Thread: What are you working on?

I don't think preheating or cold shuts would come into play, Tim.
With 158-190 degree melt, it should be easy to just flow it in until a ascribed line is met.
Roy's link says it shrinks as-first cooling so removing should be a snap. It also says original size will eventually come back.

Hardest part about making wedges for me is getting the taper. I figure about 4 bars with popular thicknesses/angles would give some wide choices. Taper would be done or close.
Drilling the hole where you want and trimming around the edges to fit has to be done anyway. Any big waste would go back in next time..

How does the wedgomatic handle these questions?

Rather than casting a mold maybe press to fit in a mold would seem a better answer.

Ah well....The WedgeOMat is pretty high-tech. It anticipates what you need and spits it out with several others which are close. Almost impossible to keep running anymore, TBH.

Anyhoo, they all get used sooner or later!

Looking for my punches so I can finish a strop I'm working on. Apparently, the hammer I wanted to use and the set of HF hollow punches are the only two tools I DON'T know the location of.

Jelly, that blade holder looks good. I really need to finish mine when I visit my folks. Where did you get the magnets?

Haven't had hot water more than two days straight for a couple weeks. Getting frustrated maintenance can't get it fixed. They turn it on and it resets/turns itself off by the next day. Guy tried something else and that hasn't worked either.

Tom, I look forward to your results and report!

You know it really does make one wonder how those lead wedges were mass produced all those years ago. We know that there was a ton of hand work from start to finish. I'm wondering if there were molds to get them close then finished per razor by hand--

Originally Posted by JP5

Looking for my punches so I can finish a strop I'm working on. Apparently, the hammer I wanted to use and the set of HF hollow punches are the only two tools I DON'T know the location of.

I bet it will be the last place you look...

Where did you leave/put them last?

Where did your other half put them?

The best way to find them is to buy another set and you will find them within 2 days!

Originally Posted by 32t

Tom, I look forward to your results and report!

Originally Posted by cudarunner

You know it really does make one wonder how those lead wedges were mass produced all those years ago. We know that there was a ton of hand work from start to finish. I'm wondering if there were molds to get them close then finished per razor by hand--

I will give it a go and report back. Meanwhile.....Sanding on the Stenton.

Originally Posted by JP5

Jelly, that blade holder looks good. I really need to finish mine when I visit my folks. Where did you get the magnets?

Michael's craft supply. It was a pack of 6 for $5. Pro Mag is the brand. They're pretty strong, mine will hold a full size Scottish dirk vertical. That's why I put them as close to the vertical wood as I could to interact more with the spine. I used it with my swirly Geneva with a 6/8 full hollow and had no problems.

Sorry for the small pic, I was guessing on the size since it's a pretty long blade. But gets the point across.

An excerpt from the wiki link on that strange alloy Tom has. I'm not a metallurgist, so much of the subject is Greek to me.
Perhaps someone can explain the last part:
""The alloy contracts during the first 30 minutes, allowing easy removal from a mold, then expands during the next 30 minutes to return to the exact original size. It then continues expanding at a known rate for 200 hours, allowing conversion of measurements of the casting back to those of the mold.""
... So it continues expanding for 200 hrs?
*At a "known rate"... So at a specific time another mold can be made which will be larger than original?
What size increase does it stop at?
Will you need to wait 200hrs before using the wedge as to not bust your pins or scales?

Cool stuff there Tom! Very interesting.