Foundry Castings

Owen J. Greyling RPT greyco@kingston.net
Mon, 26 Aug 2002 13:59:25 -0400


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 "Fine Woodworking" Techniques 5, which I purchased in 1983, has an =
article written by John Lively dealing with the advantages of larger =
vintage woodworking machines made of cast grey iron.=20

qoute....  "Powermatic is licensed, he said, to use the Meehanite =
process, a patented technology for making a high grade, close grained =
grey iron that is superior for use in machinery castings. The process =
ensures that the molecular constitution of the cast iron is consistent =
from day to day and from year to year, a condition that makes milling =
and grinding more efficient and that contributes to product uniformity.  =
We can control the aging time for our castings. He explained that the =
traditional method of letting cast parts sit for months uncovered in the =
open air is still the best means of relieving internal stresses created =
by the casting process. Aging gives these stresses time to resolve =
themselves before the part is milled and ground" ISBN 0-918804-17-5

Del, if you are interested I can scan the article, and fax to you.=20

Perhaps this is an entirely different process then is used to make =
plates for pianos, but I somehow doubt it. I recall seeing an article =
years ago about a foundry, I think in Europe where piano plates were =
only one of the many products that were produced from the same raw =
materials. I know Powermatic has a plant in McMinnville, Tenn. Perhaps =
they have an R&D department.=20

Owen

> ....Foundry castings need time to "cure" for strength....

Do you have any technical reference for this? I've been trying to track =
down
solid information on the subject for some time--but to no avail. It's =
long
been assumed and talked about--at least within the piano industry--but =
I'm
after specific details. What 'strength' parameters change over time?
Stiffness? Impact strength? Compression strength? What?

Del


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