[SEL] Tod Engine Works Foundry

Jim and Diane jd.kirkes at verizon.net
Sat Dec 3 08:42:40 PST 2005


Hi Rick,

A couple of curious questions.  What temperatures do you use to melt and 
pour steel and iron?

Jim

Jim and Diane Kirkes
Hemet, CA
jd.kirkes at verizon.net
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Rowlands" <jrrowlands at neo.rr.com>
To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 3:22 PM
Subject: [SEL] Tod Engine Works Foundry


A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to expand our fledgling foundry
operation to its own site.  Up until now I have been making castings at work
using my employer's furnace and have been waiting until I got the Tod Engine
building put up at the museum to start melting using our own furnace.

We have been offered to rent a 40' x 40' brick building with attached 25' x
28' concrete block garage addition.  The main part of the building is at
least 100 years old and has lots of character.  The building once had 480VAC
3 phase fed underground from a building across the street.  This has been
cut off and we are in the process of having the electric company run an
overhead service to the building.

I've already started moving in and am in the process of setting up a newly
acquired secondhand 50kw induction melting unit and 100 pound induction
furnace.  I've also moved an air compressor, welder, molding tables and
workbenches to the building.  When I am up and running I'll have the
capacity to melt and pour castings in iron, ductile iron, all grades of
carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, copper based alloys and aluminum.
The furnace will have a maximum capacity of 125 pounds of steel so the
largest casting I can make with this unit will be 100 pounds.

I am fortunate that this building became available and that I have been
acquiring equipment for years in anticipation for the day when I could set
up a workshop. I am not going to have too much of an upfront investment to
get things started.  The building owner is a gas engine collector and has
quite a collection of oilfield engines.

Here are some pictures of the building, the 50kw power unit and a 300 pound
induction furnace that I recently rebuilt at work.
http://community.webshots.com/album/180048461ppagnh/2

A big thanks to Curt Holland who planted the seed a year ago and gave me the
idea to start a foundry.  The Tod Engine Works is set up as a part of the
Tod Engine Foundation, and all profits from the production of castings go
toward preserving the Mighty Tod Engine and two more smaller engines which
we have become caretakers of.  Our latest adopted engine is this one from
New York state.
http://community.webshots.com/album/512613592rLSddm

Rick Rowlands
Tod Engine Works
Makers of Quality iron, steel, ductile iron
and nonferrous castings
2261 Hubbard Road
Youngstown, OH  44505
330-728-2799
www.todengine.org/engineworks.html

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