Cast Iron Alloys

[Commander_Chaos]

The place I'm talking about does mostly smaller jobs. One of the jobs they told me about was casting new feet for a claw foot tub.

It isn't cheap but it's an interesting experiment. The wait time is a variable because they won't pour just one job, so I'd likely get it piggy-backed onto someone else's.

Sounds like the abrasiveness is a non issue. I only said that because I know that most sport bike brake rotors are cast iron for its higher "coefficient of friction" over steel.

[Tom S]

Just an FYI to attach to this thread with regards to casting. Apparently there are two small foundries that might be willing to take on some of your smaller jobs. I have not used them, but came across them somewhere and stashed away the information in case I ever needed it.

Cattail Foundry -> Out of PA, I believe it's run by an Amish fellow so brush up on your PA dutch. 717-768-7323. Well regarded in the vintage farm machinery restoration circles
Chevi Shop Custom Casting -> Out of IL, seems to specialize more in small parts. 815-225-7565.

Thought I would pass on the info in case anyone is looking to get a casting done or replace a casting that can't be found anymore. Not many of these guys around anymore.

[Mcgyver]

There are several in Ontario but the challenge will be whats the minimum order. As consumer I get the shakes spending 500 bucks, but as a businessman, I don't want an order that size....difference between a b2b world and b2c. It would be interesting to see what sort minimums smaller foundries expect. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad as they can just add it to a batch of pours.

[Tom S]

From what I understand there is no minimum with Cattail and their pricing is more than fair. You provide the pattern, they cast it and send an invoice. Some additional info on the setup: https://goodsstores.com/blogs/a-good...e-pennsylvania

[mikey553]

Interesting. I live only 1.5 hours away, but never heard of this foundry. They are definitely capable. The only question in my mind is the material quality. They feed a lot of scrap in their furnace including brake rotors for cars. I doubt they have any testing capabilities, but who knows.

Straight edge castings for scraping may be a good project. Anybody wants to try?

[nickel-city-fab]

I know that cattail has a pretty good reputation. I wonder if that's who Andy uses to cast his kits?

[Rich Carlstedt]

Brake rotors are fine , so are flywheels , good CI to work with
What is important is the "cooling" that occurs after the pour.--if to fast, that is what will make the casting hard.
If it is, no problem...build a fire in a fire pit with some good sized logs and toss the casting in the HOT ashes and then cover with more hot ash
You want the casting to get red hot
The heat will remove any carbide formations that occurred if you leave it covered in ash over night

Rich

[JRouche]

Just an FYI to attach to this thread with regards to casting. Apparently there are two small foundries that might be willing to take on some of your smaller jobs. I have not used them, but came across them somewhere and stashed away the information in case I ever needed it.

Cattail Foundry -> Out of PA, I believe it's run by an Amish fellow so brush up on your PA dutch. 717-768-7323. Well regarded in the vintage farm machinery restoration circles
Chevi Shop Custom Casting -> Out of IL, seems to specialize more in small parts. 815-225-7565.

Thought I would pass on the info in case anyone is looking to get a casting done or replace a casting that can't be found anymore. Not many of these guys around anymore.

Very good information.

Thanks Tom. Contact ifo is alway appreciated. JR

[Commander_Chaos]

From what I understand there is no minimum with Cattail and their pricing is more than fair. You provide the pattern, they cast it and send an invoice. Some additional info on the setup: https://goodsstores.com/blogs/a-good...e-pennsylvania

Actually Cattail is who I had in mind. By dad was making carts for hit-and-miss engines and they cast the wheels and hardware. He also had them cast a part for an industrial machine that's obsolete but wears out frequently. They cast those by the pickup load. When he moved out of the area he sold them the patterns for both ventures. He was always very happy with their work. I met they guy once and he seemed nice enough.

[George Bulliss]

I know that cattail has a pretty good reputation. I wonder if that's who Andy uses to cast his kits?

I spoke with Andy at the show and he mentioned he was trying out a new foundry after the one he has been using for years quit doing small runs. I didn't get names but the new foundry may very well be Cattail.

[nickel-city-fab]

I spoke with Andy at the show and he mentioned he was trying out a new foundry after the one he has been using for years quit doing small runs. I didn't get names but the new foundry may very well be Cattail.

I can only say that the castings I received in his kits were of absolutely amazing quality, and well worth the price. Quite possibly some of the best castings I've ever seen.

[oxford]

From what I understand there is no minimum with Cattail and their pricing is more than fair. You provide the pattern, they cast it and send an invoice. Some additional info on the setup: https://goodsstores.com/blogs/a-good...e-pennsylvania

It’s an interesting read from the website in the above quote. I wonder what limits them to only firing the furnace once a week? I’m guessing some sort of town ordnance?

I’m sure they do have as much work as they can handle and with the only actually pouring 1 day a week it makes sense they can do small runs and 1 offs.

[Edwin Dirnbeck]

Brake rotors are fine , so are flywheels , good CI to work with
What is important is the "cooling" that occurs after the pour.--if to fast, that is what will make the casting hard.
If it is, no problem...build a fire in a fire pit with some good sized logs and toss the casting in the HOT ashes and then cover with more hot ash
You want the casting to get red hot
The heat will remove any carbide formations that occurred if you leave it covered in ash over night

Rich

The trouble with brake rotors is this. They have a disc of steel casted inside of them ,so that they don't blow apart. Edwin Dirnbeck

[mikey553]

The trouble with brake rotors is this. They have a disc of steel casted inside of them ,so that they don't blow apart. Edwin Dirnbeck

A typical brake rotor has a hub, two friction disks and fins, connecting both disks together. Do you know where this steel disk is located?

Steel together with cast iron does not sound too good. I have been at the gray iron foundry in WI and have seen they add a lot of additional components to the molten iron to control its properties. They also had an express-analysis lab onsite to control the chemistry. This is the only way to produce the castings to ASTM specs. We receive a full material report for each of our big compressor castings. Most likely Cattail produces castings of unknown chemistry and mechanical properties. That may be fine for most of their products, but I would not trust such a foundry for seriously loaded parts.

[Tim Clarke]

Question for Ed: how many rotors have you cut or broken apart ??? I'm not calling BS yet, but this seems a little misinformed to me.....