Foundry Castings

[gordon stelter]

And if you had the AS&Wire transcripts (I, sadly, also
lost my copy 20 years ago) you can see that they DID
extensive testing of various grades of iron, and
microphotography of crystalline structure, etc.. I
also belive that Scientific American ran some articles
about then, too, on the subject, as pianos were the
"cutting edge" technology of the day incorporating the
innovations of the finest technical minds from all
arenas of knowledge. 
     These Edwardians lacked 
--- Delwin D Fandrich <pianobuilders@olynet.com>
wrote:
> Thanks, Owen, I have the magazine and am familiar
> with the quote. Still, this is based on tradition
> and handed-down 'technology' rather than test and
> examination. I've checked with various foundries and
> iron foundry associations and have been unable to
> obtain any evidence of testing or research that has
> gone into this question. Now, it may well exist but
> I've not yet found it.
> 
> Del
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Owen J. Greyling RPT 
>   To: pianotech@ptg.org 
>   Sent: August 26, 2002 10:59 AM
>   Subject: Foundry Castings
> 
> 
>    "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. 
> 
>   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. 
> 
>   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. 
> 
>   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
> 
> 


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com