Easy to learn metal craft skills, save time & money while restoring vintage cars, machines & tools.

September 11, 2004 -- A rusty dilapidated machine or tool restored back to it's former glory can provide great satisfaction for the vintage enthusiast.

Countless hours can be spent dismantling, inspecting, cleaning, polishing, painting & refurbishing.

The biggest problem encountered by restorers of all things old, is that many parts are generally corroded/worn & deteriorated beyond a usefull service life.

The constant search for good quality replacement parts can be a real headache, not to mention the countless hours spent 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 necessary workshop skills & equipment, then the remaking of a special part can be easily undertaken in the home workshop for the relatively low cost of materials only, as time is not generally factored into the cost.

But, what if your "vital missing part" is made of 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, which will then require machining & finishing, before it's ready to be assembled onto your restoration project.    

The professional cost of this exercise (pattern, casting, machining) can be quite significant, to say the least, some restorers may simply accept this high cost as part of the restoration process.

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

More and more people are turning to the alternative:
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 antiques or
machines.

Metal casting in the home workshop is the answer. Some people consider metal casting to be a black art, and difficult to learn...
...nothing could be further from the truth.

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 required to make sand moulds, melt metal and pour it into
sand moulds can be learnt by most people who possess the ability to absorb and learn basic workshop skills.

General workshop skills are all that's required to fabricate the simple tools & equipment required to carry out hobby foundry work. Yes, you need to know how to arc weld and use other hand tools.

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

Once you learn & master the basic methods, you'll realize how valuable your new skills are. You could even turn your new skills into hard earned cash, once you know what you're doing.

You'll learn valuable technical skills along the way, foundry work is like riding a bike...once you learn you never forget.

Gone will be the days spent scrounging around swap meets looking for that illusive, or unobtainable part...you'll be able to make it your
self in your home foundry.

Items the home metal foundry worker will be able to create range from: small handles, various knobs, wheels, bushings, bronze bearing shells, name plates, covers...the list of remake items
is 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 formulae and hints. which could be quite handy when working on old items.

Or perhaps you would like to know how to make your own charcoal, well that's all there to, and for FREE, so you can get to it and make several bags of charcoal for your forge, cupola or furnace.

The metal casting info site, http://wwwmyhomefoundry.com has helped
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. As well as remaking parts for all kinds of vintage & classic cars or motorcycles.

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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