Does any one on this site does sand casting of small parts for for vintage cars

[TAKerry]

I have been doing drafting work (off and on) forever. Give me a pencil and a drawing board, well I have a nice table settup so theres that, and I can draw just about anything. But I cant draw a straight line, or even a crooked one on a computer. I have tried from cheapy drawing programs to professional ones. Just never got the hang of it. I suppose I knew I could do it by  hand and didnt want to take time for the learning process. My hats off to Gary and likes that can computer design something and 3d print it. 

[JV Puleo]

8 hours ago, ply33 said:

What vintage Mac do you have?

10.11.6. That's El Capitan. The problem is further complicated by the fact that I use a graphic design software for my real work that will not run on a later machine than that. I own that but it's now only available as a subscription service that would cost at least half of what I make in a year (It's part-time and only for a few select customers. I'm way past the point of working for anyone I find trying.)

 

Actually, I do my design work in the graphic program but that's only drawings to work out dimensional problems. I doubt anyone else would even understand my drawings.

[Walt G]

For my own needs/situation I echo what TAKerry says totally. Computers are great and I too admire what Gary can do and mentions here, but I taught art for over 40 years and it was all hands on operation - pencils, rulers templates at times. It just is the way it is  "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" Well, this old dog likes the ability of a computer for gathering together the ability to type, scan photos, etc for the stories I write and then submit for publication - sure is a lot easier then decades ago having to make a negative of a period photo, have the film developed and then a print made. ( I have a lot of 4 x 5 negatives of period images that Austin Clark would make  and then be able to be used for reproduction of photographs that could give incredible detail ) SO I will let those of you who tap the buttons do that while this dinosaur is content with what I can do as I need to.

[Terry Harper]

3 hours ago, prewarnut said:

One thing to keep in mind is that if one is using one of these CAD programs it is important to know the type of file it will produce (if one is then submitting to a commercial operation to fabricate outside of making a plastic 3-D printed object at home which is to be submitted for lost wax, etc). I spent hours on one project only to find I would have to start over again on different software as the company needed it in a different format. Recently, I have used NanoCAD for 2-D renderings (laser cutting of sheet/plate, openings, filigree) and have had commercial laser cutting done for me but the program will do 3-D as well. It is free to download up to version 5. It is now up to version 21 or so but the early version is still just as good and can allow a newcomer to attempt this before deciding to pay the outlay or cost of software for a later version.

For 3D printing its always STL format. Most CAD programs should be able to export an STL file. The real problem is often when you are moving from one CAD program to another. 

[Gary_Ash]

12 hours ago, dodge28 said:

Gary-Ash, what it is about the blind describing the elephant by feel ?

What I meant was that there are many opinions about which is the best process for reproducing a part, and I found it particularly amusing because none of us knew what the part looked like, what its function was, or how big it was - we were blind.  I hope there is always room for a little levity on the forum.  It's supposed to be fun.

[ply33]

1 hour ago, JV Puleo said:

10.11.6. That's El Capitan. The problem is further complicated by the fact that I use a graphic design software for my real work that will not run on a later machine than that. I own that but it's now only available as a subscription service that would cost at least half of what I make in a year (It's part-time and only for a few select customers. I'm way past the point of working for anyone I find trying.)

 

Actually, I do my design work in the graphic program but that's only drawings to work out dimensional problems. I doubt anyone else would even understand my drawings.

Sounds like a situation similar to my wife's. She is semi-retired from graphic design. I say semi because she is retired except for one old client that really likes her work and occasionally sends her jobs. Her work setup is a Mac with 10.13 configured "just so" with the last version of the design suite that one could purchase before the company forced people on to a cloud subscription service.

 

Unfortunately that old Mac died recently. So she got another Mac of the same vintage off eBay for a couple hundred dollars and we were able to wipe it back to its original OS 10.8 to assure no malware, etc. Then install OS 10.12 from Apple, upgrade that to 10.13 via the Apple Store, then migrate her old computer's stuff from the Time Machine backup. She doesn’t have a big budget nowadays what with only an occasional job from one client so spending big bucks for a new machine that would not run her old design purchased software made no sense. A couple hundred dollars was within reason though.

 

Amazingly, Apple actually has disk images and instructions to clean install operating systems going back to 10.7 10.7 Lion was released in 2010 which is quite a long time ago for computers and operating systems.

[dodge28]

Gary-Ash, I see your point. Well taken. I apologized for the miss understanding. 

[Fordy]

I was pointed towards a free system called Sketchup for doing a 3d model - much easier than Fusion 360 but I did spend a little time swearing at the computer and had to do what I wanted twice before I was happy with the results. All up it took me about an hour to do a in tank fuel gauge body for an early Franklin and a pal printed me a sample in plastic that I was happy with. I uploaded this to Facfox and got the online quote to print in Aluminium and it came in at $80. I have ordered 2. They will need threading and a minor "tickle" on the lathe.

Steve

[Joshcollingwood]

You can take help from youtube or google to see how the sand casting is done because it is not so difficult.

 

Moreover you can also consult some experienced and skilled workers who can do your job in a reasonable rates. But make sure that the

quality work is delivered because sometimes reasonable rates does not provide good quality.
 

When I was in Michigan I took some help from workers that used to work in Douge's Mobile Auto Repair and seriously they did a great job and the service charges were also so reasonable.