The pig casting complex has been sitting in an 85% complete state for months now. I tend to get to a point with some models that I have finished all the hard stuff and what's left I've figured out and/or it's just mundane stuff that I'm dreading. In this case it was a combination of both - the mundane being the placement of the small styrene discs on the conveyor that represent the hinged links. I had done about half earlier - well it wasn't that bad, in fact it took less than an hour to finish. One of the pictures show the pile of discs and the cheapo leather punch I use to make them. After this I had to clean up the foundation for the intermediate conveyor supports with some strip styrene. Also on this foundation, besides the supports, rests a lime spray box. This device puts a coating of a lime slurry on the pig molds that are on the return run to the casting house. The lime I believe acts as a release agent and maybe extends the life of the molds. Now, wait a second you ask? A slurry, ie water, right before pouring liquid hot iron into the mold? Apparently, the molds are still so hot that the water in the slurry almost instantly vaporizes. The Mike Rabbit plan set I am using only has a basic sketch of this device from one view and I have no photos of it, nor have I spoken to anyone that has ever seen one in action. So, basically I'm building something that I think it might be like. At my pig caster, the bags of lime are stored in the brick hoist house where they are mixed with water in a tank and pumped to the spray box under the conveyor. Well there are a few pictures of my lime spray box.
1 comment:
Jim, I too am building a pig caster for my HO model layout of the Duluth Works of U.S. Steel (now gone). Whats amazing is like yourself, how little I can find of images of a machine in action or anything to model it on.
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