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Goldcoast scraping & machine rebuilding club

Marcuschrist

Aluminum
Joined
Jul 11, 2017
Just to update I've paid and placed my order for a 2000mmx1000mmx220mm plate and if anyone wants to also order a plate regardless of size it'll be $400 cheaper if you contact Redmond Gary and add your plate to my order so they can be shipped at the same time.

so far we have my Biax which I'll be finally getting back next week along with my three camelbacks. To add to this andrew found a retired swiss machine rebuilder in brisbane who's quite ill and managed to buy his entire collection which includes every size straight edge, square, levels, parallels, hand scraping tools etc you can imagine plus the Biax which andy is keeping. Andy organized and fronted the money for that particular score and I'll be paying him back so it can all be used by the club (under supervision of course).

there's also a gentleman not far south who's number I forgot to grab but he's just started getting into his scraping as well and already owns a Biax as well as a few other bits of scraping kit. he's currently building a smoker and we'll probably have a few BBQ days over the weekends to meet up and get things rolling. I don't eat meat for medical reasons but I'm happy to supply a heap of steaks and snags plus a few cartons of Coopers for the first meetup.

once we get everyone together we'll need to discuss insurance and how we want to go about it (possibly setting things up through the men's shed association) but we'll explore our options when it comes to it. Looking to have the membership as cheap as possible just to cover the insurance and little things like canode/prussian blue. more probably just a small fee per scraping day/afternoon and also looking to waive fees for people who help set up the factory and help get things off the ground.

The only other piece of kit we're looking to buy is a smaller surface plate with 4-5 different sized holes bored through the corners/center which will be used to scrape the bottom of lathe compound slides and a grinder set up with some bondo wheels for grinding and honing the scraper blades. will post some pics tonight of the kit so far once I knock off for the day.

(already posted this on the aussie metalworking forum just reposting here in case anyone is interested and doesn't have the money for all the kit required if anyones interested they can call me on the shop phone: (07) 5522 1726 or email me at [email protected])
 
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The only other piece of kit we're looking to buy is a smaller surface plate with 4-5 different sized holes bored through the corners/center which will be used to scrape the bottom of lathe compound slides and a grinder set up with some bondo wheels for grinding and honing the scraper blades. will post some pics tonight of the kit so far once I knock off for the day.
...

Actually, you can do better (and definitely cheaper) by making your own "donut plates" starting from slices of cast iron round bars. In the picture below it is used to spot the mating part on the cross slide. I'll try to take a few more pictures when I'll go to Tuckahoe tomorrow.



I've milled the bottom to leave three feet and have scraped them parallel to the top, so that it can be used for surveying the compound (of course, on a surface plate, not where it is sitting in the picture):



The bigger the compound (or the cross-slide, if the boss is protruding form there), the plate will generally be lighter and it can be used to spot the mating part as well.

...Plus, it's a nice scraping project for beginners.

Paolo
 
Adding to Paolo's suggestion, Mcmaster Carr supplies 8" to 12" OD x 1/2" to 2" ish thick, large gray iron "drops" for excellent prices.

Corey
 
Adding to Paolo's suggestion, Mcmaster Carr supplies 8" to 12" OD x 1/2" to 2" ish thick, large gray iron "drops" for excellent prices.

Corey
Corey,
Hopefully, in Australia some other supplier does something similar. Otherwise, after adding the shipping costs of delivering them to Australia, I'm afraid it would be cheaper making them out of silver. ;-)

The best thing is to look for large metal sellers that sell cast iron and check if they sell scrap or ask them which scrap yard buys all their scrap. I have the (mis)fortune of living less than 100 miles from York, PA and I have to restrain myself from going to Dura Bar and shop from their scrap bins.

Paolo
 
living less than 100 miles from York, PA and I have to restrain myself from going to Dura Bar and shop from their scrap bins.

Paolo

Paolo.. d'you know if that is even a 'possible'? 'Coz I'm up for bankrolling a joint "expedition" if so.

I mean - doubt they waste much, given they - or their distributors - price by the inch or by the foot already.

And... Day Job scavenger / remaindermen probably already have standing or "blanket" PO's such that drops end up on Speedy Metal or Moses Glick "type of" websites as 'project' metal sources.

Would there likely be anything useful in that "scrap" class but slaggy ends and short-shorts better left for re-melt?
 
Here are the proofs

I ordered a chunk of G2 tube to cut slices to make diamond laps for my Kalamar (they have a minimum order policy of $100) and I went there to pick it up. While there, I asked to shop for scrap and here are the results:







...Approximately 1000lb between cast iron and ductile iron.

There were even larger blocks, but I had to constrain myself, since I would have had some troubles cutting them.

Essentially, my loot is composed by pieces that are too short for them to hold properly in their bandsaws or pieces with a cut initiated at the wrong place or pieces with some milling mishaps.

The only problem is that they aren't a store anymore and they have to start the order at their headquarters in the Midwest. Therefore, no early morning shopping. People there are very nice and they also mention the name of the scrapyard where they sell all their scrap assuring me that there I could find a much better selection than in their bins that day (I'm not sure it would have costed me only $.20/lb though).

Paolo
 
they also mention the name of the scrapyard where they sell all their scrap assuring me that there I could find a much better selection than in their bins that day (I'm not sure it would have costed me only $.20/lb though).

Paolo

Lovely! I have approx 1,000 lbs here as well, nearly all of it in just one single cross-section (former hor-bore bedway). But we can take that to another venue...

Transport cost midwest to East Coast added about 35 or 40 cents a pound over the metal price. Way less sawed-up and palletized than a similar mass of "onesies" off the usual suspects. WITH transport from those dealers, I've been at a high multiple of your 20 cents per-pound.

Meanwhile.. back to Marcus' environment:

Iron and Steel Casting in Australia Market Research | IBISWorld

Dunno how accurate that is. There'll be more useful knowledge in the hands of his members for-sure.

The other issue is that Oz is as big as the USA, its industries and end-users more spread-out, so transport can be a costly item IN country, regardless of "silver" if from overseas.

I'd guess that not less than four times your 1,000 lb haul would be needed to make a truck-run worthwhile, downunder, vs the continuing per-each bleed of small-lot shipping costs.

So "worthwhile" it could be for a club with members of mixed needs, if only a comparable source exists.
 
Actually, you can do better (and definitely cheaper) by making your own "donut plates" starting from slices of cast iron round bars. In the picture below it is used to spot the mating part on the cross slide. I'll try to take a few more pictures when I'll go to Tuckahoe tomorrow.



I've milled the bottom to leave three feet and have scraped them parallel to the top, so that it can be used for surveying the compound (of course, on a surface plate, not where it is sitting in the picture):



The bigger the compound (or the cross-slide, if the boss is protruding form there), the plate will generally be lighter and it can be used to spot the mating part as well.

...Plus, it's a nice scraping project for beginners.

Paolo

what a great idea, I actually have a solid cast iron surface plate that's spent the last 40 years being used as a workbench/benchblock. It's been waiting to get cut up and sacrificed to the scraping gods. I will probably eventually still have a plate made to suit as they're that cheap and unless the holes have to be precise locations and ID it apparently doesn't affect the price too much.
 
I already put these up on the Australian forum but for everyone else here's a small part of the kit so far, the picture of the 72" brown and sharpe is actually from the auction listing as I've yet to move it upstairs with the rest of them. andy and I may have gone a little crazy on the camelbacks but at least we will have quite a few projects for members and provisions for loaning out camelbacks.

Marcus

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E.S Walker-0210.jpg
 
Smart way to get decent mileage out of them, "loaning out", IMNSHO. Otherwise they sit idle and get crotch-rot.

But 'fess up.. similar to my beloved old L.C. Smith, but not identical.

Who made this "REAL machine":

View attachment 205598

its a Royal model 10,
Might look clean on the outside but it could really do with a bit of tlc, all the working components are well caked in oily dust.
 
its a Royal model 10,
Might look clean on the outside but it could really do with a bit of tlc, all the working components are well caked in oily dust.

Grew up on G'mum's War One era Oliver Printype, Mum's late 1940's Underwood being "out of bounds" 'til later years. The LC Smith was the 8" carriage model for DoD's 8" X 10" War Two paper spec. It had been on the Property Book of 518th Engineer's since Operation Torch, North Africa and was still going strong after 4 years in Korea and two more years in Vietnam's laterite dust. The Oliver taught one how to serve a machine. The LC Smith just served.

:)

Typewriters, teletypes (prior to the disposable model 33, at least) and Singer sewing machines, were sort of high-water-marks in US manufacturing quality. Global, really, for Singer. My sidearm .45 ACP, 'nam was also a Singer product.

The last 'mechanical' typewriter under my roof was Swiss. Light and tiny Hermes 'portable' that weighed but a fraction the LC Smith, but never got the same respect for easy typing. Not that it was bad, mind. Just that the small but HEAVY LC Smith was so good.
 
well i would think the scraping people who retire and give up the tools must be on the last legs as tools are what made them...

However i suppose selling to a continuing other professional is a good outcome.

Thats quite a load in Paolo little civic, out here if your in melbourne which your not ( Gold Coast) Flocast make spun cast hollow bar you may like to look them up in melbourne. Cast Bronze Bar,Copper Alloys Brass,Aluminium Bronze Bar,Bronze Bushing Manufacturers Australia

All that cast is nice to have for the odd bits you need them, i have made useful items out of drops like that.

Didn't think there was much industry on the Gold Coast maybe the hinterland bit unusual to see in a beach lovers town is there some one local who grinds beds? for you to scrape? Maybe you are the go to guy there ?
 
Last I heard Flocast have shut down.

That was the general trend in that country/industry overview, and why I posted it.

Not limited to Australia, we moan and groan US side too about all sorts of goods and service too long gone. We just once had more "fat" and can stretch out the remains longer.

Aus never had much fat, industrially, to begin with. Nothing to do with the quality of the craftsmen. Nor management.

Just a smaller market and longer distances than US, EU, or even Asian "internal" markets, let alone exports.
 
well last time i looked they where still there at christmas time, website is still listing them at the address.

Suppose try and ring them, last time i got a bit of hollow spun 2p for a sleeve 8" x 10" x 3'

Not sure why industry shuts down, poor decisions, bad process flow, lack of supporting industry to get going, bad infrastructure all come to mind let alone political decisions in regard to taxes and incentives.
Without becoming a political rant, china seems to organise industry to their advantage, finance startups which feed other startups and so on. This however seems to be on borrowed money so time will tell if it pays off to our detriment and their gain long term, at the moment its our loss.
Yes Australia could do things better big sigh.....
a big list of makers come and gone.
 








 
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