Calling Harold V - 50Kw induction furnace

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GeorgeGaskill

I spent the last hour or so scouring the i'net ...

Post by GeorgeGaskill »

for references to the lost Florida Pirate Museum of the above mentioned television show with no success (any of you Florida based posters who might have info on the subject are invited to post any such info.) I have also toured the cannon collection of Washington Navy Yard where they have numerous war prizes of foreigh guns, although most are more recent than the decorated era.

Most shipboard cannon prior to the 19th century used pretty much the same trucked carriage so a reasonable complete gun model using such a carriage of appropriate scale would be hard to challenge in any specific rendering. I can send you plans (.dwg file) of the 1774 24 pounder shown on the aforementioned website if you like.
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Harold_V
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Now that's an offer

Post by Harold_V »

I simply can't refuse. If you don't mind, please do send it. My addy appears in my profile.

You've apparently done your share of research on this subject. I would not have considered that the carriages were all similar, but on the other hand, it makes sense that there are certain fundamental features that they all needed to be useful on a ship deck. Having met those features, I can see that it would be difficult for most anyone to find fault with a design as it relates to its authenticity. If it was that easy, one would be able to document proper carriages. Thanks for mentioning it in that light.

Would you be interested in a scan of the pics I mentioned of the ornate Spanish cannon? I took several photos years ago, with a 6" scale in each for perspective. I lived in Utah at the time and figured if I couldn't get back to the guns I could possibly build from the photos and arrive at a reasonably faithful reproduction. Now that I live within 50 miles, I'd simply go back and get proper dimensions as required. If the 24 pounder, of which you speak, has carriage details, I might get very enthused about working that direction as I peck away at our house. I've been doing that very thing during the winter months when it is too wet to be outside, getting items in operating condition for the shop. At this time I'm working on a Troemner double beam balance, which I will then use to calibrate weights for a Wilson hardness tester that I bought in ragged condition from ebay. The hardness tester is turning out very nicely. I had to make new bezels for the meter and cover. I've made all new anvils from heat treated 17-4 PH stainless and also made the B indenter, again, from 17-4. That's an excellent material for the home shop machinist because of the ease at which it can be heat treated. It does not achieve the level of hardness that tool steels achieve, but it is tougher and harder than heat treated 4130.

I retired at age 54 and would do it again in a heart beat. I've never regretted retiring, even at a young age and with a small retirement income. I just recently started receiving social security benefits, at age 63 and 4 months.

On a side note, I found a refurbished IR pyrometer still sitting on the shelf of the manufacturer. They are willing to sell it at what appears to be a reasonable price as compared to a new one, and I'm tempted. Calibration of these things costs a minimum of $700, so buying one off ebay may not be a good deal, especially if it is not working properly. Because of my ability to melt steel and iron, I must have some kind of pyrometer eventually. It's decisions like this that make an early retirement and a small income a difficult call. If I was still gainfully employed it wouldn't be a difficult decision.

Thanks for all your comments, George. Much appreciated.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Harold_V
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Re: Calling Harold V - 50Kw induction furnace

Post by Harold_V »

Andrew,
You appear far more youthful than you apparently are, or you took a very early retirement! Your photo reminds me of one in his 30's. Of course, at my age, 63, everyone looks like a kid! Are you enjoying your retirement? I'm totally pleased to be retired and now wonder how it is that I ever had any time to myself. I keep busy far beyond my wildest imagination.

I must apologize for not grasping the content of your post regards the diesel consumption. When you made mention of diesel, my mind immediately went to an engine, not the fuel. That happens as you get old! I now understand that you were referring to an oil fired furnace.

I confess to having to face the same dilemma as you state. My non-ferrous furnace will be so fired. We heat with what is commonly referred to as #2 heating oil, which is no different from #2 diesel aside from the sulfur content. Otherwise they are identical. I have already installed, under the concrete floor, large supply lines that lead to the outside oil tank, which is 1,100 gallons in size. I plan to build a furnace that would rival in size the one you use, so I now have some clue about the potential fuel consumption, something about which I had long wondered.

The smoke to which you refer may be controllable by preheating the oil before it is burned. I'd be interested in hearing of the nature of the old burner you used with oil. The boiler that I heat with has an atomizing nozzle and there is no white smoke, ever. The fuel is not even preheated. If one runs the mixture too rich, it can produce a lot of soot, however, plugging the boiler rapidly, so proper balance is important. I am familiar with the white smoke, we own two Dodge Cummins diesel trucks, each of which is known for a bit of smoke when first started. The older model tends to be worse than the newer one, which leads me to believe that they had made some significant improvements in some area.

Your mention of hydrogen inclusion in aluminum. Years ago I purchased a large bottle of nitrogen for plastic welding. I've read of the process of superheating aluminum, then bubbling nitrogen through it using a lance, which removes the hydrogen. One does this until pouring temperature is reached, then skims and pours. Should I find myself involved in aluminum casting to any degree, I may use that system. My interest, however, is in the ferrous metals and some brass. Still, it does no harm to be set up for all of them, which I intend to do.

By chance, is the hovercraft yours? They've always been a bit fascinating to me. A small description or a posted photo would be welcome. That you started casting because of the rebuild project must be a common trait that folks like us display. There's scarcely anything that I must have done that I don't end up doing myself. I lack trust in others, having been "porked" more than a few times. Seems many folks are far more interested in the proceeds than the results. I've slowly learned to trust myself and forget outside help where my projects are concerned.

I'm amazed that you have any degree of success with melting iron in your furnace. My experience in melting pure copper and gold taught me early on how difficult it is to achieve the higher temperatures. It works, yes, but it seems to take more and more time to achieve the little extra heat needed. Having read of your work area, I surely agree that you could justify an induction furnace. Because of the new solid state devices, the older (second generation) models do come available here in the States, and if you're standing in just the right place at the right time, they are even reasonably priced. One fellow, with whom I'm slightly acquainted, managed to corner a 30 KW Inductotherm (trade name) model for a small figure, reputed to be less than US$1,000. That puts an induction furnace within the grasp of most of us, but one must have 3 phase to run them, which can be the thing that controls if one does or does not end up with one. In my case, I had to pay to have my 3 phase service run for just over 2 miles, but I was treated very fairly in that the line was in need of rebuild, so I was charged for only the third conductor, a savings of thousands of dollars. I found that having the 3 phase installed was no more expensive that going to rotary phase converters, and far more convenient. I had to choose one route or the other because my machines are all industrial in nature, not home use types. I did not want to find myself spending money buying motors instead of power lines.

Your grinder sounds like a dandy. Like you, I managed a spare internal spindle, which could be very costly to replace. About a year ago I found a variety of internal wheels on ebay and made some outstanding buys, so I'm now well equipped in that department. Sorry to hear of your cabinet misfortune. I try to not hang heavy items from walls, having always feared exactly what you experienced. Thanks for reaffirming my hunch. An explanation, please. A "linisher"? That's a term that escapes me.

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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Re: I spent the last hour or so scouring the i'net

Post by Hanz »

George- You wouldn't by chance be looking for Mel Fisher's museum in Key West?
http://www.melfisher.org/
He is probably most known for finding the Atocha, I guess about 20 years ago now, and there have been many specials on PBS channels. HTH
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AndrewMawson
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Re: Calling Harold V - 50Kw induction furnace

Post by AndrewMawson »

Harold,

The photo is 2 years old and I'm 53 - so yes I took early retirement.

The Morgan No 5 would burn diesel or central heating oil, or actually anything that would flow down the pipe ! It was designed to be ultra simple, so the oil feed was intended to be from a gravity tank with about 5 foot head - I couldn't easily arrange that so put a pump (domestic radiator circulating pump which worked fine on diesel!) to create a head. The oil went through a simple needle metering valve to a jet of maybe 1/8" that was co-axial with the air blast. Air via a 3" butterfly valve was from a vast centrifugal fan about 30" diameter driven by a 3 Hp motor - provide 150" water gauge. I know for a fact that grit sucked off a concrete floor would imbed itself in human skin - yes I got hit when comissioning it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif"%20alt="[/img] Ignition consisted of putting a burning oil soaked rag in the furnace and turning things on slowly. I ended up rigging a gas flare wand off town gas - seemed a little more civilised and was excellent for getting rid of cobwebs !

When I installed the replacement propane fired furnace, I took the opportunity to put an electric valve in series with the gas, and this along with the motor contactor is wired to a pair of strategically located emergancy off buttons next to the two doorways - just in case - I could hit it as I ran away !!!

Interesting that you mention nitrogen for degassing. A couple of month ago I got a cylinder of dry nitrogen, and made a bubble wand from 15mm stainless tube, crimped shut at the end, with a ring of 1mm holes drilled radially - works a charm. I was having a very hard time degassing those piston I mentioned earlier - the weather was very wet which makes a huge difference - and I was getting fed up gassing myself using those noxious purple tablets. I am now manic about drying everything when casting aluminium. I have a ceramic chip hearth in the foundry, and I have now taken to lighting it as the furnace warms up, and using it to pre-heat all the metal ingots, and any tools (skimmer, poker etc)

The Hovercraft was mine, but years ago - perhaps 20. It was a Hoverair Hoverhawke - three seater triple engine - I'll try and attach a photo of one (not mine but identical) It had been dismantled, then abandoned by it's previous owner. I bought it from someone who took over his premises and wanted a mug to take it away - me ! It had to go when I started my first business venture - the rebuild was virtually finished - she was hovering and all engines running - just needed final painting, but I had committed to buying 12.5 tons of computer peripherals which were going to be stored in the dining room. The wife said if they come, I want the lawn back ! That hovercraft was the reason I got most of my first machine tools, so it served a purpose.

The cylindrical grinder is an absolute beauty - Jones & Shipman 1300 look at: http://www.andmar.co.uk/examples/a1885.jpg for an almost identical one, though mine has the rise and fall head so can be used for tool grinding as well. I got mine relatively cheaply and am amazed how it turns out superb work to tenths of a thou effortlessly. The tooling cupboard is now resurrected - identical cheap cupboard but with lots of Dexion reinforcement. Everything HAS to go on the wall as I have 120% of what will fit [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif"%20alt="[/img]
Andrew Mawson
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GeorgeGaskill

I checked out the Mel Fisher site and ...

Post by GeorgeGaskill »

I don't think it is what I am looking for. Besides, a significant number of the pages display nothing of interest, as if they haven't been finished or weren't tested by the web page creator before posting.

I think the salvage I am looking for was done by someone else but have yet to track it down.
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Re: I checked out the Mel Fisher site and ...

Post by Hanz »

George can I have one more try? Would you be looking for information on the Whydah, North America’s only known pirate shipwreck? It's not in Florida, but actually capsized within sight of a beach on Cape Cod, where I spent many summers. I saw the exhibit in Provincetown, and it was very eerie to see not only the bell off the ship, but especially Capt Bellamy's boots! This shipwreck has also been covered often on some cable channels.

Here's a couple links for what its worth-

http://www.whydah.com/page.php?id=lnk0
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/whydah/main.html
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AndrewMawson
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Re: I checked out the Mel Fisher site and ...

Post by AndrewMawson »

Hanz,

Life is full of co-incidences ! A few months back I was leant a book on the Whydah excavation (if thats the word when under water) by my Father in Law - fascinating information but not well written. By the chap that lead the investigation. If I remember correctly the exhibition was plagued by the black lobby as the Whydah had originally been a slave ship. They sucessfully campaigned to squash the exhibition as it supposedly glorified slavery - very odd as the slaves were freed and offered the chance to join the crew, and many did. I think it was Washington where they got furthest with a permenent display, but that was also defeated. I'll email the F in L and get a few details on the book for you
Andrew Mawson
Battle, East Sussex, UK
GeorgeGaskill

The more I think about this, the more ...

Post by GeorgeGaskill »

I think the wreck was in Bahaman waters, although I am positive that at the end of the show, it was said that the recovered items were displayed at "The Pirate Museum in Florida," although it's been a while since I saw the show and my memory is showing signs of age. :-)
AndrewMawson
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Re: The more I think about this, the more ...

Post by AndrewMawson »

George,

THe details provided by my Father in Law regarding the book:

The Black Ship by Barry Clifford (with Paul Berry)

First published in1999 by Cliff Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers

First published in Great Britain by Headline Book Publishing.

www.headline.co.uk
www.hodderheadline.com

I presume Barry Clifford must have been the discoverer / excavator
Andrew Mawson
Battle, East Sussex, UK
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Harold_V
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Re: Calling Harold V - 50Kw induction furnace

Post by Harold_V »

Andrew,
Great story on the hovercraft!

Even with your age stated at 53, I'm bewildered. By then I was quite gray ("grey" for you folks). Amazing how your youth is hanging on. I'm almost completely gray at 63. Still have most of the hair, though! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Thanks for the comments on the Morgan. After giving your description some thought, I gather that the secret to success with the atomizing nozzles is the degree to which they atomize the fuel. It must be akin to vapor, for temperature of the combustion chamber seems to play no part in how well it burns, unlike the nozzle you described. For our heating boiler, fuel for the atomizing nozzle is presented @ 100 PSI (in my burner, others vary) and must be well filtered. In addition to an inline filter, the nozzle has, as a part of its construction, a sintered bronze filter. One can't run drain oils as a result. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif"%20alt="[/img]

While I appear to be beating this issue to death, there is good reason. Considering our environment, running a furnace outside would be restricted to only a few days per year. My shop is fully finished and painted inside. As a result, I shudder to think that if I build an oil burning furnace that it will be a smoker. I believe my interests would be better served to pursue the atomizing nozzle concept, or to research a way to preheat the oil so it becomes a vapor as it is introduced to the furnace. I imagine that system would be smokeless.

Your system of safety was wise. The McEnglevan furnaces sold in this country have various safety features, none of which did I incorporate in my furnaces. I was especially concerned when I ran my tilting furnace. I had made no provisions to turn off the fuel if power failed.

Having taken note that you mentioned town gas, I'm driven to question your choice of propane. Would you not have been able to use the town gas of which you spoke? I'm assuming your town gas is the equal to our "natural gas", which was the source of my fuel. I had a higher pressure meter than was normally used in heating, but I had built, with equal success, furnaces that ran on the lower pressure.

I appreciate your comments about being manic where moisture is concerned. Recent conversations about melting aluminum had shifted the importance away from proper procedure, something to which I tend to take exception. My position is one of having read of the problems only. Your personal experience lends so much more credence to the conversation. I would suggest to anyone that intends to cast aluminum that they learn from your experiences.

Thanks for the link for the J&S grinder. Lovely machine, it is. It brings to mind, with minor differences, the #1 B&S machines on which I trained as a grinder. As you state, working to tenths is a simple matter on good machines. There's nothing quite as nice as grinding, in my opinion.

I understand the 120% of capacity in the shop, by the way. I've often commented that if someone were to provide a roof over the earth, I'd quickly fill it up with "things". I'm not sure there is such a thing as a shop that is large enough. One quickly learns to make every nook and cranny count. Lets hope the new cabinet is more content than the old one!

Harold
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
AndrewMawson
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Re: Calling Harold V - 50Kw induction furnace

Post by AndrewMawson »

Harold,

Don't be fooled by the supposedly youthfull looks, behind that face is years of stress and strain!

Town Gas: yes this is the service provided along the road by the gas company and is basically straight from the North Sea. I would be excellent for running the furnace, and quite a bit cheaper than bottled propane, but I would have had to lay a long (and fat) pipe in a trench that would have cost a fortune, as the 1/2" service that I laid in when I built the foundry would have far too large a pressure drop.

The furnace is only fired a few days a year so I'll live with the bottles. By law here you are not supposed to have more than 3 millibar drop from the meter to the appliance but by being fed from propane tanks it comes under a whole different (and easier) set of regulations.
Andrew Mawson
Battle, East Sussex, UK
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