> There is a foundry in Alabama called Lawler Foundry. They make many aluminum
> and iron castings for the ornamental metal trade. I'm not sure what grade of
> iron they use, but it might be suitable.
I'd be very surprised it is was. I had some wheels cast in iron a couple of
years ago from a place in Oklahoma, who also made ornamental sand-cast
iron for things like patio furniture. The castings were crude, sandy, full of flash
that closed spoke gaps, and inconsistent. Oh, yes, and very hard, probably
with no graphite at all in the iron. In other words, money down the drain. They
just don't have to work to the same standards we expect. After having seen
wheels from Mark Woods, I know it can be done using investment casting
and the right material. It's probably only one piece of new information for an
experienced investment caster, but that slight difference is enough to make
something usable or not for our purposes. If we could find the raw material,
we'd have any number of options.
> worn out gray iron cast wheels
Excellent suggestion! I'll keep that in mind and start asking around. Are there any
"gotchas" to worry about like inclusions of other metals, additives, or whatever?
Also, I was under the impression that the suppliers to the ride-on scales were
going to ZA alloys in place of iron. How widespread is that?
regards,
-vance-
Vance Bass
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Small-scale live steam resources: http://www.nmia.com/~vrbass
