George Thomas. It has a bush with guides for tap handles and a swivelling arm which does the same job. However it only has a small table and not much height adjustment. The tool I made could have the bush swapped out for a tapping guide but I will need to get that stupid roll pin out to do that. Regards, Mark

@robertwalker7457

Жыл бұрын

@@Preso58 Maybe cut the roll pin off flush then drill it a tadge oversize?

The first time you mentioned this (how many videos ago?) I immediately thought of a gantry. 2 steel shaft uprights with bearing blocks and the gantry itself. Attach it to extruded aluminum and/or 20mm aluminum angle, add some simple bracing, and you'd be set. I imagine it would look relatively similar to the uprights on a 3D printer. Simple clamps could be used to hold it all still. A similar rod holding fixture could be used as what you have except the gantry would slide up and down instead. Not as convenient as what you have here, but damn near anything could be employed to give you a smooth linear movement.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

What you have described would work well. It's not always necessary to use the rig but for certain intricate patterns it saves a lot of time and effort if you brush the edge of the mould cavity as the pattern is being withdrawn. That usually requires a re do. Regards, Mark

great ideas . thanks for sharing them

Chuck a shortened version of your original steel bar up in a drill press, lower the quill and line up the screw with the hole in the pattern, carefully twist it in by hand and use the quill to pull it up.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

The main issue for me is having to carry the very heavy cope and drag moulds over to the drill press which is on the other side of the shop. The table on my drill press is also quite high and you would need to keep a board under the mould so the sand was supported the whole time. For smaller moulds the drill press would work though. Regards, Mark

Good idea! I've never done metal castings.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

You could make your own replacement engine parts! Regards, Mark

Good idea Mark. Thankyou

Brilliant! Thanks, Mark

These are some fantastic solutions, thanks for sharing.

Great thinking and construction. Keep the balance in your alcohol system too. 😉

Brilliant solutions.

Thanks for sharing 👍

Great idea Presso :)

Very good project as usual. I once thought of a gantry type thing to span the mold but it was not as well designed and I never did anything about it anyway. Thanks for the video keep on keeping on.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I thought about something that was attached to the flask as well but I have lots of flasks of different sizes and heights so whatever I made had to be independent of the flask itself. Thanks for watching Harold. Regards, Mark

I love your black pattern puller. I made one with two 3d printer linear rails (there’s a video somewhere) but I used wood so it was a bit crappy/wobbly (it worked though) but yours is awesome. Now I have a metal welding table I’ll be making one like yours. Thanks loads julian.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I found my first attempt was also too wobbly to be of any use but doubling the length of the 3D printed bush seemed to fix the problem. Regards, Mark

I think your pulling mechanism is ingenious! While the string method could be changed to rope or cable to handle larger patterns your device would be most useful on jobs that would require making many of. Almost like the "squeeze-jolt" molding machines. Keep up the good work and thanks for mentioning me!

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Tom. I am hoping those two methods are going to lower the frustration level next time I am making moulds. Regards, Mark

👍👌Cheers Chris

I like that lifter. I don't do foundry work in my shop but if I did I can see how it would be a godsend. To get the roll pin out you could take the sliding bar out, remove the side locking handle and drill through the insert to make a clearance hole for a pin punch. A little padding to protect the powder coat combined with judicious use of force should get the pin out. The small hole through the insert shouldn't cause any trouble but you could print a new part if needed. Drilling and tapping for a grub screw should only cause minimal scarring of the sleeve.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

That's a good idea. It would have only taken a few minutes to tap the hole and put in a set screw. That's what happens when you are working to a deadline to get a video out!😕 Regards, Mark

My Irish friend who is also a drinking buddy Alan C. used to say to me when I told him he was drunk he would say "I cannot be drunk I have yet to fall off the face of the Earth".

Very cool. I actually thought of making a mechanical fixtures like this, when ever I begin metal casting. Still a noob :)

The old not enough blood in the alcohol stream haha

Well that explains why my hands shake! I’m going to make one of those tools which might reduce my swearing problem

I too suffer from "essential tremor" which sometimes makes my hands quiver beyond my ability to control them. I particularly like the string solution. As you point out, the other devicew would be excellent for placing cores, tremor or not. Best regards.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Richard, I did not know the name of the condition that we share. It gets mighty frustrating at times. I will ask my doctor about it. Regards, Mark

good video

Good Show Mate: As per normal. Being the lazy dude I am, I would put a piece of plywood under the drag and put it on the drill press or milling machine table, lower the chuck with the screw thingee, twist the screw thingee into the form and raise the chuck. Out comes the form...straight up. I haven't done it but seems plausible. Whatcha think?

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

That would work but some of the moulding boxes can be quite heavy and sometimes too large to get the drill spindle over the hole in the pattern without running into the column at the back of the drill press. It would be great for smaller boxes though. Regards, Mark

just use a drill press. Lower the quill, engage your part and raise to withdraw the part.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

You could do that but if the mould is very heavy it means trying to move it to another location. Also, large moulds may not fit between the spindle and the column at the rear of the drill press. Regards, Mark

Genial!

I'm not sure which CAD tool you are using but Fusion 360 does have a function for Center of Mass under Inspect. Have you tried this to find the correct point for your pull point?

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I use Autodesk Inventor and it also has the centre of mass tools (as well as surface area, volume, mass by material and loads more). Unfortunately, I sometimes make my patterns using wood and hand tools. In those cases the centre of gravity is more or less a guess. Regards, Mark

Hi Mark, Great tips. Did you ever have any minor cave ins with the string method? The fancy removal tool will take some time to construct, but I think is a much more accurate way to lift the mold leaving a clean cavity. You and your family stay safe.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

So far both methods have been reliable. I like the gantry tool better though. You get more control and a better feel for how the pattern is lifting. With the string method, once the pattern moves up slightly it is free to rotate or dangle about so you have to commit and get it out without stopping. Regards, Mark

thanks for the movie

G’day Presso I’m at the stage now where I’m going to make my own carstings as it’s getting harder to buy good carstings, as a first timer how would you go about it for things cylinder as I’m restoring a loco thanks mate regards John

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

John, my advice would be to make some castings in aluminium first. Keep them simple but try to make something that is useful in your workshop. Small G clamps would be good. Then try to make something which requires a core i.e. something with a hollow bore. Something a bit like the bench socket I made would be ideal. For steam engine cylinders you will need a split pattern with core prints and a core box as well. Try making a simple one first in aluminium and if that works out try making one in bronze (or brass) Bronze is better but brass melts at a similar temperature and it's generally easier to find scrap brass. Metal casting is a very deep rabbit hole and although you can get successful castings with basic equipment, as the shape of the casting becomes more complex you will almost certainly get more failures. However it's very satisfying to be able to make your own castings. I would suggest you purchase a good 3D printer if you don't already own one. They are great for making patterns and core boxes. Regards, Mark

Do you think that if the screw hole is always at the centre of gravity the string method should always work?

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

As long as the pattern doesn't have a lot of intricate detail around the edge and as long as you have sufficient draft angle the string method is easy and reliable. I did notice that the nylon line I was using was a bit stretchy. It tends to act like a spring and when the pattern does come out it jumps up out of the cavity quite quickly. Probably a thicker string or something like a thin braided cable would be better. Regards, Mark

I have found that a large open end spanner makes a good rapper.

@philiphoeft6100

Жыл бұрын

Love your videos and style. Thank you.

hello, I have two questions, the first is, is sea or desert sand good for molding, second, what did you add to the sand to hold the shape of the piece, thank you.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I believe that beach sand (from the sea) is almost pure silica sand and unless you wash it really well it may contain salt. Fine river sand or olivene sand is preferable. It is possible to find naturally occurring sands with enough clay content to use without much processing except for maybe sieving it to remove any large lumps or organic material. The sand I used in this video was called K Bond sand and it is mostly fine "play sand" that you can buy at hardware stores. It also contains a binder (clay), a catalyst and a synthetic motor oil. However you can make "greensand" from washed and sieved play sand and bentonite clay. The clay content is about 10%. Then add water until it will bind together without feeling sticky. Regards, Mark

@sellamslimane2974

Жыл бұрын

@@Preso58 thanks,thank,thanks.

{grin} "Blood in your alcohol stream"

Hi Mark, I had to smile when I watched your video. What a very clever and ingenious and well executed solution to the problem , but it made me think about the tale , true or not, of the problem that NASA had with ball point pens not working in zero gravity. It is said that they spent thousands of dollars developing a pen that would work in zero gravity , (there may be a connection with “Papermate” ) , the USSR space agency at the time decided that a graphite pencil would do the job ! Another possibility here for pattern removal would be to use a pillar drill / drill press with a screw in the chuck as the lifting tool ?. Great videos Mark, keep em coming and all the best from Cardigan in West Wales , UK. (Any space for a pin on the map )

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I recall reading the same story about the Russians adopting the pencil. I believe they also used a simple rotary slide rule to do all their navigation whereas NASA spent a fortune on a digital computer with less computing power than the average digital watch. I will check the map but I fear it is wall to wall pins in the UK. Thanks for watching though. Regards, Mark

Now all I need is an aid to help me TIG weld, it's impossible when you essential tremors

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Tell me about it. I have given up any hope of being able to TIG weld. I used to be able to fusion weld with oxy acetylene but it's a bit more forgiving if you stick the filler wire in the molten puddle. Regards, Mark

What! No bare feet tamping the mould. 🤣. Is the sand just damp"brickies" sand, or is there something else mixed into the sand. Thanks!

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

Ha ha. I have watched those videos too. The sand I used in that demo is called K Bond sand. It is a mixture of fine sand, clay (bentone clay), a catalyst (I think it's ethyl alcohol) and oil. You can use just fine sand, bentonite clay and add water until it binds together. That is called "greensand". Regards, Mark

@damienmilk3025

Жыл бұрын

@@Preso58 Thanks, Mark.

I'm only smiling because of you! Is there something wrong with your kids knees, Not removing enough blood from your veins?

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

My doctor diagnosed an extra lobe on my liver about 15 years ago. I asked him what it was good for. He told me it was good for metabolising alcohol. I took that as an endorsement for my lifestyle! Regards, Mark

@musicbro8225

Жыл бұрын

@@Preso58 Very handy when your doctor gives you tacit encouragement to poison yourself :) But I never pictured you down at the boozer ever day hehe.

12:06 If only there was some kind of ratchet on that steel bar...

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

I started to consider some sort of rack and pinion mechanism. Probably some 3D printed parts would work fine. Maybe that's overdoing it though. 😁 Regards, Mark

That darn pesky blood

Blood in your alcohol stream indeed!

Having shaky hands. I know what it is. Not fun at all.

@Preso58

Жыл бұрын

One of the joys of getting old! Regards, Mark