Thread: Big, Big Wisconsin T-Head engine

Just absolutely beautiful!!

Just absolutely beautiful!!

THANKS!


Today ..... I got the first manifold fitting machined and cleaned-up. This connects to the carburetor via a cast iron valve body which contains the butterfly valve for the governor. When the governor kicks in it chokes the engine.

I had to counterbored the fitting to recieve the 1-3/4" O.D. brass tubing which connects the various castings. When complete, the whole assemply will be silver soldered.



Here is a photo of the original set-up. You can see the governor butterfly valve as well as the adjacent elbow/tees. The tube to the right contains the control shaft to the governor. The carburetor is a Stromberg M4 (which Iam in need of!) Peter of Odd Duck Foundry says I should just make-up some patterns and he will cast one up. Somehow I think the casting part will be far easier than the pattern part!



Its really, really satisfying taking these pieces from measurements and photos to drawings, to pattern to casting to finished piece. At first it seemd so daunting and overwhelming but looking back it wasn't that hard - just like building a brick wall - one brick, one course at a time.

As happens from time to time I got side tracked the otherday.........

This is like a soap-opera for iron heads. Remember to tune in next week to see what happens in the shop. I'm hooked.

Thanks Terry for this thread. It's fascinating to read & watch your progress. I'm really enjoying the pattern making & casting. Keep em coming!
toolles

This morning I recieved an E-mail from Peter Grant - owner of Odd Duck Foundry. Yesterday he was able to pour the resty of the fittings though today he is re-casting one of the flanged elbows - it didn't fillout on the first try (such are the mysteries of casting!) Anyway....here are some more photos for Foundry 101 continued...........

In this photo the Drag (bottom half of the mold) has been rammed-up, flipped over and the other half of the patterns placed. Now the top half (Cope) frame will be put in place and rammed-up with sand.


Now the two halves (Cope & Drag) have been separated, gates and vents cut and the patterns removed.


Then the core's are placed. Peter coated them with Plumbago to give a better finish and allow the core sand to release easier. Each core has a groove cut down the center before the two core halves are joined. This allows venting of the gas from the core binder and glue. Peter was worried that the core for the flanged elbow might shift so he placed a chaplet under it - this was nothing more than a piece of bronze vent sprue from a previous casting.


Once the cores are in place the Cope & Drag are re-assembled and the bronze poured. Here are the castings ready for clean-up, machine and polish time!



Meanwhile back at my shop....I got impatient and just had to bolt-up the new oil pump drive housing to see how its going to look It still needs a bit of machining and the internals installed.

For todays adventure......... I created two patterns for some cast iron pieces. Fortunatly there are not a lot of cast iron pieces missing or needing replacement.

Earlier we had turned new grey cast iron valve guides (part No. 027X) from round stock and pressed on the collars. This worked well but was a lot of work and waste of material.

Even though I have a complete set of new guides I decided to make a pattern so the next person who decides to take on one of these beasts can work from castings.

The other pattern is for a new oil strainer cover. (Part No. F4F) As you can see its quite a bit diffrent than the cover that came with the engine.

Apparently they had a problem with the original design breaking so Lacroix's mechanics retrofitted a cover sourced from some other engine. I have seen this on one other ex-Lacroix Lombard engine as well.

Now we can cast one that is an exact copy of the original as issued by the factory.

Hi Terry.

Your project is truly fascinating.
Keep up the good work!

Best regards
Søren

With the intake manifold casting done I have switched my focus to the patterns for the Top Water Manifold. Similar to the intake manifold these are separate bronze castings joined with 1-1/2" O.D. brass pipe silver soldered to the fittings and rubber hose connectors.

As usual for me I start with a good set of drawings - bellow is the overall assembly. In addition to this I have created detailed drawings for each fitting and its associated pattern which will be printed 1:1. That way I can assemble most of the pattern directly on top of the drawings, sort of like when I use to build balsa airplanes models.




Here is a photo of the front fitting (A18A) on Don's Lombard. This patten with its tapered body will give me a good reason to use the taper attachment on the old Southbend




Now its off to the lathe!

I love this project, can't wait to see your progress this year

Hey!Terry,brandnew to this forum,read all your post's,WOW!!!!!,keep it up can't waite till she run's!

Today.... I took a road trip back to the Odd Duck Foundry in Orrington, ME. to pick-up the rest of the intake manifold castings, drop off a new pattern and core box and continue my education in Foundry 101.

When we arrived Peter had the flasks all set to cast two pairs of aluminum valve shrouds. When I got the engine Don had given me a set of 10 pairs that he had cast many years ago. He also loaned me the pattern amd core box so I could have the missing sets cast.

The only lubrication to the valve stems is via a light oil mist from the crankcase via oil holes drilled through the lifters. The shrouds serve to contain it and protect the valves and guides from dirt etc.

Peter used "dry sand" cores for these castings. This is nothing more than green sand rammed-up in the core boxes with a wire reinforcement. They are more fragile than the sodium silicate/sand cores he usually uses but they worked great for this application.

Here is one pair of shrouds ready to have the sprues cut.



Next... Peter cranked-up the heat for a cast iron melt. We decided to try out my patterns for the valve guide blank and oil strainer cover. I already have
new valve guides which were machined from round stock but we wanted to see how this pattern would work.

Here is a view of the drag and cope after the patterns have been pulled and the gates, shrinkbob, and vents added.


And... the pour


And..... here are the castings right out of the sand. The valve guide blank is on the left and the oil strainer cover on the right.




Nice to know the old Chevy engine Peter broke-up has gone to good use!

I have not had a lot of time in the shop lately - Prepping the gardens etc. have kept me busy.
However, I did finish another pattern and core box for the water manifold fittings and cleaned-up the new
valve shroud castings. Feels good to have a complete set!

Yesterday I finished the Pattern and corebox for part No. A20A (upper water manifold rear section) This will be sent off to the Odd Duck Foundry to join its mates for a hot
date with some molten bronze.

Just one more pattern to go (A32A - upper water manifold extension) and I can move onto the lower water manifold patterns. That means just six patterns to go and I will have all
the castings on hand - then the machine work begins with a vengence!




I also took time out to etch a motometer face for a Frontenac Ford living in France and a name plate for the radiator of an model AB Mack.

I know you folks are probably sick of the posts about patterns but I get quite a sense of accomplishment everytime I finish one plus its the most work intensive part of the whole project.

Each pattern is not only one less item to fabricate but it also means that life will be a lot easier for others who choose to rebuild one of these engines. With only eight of these engines exisitence in various states of restoration or 'decrapitation' (my daughters word) it's not like folks are beating down the door! Out of those eight only one is in running condition and at least two are nothing more than empty shells.

Anyway - here is the pattern for part No. A32A - Upper Water Manifold Extension. This is a 20 degree elbow that bolts to the front fitting (A18A) and provides for attactment of the 2" dia. upper radiator hose. Like the original, a 1/2" dia. hole will be bored through the tab. Not sure why the tab is there other than maybe allowing a wire to secure the hose from hitting the fan??

This is the last of the four patterns for this assembly. Now its onto part No. A33A (Lower Water Manifold Extension)

Terry not sick at all you are doing a fantastic job ! It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to do what you are doing . Keep posting up I always like to see what you are doing with this . Bill

Well its been awhile since my last post. I have not spent much time on the the "beast" project of late. I tend to do this go manic for months then take a break. Of course looking for a new job has not helped. For the past 13 years I have worked as a consultant to the Heavy Construction industry. Needless to say the shovel ready projects were not shovel ready. From late 2009 thru early 2011 we had our most profitable period ever. Than May of 2011we wrapped-up our last project with absolutly nothing on the horizon. To illustrate how tough the market is we only bid on one project in 2011. We knew we had to win that bid so we cut our price by 20%. The low bidder undercut that by another 30%!

So... at the end of December we closed the doors. Fortunatly during the good times and being firmly opposed to debt (with the exception of education and a home) we were able to bank a years worth of income. I cannot even begin to tell you how that has been a blessing! Anyway, this past year the engine project has served as a good replacement for getting-up in the morning and heading into the office. I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it is to say goodbye to a job you have loved and spent so much time nurturing. But I guess its time for another chapter though I have yet to find out what that will be! Anyway, enough with the sob story!

I did manage to visit some of the little odds and ends projects. Mostly painting some parts like the oil pump, water pump, front pully, oil breathers and oil strainer. It feels good to have these parts done and set aside until final assembly day!
Earlier I had dressed-up the front pully on the lathe.....that was some hard material! I don't know if it was work hardened are if it was from the casting process.



So..... what have I been doing for stress relief? Kayaking of course!

Terry,

May I ask you to describe how you learned patternmaking? You are obviously good at it, and you use modern materials and methods. If you learned this from books, what were their titles? If you learned this in an apprenticeship or school, details of that would also be interesting.

John Ruth

Nope, sure not tired of reading about pattermaking. To take things a little farther, I'd like to second John's request for more info on your patternmaking techniques. A new thread with pics and details about the elbow pattern and core box in message #114 dated 5-14-12 would be super.
Carl

May I ask you to describe how you learned patternmaking? You are obviously good at it, and you use modern materials and methods. If you learned this from books, what were their titles? If you learned this in an apprenticeship or school, details of that would also be interesting.

To take things a little farther, I'd like to second John's request for more info on your patternmaking techniques. A new thread with pics and details about the elbow pattern and core box in message #114 dated 5-14-12 would be super.

Well... The story is until this project I had never made a pattern or core box before in my life! I realized early on that the only way I could ever complete this project (and afford it) was to do the pattern and core box work myself. To give you some idea of the cost... Many years ago my friend Don had the pattern and core box I used to cast the valve shrouds (see post #112) professionally made. It cost him over $2000.00!!

I operate on the simple premise that if someone could do it before (which they certainly did) than why can't I do it too? So..... I taught myself.
An excellent starting point are old books:
Patternmaking Equipment and Operations ; Patternmaking Materials ; Pattern ... - International Correspondence Schools - Google Books

Here is another resource. These folks are great!
AlloyAvenue network


Now how I made the Elbow patterns:
You need to know several things before you start. The first is the percentage of shrinkage for the metal or alloy you are going to use. For instance Aluminum can shrink up to ¼” per foot depending on the alloy. Therefore if I wanted to cast a piece that will be 24” X 24” I would make my pattern 24-1/2”x24-1/2”. I use a CAD program so once I draw the part its very simple to scale it up to compensate for the shrinkage. There are instances when a foundry will use a existing casting (if available) as a pattern to cast a duplicate rather than fabricate a pattern for a one-off piece. In this case it’s important that the original serving as the pattern is built-out to adjust for shrinkage. Sometimes this can be accomplished with a few coats of paint. You also must allow for machining. For instance on a flange face I will add 1/16” if it needs to be machined.

Now onto the how too….
First I glued up the blank. I use pine that is kiln dried and knot free. This is used to make-up of layers of wedges cut at 45 degrees and 22-1/2 degrees to form four separate segments or quarters that butt together tightly. I also alternate the wedges in layers so the joints within each quarter overlap for strength. (I.e. two 45’s per quarter in the first layer followed by four 22-1/2’s in the second layer etc.)

Next we go over to the lathe. I use a quick and dirty sacrificial MDF face plate bolted to the face plate on my lathe. I attach the four quarters to the MDF by sheet rock screws through the back along the centerline of the finished piece. It’s important to make sure the intersection of the quarters are centered and that the break lines separating the quarters are aligned properly.

Next we turn the outside diameter and bore the center and face to the proper height... At this point we have a donut that looks like it’s just been cut out of the dough - flat on the top with vertical sides.



To fix this cut 45 degree facets so in cross section it will look like half of an octagon. Sometimes I will take it a bit further and cut 22-1/2 degree facets but you don’t really have too.
Next use course sand paper to knock-off the remaining edges and transform the cross section to a half round shape using a template to check it as you go along. When you’re done you will have…well….. One half of a bagel.




We are now done with the lathe and can check-out our work. When the pieces are removed from the face plate each quarter will match exactly with its opposite – and there you have it two elbows!




The straight segments of the patterns are just two pieces of laminated pine that are screwed together and turned on the lathe. What is important is that before separating the pieces they need to be pegged so they can be aligned exact when you mate-up the two halves of the pattern. I use wood dowels but Freemans Supply FreemanSupply.com - Mold Making, Casting Resin, & Foundry Materials has neat metal pegs and sockets.
In the old days the patterns would have been glued together with thickened shellac. I use plain old Elmer’s wood glue. Since these patterns won’t see a lot of use I also do not bother with keys or mortises etc. I just butt joint everything. I had not painted the mating surfaces yet so you can see how rough my joinery actually is. However, once the finish coat of paint is applied the outside surface will be nice and smooth with a close fit between the two halves.




The core prints are the small diameter pieces that extend from each end of the elbow. These must match the desired as-cast inside diameter of the pipe. They serve to key the core in place. It’s also important that the ends of the core prints have draft so they can be pulled from the sand easily. I use a 3 degree angle. Draft is a critical item to keep in mind when developing a pattern. Any vertical face perpendicular to the parting line will need draft.

I fill any voids and form fillets with Durham’s Water putty. You can also use wax fillets which are available from Freeman’s Supply. For finish I shellac it to seal the grain, prime and paint with automotive spray paint. It’s important to get as smooth a finish as possible so the pattern will pull clean from the sand.

As for the core box….I fabricate a male master pattern as above with the diameter matching exactly the diameter of the core prints on the pattern and with an overall length which includes the core prints. You want the core to key exactly into the core prints left by the pattern. Here is the pattern next to one of the male core masters (work in progress). This pattern is for part No. A33A (Lower water Manifold Extension on Pump). What is hard to see from the photo is that the flange is rotated 13 degrees to the part line of the pipe. Because of this I will make a follower - but thats another story! Also because this part is not symetrical I will need to make two core boxes that mirror each other.



Here is a good illustration of how the cores will key into the core prints left by the pattern. The cores (the graphite coated pieces are formed from a sand and sodium silicate mixture using the core boxes. Once cured the halves of the cores are than glued together and placed in the core prints formed by the pattern.


I attach half of the core print to a piece of MDF and finish it with Shellac. Note that if the piece is symmetrical you only need one core box. If the piece is asymmetrical than you will need two (one mirroring the other).
Next I make a simple wooden frame and make a Hydrocal plaster casting using the male pattern. Once the plaster is set I fill any voids etc. with Durham’s, shellac and paint and you’re done!

I hope this helps!