Grates Are Back From Tomahawk Foundry

Wow!! That was fast. I had no idea it would be that fast and painless. I was just sitting on the porch when UPS just pulled up. I love getting packages when I'm not expecting them. So without further ado. Looks pretty good huh? My only concern is there is no whole where this nut and bolt is supposed to go. See here. Oh and will it stand up to coal heat. And here there is no wholes. Can I use a regular drill bit to make the necessary whole. It fits in the stove perfect, but without that nut & bolt. I fear that a catastrophe is just waiting to happen.

OH , that is SO cool and encouraging !!

just as soon as I get my project stove finished I have multiple pieces I need to send over there.

thanks for posting,
steve

Use a full size drill just to get the hole centered in the dimple and then a small drill followed by the full size. No lubricant.

franco b wrote:Use a full size drill just to get the hole centered in the dimple and then a small drill followed by the full size. No lubricant.

Yup, cast iron is pretty easy to drill and cut.

BTW, they have to plug bolt and screw holes because it would tear out chunks of the molding sand when they lift the pattern piece out of the sand.

With all the parts I got back, they didn't plug the holes in the pattern pieces 100%. They left a very shallow dimple to show where the holes were - a common practice in sand casting.

Paul

That was a real quick turn around

Nice !! Those grates are carbon copies for sure. They do grate work

That looks great! I to have to send some parts to them . I thought that grate looked familiar . Good old Warm Morning grate right? What size is it? I know they still sell the grate because I bought one online but I am not sure on the dump part.

SWPaDon wrote:That was a real quick turn around

One of the many good things Tomahawk is known for.

Paul

So Paul, will you put the original away, and use the duplicate? Or are they both extras?

Probably not really necessary but after you drill run a file around the edge of the hole to round off the corners. Sharp angles on metal are more likely to crack. That sharp corner will a cool a lot quicker.

I have used them a few times, they do good work..

Joe,

As Wilson taught me, always save the good original part to use as a pattern.

If you were to use a recast part as the pattern, that being a recast part it will be 1/8 inch to the foot smaller than the original part used as the pattern to cast it. If you then use that recast part as a pattern, the recast part made from it will be 1/8 inch per foot smaller, yet again.

If the original part was say 24 inches long - like some oak stove grate bars - the recast will be 23-3/4 inch long. Sometimes there's enough leeway in how grates fit that's long enough to work ok.

However, a recast made from of a recast grate bar, the finished length will be a little over 23-1/2 inch long - almost a half inch shorter than the original bar. That can cause problems with parts fitting, and/or, working correctly.

Save the good original part to use as a pattern , only use the recasts made from that original part. Especially if you had to add material to the original part to make up for the shrinkage of the recasts. Why waste that work ?

Paul