The Home Machinist!

Hello All,
I am not sure if this is the right forum to broch this question but here goes.
Years ago before a fire, explosion and demise of the porprietor Power Models of De Soto, MO sold small blocks of various sizes of cast iron that was continuous cast in long bars. It was 40,000psi class and was nice because it had no sand or scale to go through before you got to real metal.
It came in round gray and NI-Resist, plus square and rectangular gray iron. He sold it in 4", 6" and 12" lengths. This material was pressure cast in carbon dies. This info comes from my last catalog, the light purple one with a price list from 1996.
The question is....Is there a current supplier of similar cast iron in small blocks at this time? I have a project that would really like to use this stuff as it is easy to machine without carbide to go through the sand.
Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks
Cary

Try these folks:

http://www.bearingmetalinc.com/index.html

_________________
Greg Lewis
Eyeball Engineering — Home of non-interchangeable parts
Our motto: That looks about right.
Turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap since 1983.

Cary,

Sounds like he was a distributor for Dura-Bar.

Link: http://www.dura-bar.com


Cheers,

Curtis F.

_________________
16 Years of SolidWorks experience...now I feel old.

Cary....

Back in the 70's/80's, I'd buy cast grey iron bars and rounds at Alhambra Foundry.

There was also a foundry near the west bank of the L.A. River just south of Downtown where I would buy cast Mehanite bars.... Standard was 13", not 12".

LL

_________________
Do it right.... Or don't do it at all
I have no life. Therefore, I have a hobby
It's not that I'm apathetic, I just flat don't care
An Intellectual is nothing more than an Over-Educated IDIOT
Blogs: Where people with nothing to say..... Say it

If you want to try Dura Bar McMaster-Carr has it, only in rounds I think.

Paul

I had no idea DuraBar came in so many flavors... speedymetals.com has one type, I think the 40K grey iron. They will sell by the inch if you like. Nice folks to deal with.

the Power Model's stuff was great for making piston rings. it wasn't brittle and would spring out a bit.

_________________
Fred V
Pensacola, Fl.
home track:
http://www.waleswest.com

Yep. Sounds like DuraBar. I get the class40 stuff from SpeedyMetals. I love the stuff but I hate the cleanup afterwards...

http://www.speedymetals.com/c-8389-square.aspx

Ken

Thanks to all for you responses. I think Dura Bar dircet would require some huge poundage to do business. I just need a few small rectangular blocks. I will try speedymetal and see how that works.
Cary

Cary, what sizes do you need?
I have about one ton of Durabar, 20 grade, I think.
Square sizes, mostly 4" & 5" I think.
I can ship 70 pounds in a large flat rate box for $16.00
Good deal for you, maybe not for the P O.
Regards, HG

Hi Howard,
We have talked about your iron before. I would prefer to use 40,000 class iron but if all else fails we will talk again. Your 20 stuff is very soft and a real mess to machine. I think I would have to use a mask to keep it out of my lungs. I do appreciate you offer though. Cary

Less mess then anything else.
You can try Peterson steel in Worcester, MA I think they have a 800 number and can ship in a flat rat box.
FYI, if it fits, it ships is not so. I learned this when I packed 110 pounds into a large flat rate box. The PO will not accept anything over 70 pounds.
If all else fails I get to Worcester and can get it for you.
Regards, HG