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Step 3Make the Bases & Bed
Here's the first part(s) -- the bases. These hold the bed of the lathe. On the left is the wood pattern; to the right are the two bases, now nicely (well, sort of nicely) painted.
I'm casting the parts with a zinc-aluminum alloy, instead of the aluminum called for in The Orange Book. Several reasons: (a) it melts at roughly 740 degrees F, which you can hit on a gas range; (b) it doesn't shrink much at all, and (c) it's fairly close to as strong as mild steel. Cost me about US$1 a pound (.454 kilos) at a nearby foundry company. (For curious folks - it's ZA-12.)
Legal warnings & such: Zinc fumes are reasonably toxic, I hear. Do NOT melt zinc without serious ventilation and several college degrees in chemistry. I'm an idiot, and if you try to do this stuff following my descriptions, which are NOT good directions, you'll probably die. I'm not kidding. You're responsible for your own life and safety -- I'm not.
I'm casting the parts with a zinc-aluminum alloy, instead of the aluminum called for in The Orange Book. Several reasons: (a) it melts at roughly 740 degrees F, which you can hit on a gas range; (b) it doesn't shrink much at all, and (c) it's fairly close to as strong as mild steel. Cost me about US$1 a pound (.454 kilos) at a nearby foundry company. (For curious folks - it's ZA-12.)
Legal warnings & such: Zinc fumes are reasonably toxic, I hear. Do NOT melt zinc without serious ventilation and several college degrees in chemistry. I'm an idiot, and if you try to do this stuff following my descriptions, which are NOT good directions, you'll probably die. I'm not kidding. You're responsible for your own life and safety -- I'm not.
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