Stepping back and restarting conservative - Singer 15-91

[JJN]

36 minutes ago, Sheilajeanne said:

Did they cast those machines using the lost wax method?

It looks like sand casting to me. Wooden patterns are used to make the impressions in the sand. You can see them knocking the sand out of the castings after they are cooled.

I don't think there is anything that can rival what Singer had back then. They shipped in pig iron and timbers and shipped out finished machines. They made the castings, forged internal parts, made all their own machine screws and they even made the needles. They applied the jappaned finish, made the gold leaf decals, milled the lumber to make the finished cabinets and the crates to ship them in. All in one factory. Truly amazing. I would love to read the history of how that factory was made and how long it took.

Edited September 3, 2019 by JJN

[Colt W Knight]

The capabilities of old Singer domestic machines are greatly exaggerated on the internet. I am not sure why. Some folks are trying to sell the machines, some folks are repeating bad info, and some folks are just out right making stuff up. Other than the obvious size limitations to how thick they will sew, and the size thread they can use, I found that those old machines have a real issue keeping stitch length even when working on actual projects. Sure, they will sew the mandatory test piece just fine, but when it comes to actually manipulating the leather around, sewing corners, and etc. the domestic machines fall apart quick. 

[Sheilajeanne]

JJN, there was a top and bottom to each casting when they were doing the machine arms. How would the sand in the top part stay in place while the metal was poured in? Or did the wooden patterns burn up as the metal was poured? (That seems quite wasteful!)

[JJN]

18 minutes ago, Sheilajeanne said:

JJN, there was a top and bottom to each casting when they were doing the machine arms. How would the sand in the top part stay in place while the metal was poured in? Or did the wooden patterns burn up as the metal was poured? (That seems quite wasteful!)

The sand has ingredients added that allow it to hold its shape. The formed sand is delicate at that stage and must be handled carefully. A sand casting of the inside of the arm is made separately and placed in the outer arm sand form so the arm will be hollow. After it is cast with iron the sand crumbles and falls out.

[mikesc]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_casting

Learned how to do this many many years ago in school..woodworking too..back in the days when schools used to teach practical things  as well as academic .

[JJN]

5 minutes ago, mikesc said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_casting

Learned how to do this many many years ago in school..woodworking too..back in the days when schools used to teach practical things  as well as academic .

I learned in junior college. We had to make a 2 piece wooden pattern then we cast in bronze. That kind of learning lasts forever.

[mikesc]

Curiosity..when did you learn ( if you did ) to knit at school ? In my case it was at age 6 and 1/2, boys and girls , we all learned to knit a scarf ( school was In Yorkshire..sometimes we lived in the UK, sometimes in Eire, or on RAF bases in other countries )..scarves came in handy in Yorkshire wintertime Like you said, you never forget ..sand casting etc I learned in a different school in Shropshire.. age 10 1/2..Sewing ( hand and machine ) was learned at home in Ireland and UK..Industrial machines at my first Art School ( you can't learn talent, you either have it or you don't ), but you can learn how to work all kinds of machinery, sewing machines, printing presses, photography, darkroom , stage lighting,( and making sets and props, curtains etc, even a bit of illusionists stuff ) welding, ( arc , gas, etc ) lathes, general "shop equipment" , and sculpture stuff, all about the different materials, same with paints, papers, canvases, framing and stretchers, etc. Plus the Art School parties :)

 

*what age is "junior college" ?. North American school system ( and French , for that matter ) ages, never "stuck with me"..

Edited September 3, 2019 by mikesc

[JJN]

37 minutes ago, mikesc said:

 

*what age is "junior college" ?. North American school system ( and French , for that matter ) ages, never "stuck with me"..

Junior college, also called community college today, is a 2 year school after high school. Ages 17-20 in most cases. Also used by adults for continuing education, fun or hobby. Many offer evening classes for people with jobs.

[mikesc]

Thanks for the explanation I'm going to have to write down a chart of the equivalent ages and school types in North America, I have one somewhere that I made for the French ones ( we home schooled our son ), so after he was 6 years old here, I wasn't in contact with the French educational system, when I can't remember the school age equivalents here, I ask my Breton wife..Haven't been in the UK for so many years now, what "educational system" they currently have there no longer interests me, from the little I see of it, it appears to be mostly shambolic, producing illiterate , innumerate , "I wanna be on TV" kids and adults who "wanna make loads o' money , but not have to work"..but insist on "respec' me innit" , it was going that way when I left in 87, which was part of the reason why I left and have no intention of going back..Unless it is to pick up something that cannot be sent / shipped..

Edited September 3, 2019 by mikesc

[Bert51]

I was luck in my miss spent youth to work in the front office of a Sand Casting Foundry and used to get into trouble for spending to much of my day out the back watching these craftsmen working,

They where making alloy bodies and gearboxes for power drills, but it was good to watch them work. They would pack the sand tightly into the mold and have hundreds ready for each pour, each casting could have many parts in each sand box.

Bert.