I am absolutely blown away. Thank you, that was an excellent video and a brilliant demonstration. I enjoyed your explanation and especially the work around method of machining the big end journal. Cheers, Aaron.
When I am in the shed that face shield is too dark so I use a clear one. The crankshaft was an experiment to see how difficult to it is to cast one and I am thinking about making a steam engine in the future.
Very interesting and informative! The destructive testing was impressive and, although required and important, is still a bit heartbreaking, after all that machining effort. I'm curious to see this evolve into a final product.
It just working out the kinks in the process. So not so much heartbreaking as sticking with it. Variables, scrap metal in this case, makes it more complex.
Nothing wrong with give it a boat load more rpm, it's a self lubricating material because of the high carbon content. I've machines tons of cast iron you can achieve similar speeds and feeds as it you were machining aluminum, but with the advantage of small brittle chips forming. He brave and give it some welly
@@chisdalton9652 The initial skin on my castings normally have a lot of sand inclusions and sometimes a bit of chill, so it is really abrsive and hard on inserts. Trying too high a Vs, and the insert edges are abraded away.
Just a few suggestions. Might want to move your casting area closer to your furnace, you're losing a lot of heat by the time you get all the way in there. Sometime a couple degrees means the difference between a good casting and a remelt. Might also want to use a sand bed under the mold boxes to contain spills too, molten iron is hard on concrete and will bust it.
looked like it was hot enough when it got there the only problem IMHO was it was too hot when it left the furnace. the amount of "extra" heat can contribute to shrinkage and voids
Interesting stuff! thanks for sharing. Big respect for being willing to destruction test those parts after spending so long turning them. If you wanted you could add a luggage scale or similar, a set distance along your breaker bar so we could see/calculate the braking force. Thanks again, Bongo.
Those crankshafts were scrap anyway so it was a good excuse to see how they machined. I had to put a lot of force on that pipe until the crankshaft broke, far more than would be in real life. I don't have a luggage scale but the force I put on the end of that pipe would have been at least 50kgs at the end of the pipe which was 2.1 meters. With that info you could work out the breaking force.
Am I correct in assuming that the extra ferrosilicon was added to the castings we saw poured here and not the ones with all the shrinkage? If so the difference in shrinkage behavior may be possibly the result of more graphite and less pearlite in the structure. This means more expansion as the graphite forms and thus less, if any, overall shrinkage. Love the nondestructive test on the stilsons - 2 metres of leverage - no wonder the handle is bent 😊 Are we going to see more of this engine? I hope so..... Martin
Both crankshafts had the same amount of ferrosilicon added but different discs were used from different foundries. That is the holy grail, to get expansion so no risers are needed. That stilsons has had so many long pipes added to increase leverage and it has not broken yet!!!!! Yes you will see more of this engine.
@@luckygen1001 Ah yes, the holy grail of neither shrinkage nor expansion, its this of course plus iron's legendary fluidity and relative tolerance to bad gating that leads to it being called "God's gift to the foundryman"! I have a stilson just as bent - 6 foot of water pipe on the handle! Looking forward to the engine as it unfolds... Martin
Nice work. I have also thought about casting a crankshaft for a two stroke gas engine, but I think cast iron is just too brittle to survive at high rpm. Maybe steel could be added to the melt to make it stronger but it would require some extreme heating.
Nice video Lucky! Just wondering why you bothered to machine and polish the crank ends for the test cranks when you were just going to breakage test the big ends?
I wanted to see if there were issues machining and polishing the crankshaft and there were some. I will have to modify the pattern before casting another crankshaft. Thank you for watching my video. I do enjoy your teardown of electrical items videos.
Like the analysis you did. I would think that in most foundries scrap is scrap, so I would wonder if there was a problem with mixing. Just thinking out loud from all the iron foundries I visitd to service the induction fces they would use. Thanks for the look.
Most iron foundries pour castings to specs which leaves them to use anything they have at hand and as long as the casting has the required tensile strength and hardness it will pass the requirements. Can I ask what goes wrong with induction furnaces?
@@luckygen1001 switching scr's in the inverter section sometimes the diodes same section. The large capacitors will short sometimes. Water cooled fces will go bad . Seen holes blown in the fce coils from either over heating caused by insulation failure or blow outs in refractory. Then you can have control systems like the cards that control power output fail. Really depends on how hard you push production. Reliable when maintained. I didn't mention hydralics for fce raising or internal water cooling system for hi heat semi conductors. Lets not forget about cooling water system that runs through the fce. coils. Largest fce size I ever worked on was 2500 pd. dual . Oh, and then there are vaccuum fce systems.
@@jdmccorful Thank you so much for answering. It shows that any electronics pushed hard will have problems as I thought that induction furnace power electronics were bullet proof. Surprised to see that diodes fail. Are the scr's a full bridge inverter or a half bridge inverter? Some large induction furnaces I have seen have a diesel back up so it can supply hydraulic power to tilt the furnace so the iron does not freeze in the furnace. One of the first videos on my channel is titled "Homemade induction furnace melting steel" If you get time have a look at it.
@@luckygen1001 don't know about now, but when I serviced they were half bridge. Larger systems were hockey puck sized rectifiers, with water cooled heat sinks. In regards to hydralics for fce. , we used electric pump systems.
Post note, watched your video on induction fce. What output frequency were you using? We ran anywhere from 3khtz to 10khtz. Noticed the use of scope. Hope you used non grounded or could of had problems. Thanks for the look.
Nice video once again. Thankyou. I've always been curious though, what is the reason for adding your metal to the crucible after the furnace is hot and not just having it all in the crucible before you fire up?
....and reduces the total amount of slag. The less time the iron is in a melted state, the less likelihood of oxidation or contamination from the combustion process.
Do you think circular cones shaped risers from each crank web expanding in size would also control shrinkage? They would be just as easy to attach to your pattern and easier to cut off?
@@luckygen1001 Ah, you’re testing this particular metal. As you mentioned there are differences even within disc brake rotors. Very cool, looking forward to the build.
If this crankshaft is going to be used for an engine, you might benefit from stress relieving the casting prior to machining it. Do you use a pyrometer to judge your pour temperature? When making your pattern, was any consideration given to how the assembly is going to be balanced or lubricated? I really like your videos. I think it would be neat to see you build a lawn mower. Perhaps you could cast the body, with steam punk motif. You might use off the shelf tires you could mount to some really cool wheels. Perhaps you could collaborate with another You Tuber that likes to 3D print to get some patterns made or perhaps patterns of wood made on a CNC router. This would allow you to easily control your draft angles, filet's and wall thickness with ease. Perhaps if you got a lot of views, you could have the next series be a self propelled version.
I am absolutely blown away. Thank you, that was an excellent video and a brilliant demonstration. I enjoyed your explanation and especially the work around method of machining the big end journal. Cheers, Aaron.
It is good to see a comment from a machinist point of view.
Your videos are very inspiring to repeat! Thank you very much !!!
Very educational, I learned alot about casting I didn't know.
Love your pouring cart thingy
Those are some nice castings.
Nice job, sir. I like your tinted face shield. Do you wear that when pouring too? What are the crankshafts for?
Nice to see.
When I am in the shed that face shield is too dark so I use a clear one. The crankshaft was an experiment to see how difficult to it is to cast one and I am thinking about making a steam engine in the future.
Thanks for sharing, very interesting, I must say the stillsons put up a good fight, good tools.
Cheers
Peter
It is a veteran of many battles with long pipes.
Very interesting and informative! The destructive testing was impressive and, although required and important, is still a bit heartbreaking, after all that machining effort. I'm curious to see this evolve into a final product.
It just working out the kinks in the process. So not so much heartbreaking as sticking with it. Variables, scrap metal in this case, makes it more complex.
@@danharold3087 Yep. I guess you are right.
The machining was very important as it showed that my pattern had faults..
@@luckygen1001 Completely agree! It was necessary, but it was still a lot of turning time.
Wonderful and interesting as usual.
I know what you mean about patience required to cut cast iron. The temptation to crank up the surface speed is hard to resist. Good video, thanks.
Yes you are so right, because the crankshaft is not supported in the middle heavy cuts makes it chatter a lot.
Nothing wrong with give it a boat load more rpm, it's a self lubricating material because of the high carbon content. I've machines tons of cast iron you can achieve similar speeds and feeds as it you were machining aluminum, but with the advantage of small brittle chips forming. He brave and give it some welly
@@chisdalton9652 The initial skin on my castings normally have a lot of sand inclusions and sometimes a bit of chill, so it is really abrsive and hard on inserts. Trying too high a Vs, and the insert edges are abraded away.
Just a few suggestions.
Might want to move your casting area closer to your furnace, you're losing a lot of heat by the time you get all the way in there. Sometime a couple degrees means the difference between a good casting and a remelt.
Might also want to use a sand bed under the mold boxes to contain spills too, molten iron is hard on concrete and will bust it.
I have very little room next to my furnace so that is why I pour in my shed. When I spill small amounts it does not effect the concrete.
looked like it was hot enough when it got there the only problem IMHO was it was too hot when it left the furnace. the amount of "extra" heat can contribute to shrinkage and voids
Great work, live the content. 👍
Great vid.. Thanks...
Interesting stuff! thanks for sharing. Big respect for being willing to destruction test those parts after spending so long turning them. If you wanted you could add a luggage scale or similar, a set distance along your breaker bar so we could see/calculate the braking force. Thanks again, Bongo.
Those crankshafts were scrap anyway so it was a good excuse to see how they machined. I had to put a lot of force on that pipe until the crankshaft broke, far more than would be in real life. I don't have a luggage scale but the force I put on the end of that pipe would have been at least 50kgs at the end of the pipe which was 2.1 meters. With that info you could work out the breaking force.
@@luckygen1001 strong stuff! Thanks.
Am I correct in assuming that the extra ferrosilicon was added to the castings we saw poured here and not the ones with all the shrinkage? If so the difference in shrinkage behavior may be possibly the result of more graphite and less pearlite in the structure. This means more expansion as the graphite forms and thus less, if any, overall shrinkage. Love the nondestructive test on the stilsons - 2 metres of leverage - no wonder the handle is bent 😊
Are we going to see more of this engine? I hope so..... Martin
Both crankshafts had the same amount of ferrosilicon added but different discs were used from different foundries. That is the holy grail, to get expansion so no risers are needed. That stilsons has had so many long pipes added to increase leverage and it has not broken yet!!!!! Yes you will see more of this engine.
@@luckygen1001 Ah yes, the holy grail of neither shrinkage nor expansion, its this of course plus iron's legendary fluidity and relative tolerance to bad gating that leads to it being called "God's gift to the foundryman"! I have a stilson just as bent - 6 foot of water pipe on the handle! Looking forward to the engine as it unfolds... Martin
Thanks for sharing 👍
Nice work. I have also thought about casting a crankshaft for a two stroke gas engine, but I think cast iron is just too brittle to survive at high rpm. Maybe steel could be added to the melt to make it stronger but it would require some extreme heating.
High rpm would need a steel crankshaft.
Just what I always wanted to know. I'll do it tomorrow lol 😆😅🤪
You can polish cast iron to near mirror quality. It just takes a bit of patience and some perseverance.
very nice video! 🍒😃
Thankyou 👍
Very good 👍
Respect!
Nice video Lucky! Just wondering why you bothered to machine and polish the crank ends for the test cranks when you were just going to breakage test the big ends?
I wanted to see if there were issues machining and polishing the crankshaft and there were some. I will have to modify the pattern before casting another crankshaft. Thank you for watching my video. I do enjoy your teardown of electrical items videos.
Had you considered makind a split pattern? It might have made the moulding easier.
Hello, what type of cast iron can I use for press???

18:06 What about bridging the knuckles opposite the big end to maintain rod alignment, then cut it away during final machining?
I have thought of that but I am not sure what will happen when I cut it of after machining. Will it spring a little and make it run untrue?
How much iron (by weight) did you end up pouring in this go? Great video as always!
14 Kgs.
Like the analysis you did. I would think that in most foundries scrap is scrap, so I would wonder if there was a problem with mixing. Just thinking out loud from all the iron foundries I visitd to service the induction fces they would use. Thanks for the look.
Most iron foundries pour castings to specs which leaves them to use anything they have at hand and as long as the casting has the required tensile strength and hardness it will pass the requirements. Can I ask what goes wrong with induction furnaces?
@@luckygen1001 switching scr's in the inverter section sometimes the diodes same section. The large capacitors will short sometimes. Water cooled fces will go bad . Seen holes blown in the fce coils from either over heating caused by insulation failure or blow outs in refractory. Then you can have control systems like the cards that control power output fail. Really depends on how hard you push production. Reliable when maintained. I didn't mention hydralics for fce raising or internal water cooling system for hi heat semi conductors. Lets not forget about cooling water system that runs through the fce. coils. Largest fce size I ever worked on was 2500 pd. dual . Oh, and then there are vaccuum fce systems.
@@jdmccorful Thank you so much for answering. It shows that any electronics pushed hard will have problems as I thought that induction furnace power electronics were bullet proof. Surprised to see that diodes fail. Are the scr's a full bridge inverter or a half bridge inverter? Some large induction furnaces I have seen have a diesel back up so it can supply hydraulic power to tilt the furnace so the iron does not freeze in the furnace. One of the first videos on my channel is titled "Homemade induction furnace melting steel" If you get time have a look at it.
@@luckygen1001 don't know about now, but when I serviced they were half bridge. Larger systems were hockey puck sized rectifiers, with water cooled heat sinks. In regards to hydralics for fce. , we used electric pump systems.
Post note, watched your video on induction fce. What output frequency were you using? We ran anywhere from 3khtz to 10khtz. Noticed the use of scope. Hope you used non grounded or could of had problems. Thanks for the look.
Nice video once again. Thankyou.
I've always been curious though, what is the reason for adding your metal to the crucible after the furnace is hot and not just having it all in the crucible before you fire up?
It is impossible to put in all the metal to get a full crucible from a cold start.
@@luckygen1001 ahh right. I thought it may have had something to do with crucible cracking or something.
....and reduces the total amount of slag. The less time the iron is in a melted state, the less likelihood of oxidation or contamination from the combustion process.
Great videos!!! How about casting stainless steel ???
Can't be done.
Do you think circular cones shaped risers from each crank web expanding in size would also control shrinkage? They would be just as easy to attach to your pattern and easier to cut off?
Yes that would work.
Nicely done! Why all the experimentations? You probably know all that stuff. Was it for demonstration and teaching purposes?
It is a must to do this as I intend to build a steam engine in the future.
@@luckygen1001 Ah, you’re testing this particular metal. As you mentioned there are differences even within disc brake rotors. Very cool, looking forward to the build.
How did you weld the high speed steel to the mild steel. I have tool steel filler wire.
I used mild steel arc welding rods and used a arc welder. I have used that method a lot over the last 30 years.
@@luckygen1001 thanks. I have min stick and tig. I do Mainly tig thought.
What sand are you using?
Green sand.
No way to straighten this crank before machining?
As you can see cast iron does not like being bent.
The first castings probably had bubbles
So why do you think there are bubbles in those castings?
@@luckygen1001 it looked like air could get trapped
If this crankshaft is going to be used for an engine, you might benefit from stress relieving the casting prior to machining it.
Do you use a pyrometer to judge your pour temperature?
When making your pattern, was any consideration given to how the assembly is going to be balanced or lubricated?
I really like your videos. I think it would be neat to see you build a lawn mower. Perhaps you could cast the body, with steam punk motif. You might use off the shelf tires you could mount to some really cool wheels.
Perhaps you could collaborate with another You Tuber that likes to 3D print to get some patterns made or perhaps patterns of wood made on a CNC router. This would allow you to easily control your draft angles, filet's and wall thickness with ease.
Perhaps if you got a lot of views, you could have the next series be a self propelled version.
@@MF175mp
Many engines use cast crankshafts, but high performance or heavy duty models often get by with cast iron.
Yes it is. I do have a pyrometer but I do not use it. Balancing can be done by bolting on weights on the crankshaft.