Archive for November 8th, 2008

Target Is the Best Store for Everything You Need

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

I love Target! I can find everything I need there and there is always a huge selection of items. I can’t tell you how many things I have bought for my family there over the years. Lamps, bean bags, decorative items, dishes, TVs, sheets and blankets, curtains and rods, and toys. Too many toys to count really. My kids love to shop at Target and I know that there will be plenty of toys to choose from at the best price.

Did you know that you can shop at Target without ever getting off the couch? I have definitely discovered the ease of shopping online at Target. With a click of your mouse you can get all the great deals that Target offers and more. You can view gift registries online also, which makes buying gifts so much convenient.

One of the benefits of online shopping is that you can find Target coupons that will make the great deals even better and they frequently offer free shipping, which is a requirement for me when it comes to online shopping. There have been many times when I have tried to find a specific item in the store and it has not been in stock. In all of those cases, I have been able to get the item on the site and delivered right to my door. The brick and mortar store cannot carry the selection of items and the larger items that the online Target has to offer, so if you haven’t checked out the online site yet, now is a great time.

Citi Bites the Construction Loan Dust Despite Profits

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

Citi Mortgage has officially bit the dust no different than all of the other lenders like Indy Mac Bank. Citi Mortgage Group Bank has failed just like all the the other failed banking institutions in helping families build the American dream.

A true tell tale sign whether a banking institution is in major financial trouble and my be the next buy out is when the bank closes a low risk profit center like their construction loan department.

Construction loans are the back bone and a key strength indicator of not only the bank but of the entire economy and since most large national banks have mostly closed down their construction loan departments nationwide the economy is definitely in unforeseeable trouble.

Where will the American family turn to in obtaining financing to build their dream home over the the next couple of years? Do these families that want to build their dream home have poor credit risk? Do they not bring enough equity or down payment to the table? Do these families have low liquid assets in their bank accounts to protect the risk of any default? Are these loan requests stated income loans?

The answer to all the above questions is almost always no and by all means may be the least riskiest loan request in the entire mortgage industry today. So CitiGroup has dropped the ball big time and failed just like Chase, Indy Mac Bank, Flagstar, First Horizon, National City and a whole lot of other banks that sold out the American public and the entire mortgage industry.

The only reason I believe this has happened was to protect the Ceo’s golden parachute payoffs.

Details on Metal Casting and Casting Patterns

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

Metal Casting

Metal Casting is a useful skill that has its roots in antiquity. Weapons and sculptures were traditionally created using this method but as the DIY movement gained momentum many modern day casters have found a use for Metal Casting to make plumbing fixtures, door knobs, and many other items. Today, small foundries can be found in many backyards, garages, and workshops.

In order to make a casting of metal, you will need a furnace capable of melting metal alloys at high temperatures. Usually, individual metal casters will construct their own furnace. There are companies that will sell small scale furnaces but they are often costly. The most common type of casting is called Sand Casting which uses sand or green sand to make the molds where the molten metal will be poured into to form the finished product. The mold is a handmade item placed in a flask which has two parts, a cope and drag. The mold is usually made of sand, but can also be created using other ingredients like latex or even metal. It is in the mold that you will set the pattern to form the mold cavity.

The mold cavity will be an impression of the pattern including the fine details which will then be filled with the molten alloy. Pattern casting is an art form in itself, really, but anyone can create a pattern even if you have no artistic skill what so ever. The pattern is an original which will be cast into metal. Common pattern castings include complex engine parts for models, replicas of Civil War era weapons, sculptures, and even jewelry.

The pattern can be made of any material like clay, wood, and wax. The pattern material really depends on a few factors like the casting method and the availability of the material. If you are able to carve wood then you can use this skill to make patterns. There are some casting methods that call for the patterns to be made of certain materials. An example of this is the Lost Wax Metal Casting Method which will use wax as the pattern.

When creating the mold, you will place the original into the drag of the flask and place more molding material on top forming the cope. When the mold is dry you will carefully remove the pattern revealing an impression in the mold.

If you are creating your own pattern you will need to make it with Contraction allowances in mind. This contraction allowance will compensate for the shrinkage that occurs in many casting processes. In order to take out the pattern without disturbing the mold, draft allowances need to be considered as well. The pattern should have tapered edges to allow for easy removal.

Many who make their own patterns will add sprues, gates, and risers to the pattern so that when castled these items will already be in the mold.  These devices will allow the molten metal to find its way into the mold cavity.

If you find it difficult to make your own patterns then you can pay for pattern making services; although many casters in the same situation will just learn how to make patterns to save money. Pattern casting is a valuable skill to have and can be learned rather easily.

 
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Information on MOlds for Different Types of Molds for Metal Casting

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

Metal Casting

Casting molds are an essential part of the metal casting process as it will be used to shape the final result. Nearly all metal casting methods will use some type of mold. The standard mold will consist of a cope and drag that when together is called a flask. The mold itself can be constructed of several materials depending upon the Metal Casting method.

Most molds will be made from latex, fiberglass, sand, and even metal. A lot of times you will see Sand being used in DIY Home Foundries and therefore Sand Molds are some of the most popular molds. In Permanent Mold Casting, the mold is created from metal. Most molds can be used over and over again, but not all of them. Certainly the metal molds can be used multiple times without loosing any quality from the finished product. However, molds created using sand or other materials will not have a very long shelf life. This is not generally seen as a huge problem just a minor annoyance since mold making is relatively cheap and easy.

No matter what material the mold is made from, the basic construction is pretty much the same. The molding box is called the flask which has a cope, the top, and drag, the bottom.  You will then fill the flask with the molding material and then place the original into the mold. So, if you want to cast a tiny metal elephant, you will place an original of the elephant usually made from clay, wax, wood, or even metal into the drag of the flask. If this is done in sand you will ram the flask until the sand is packed tightly around the original. The top of the flask, the cope is then placed on and more molding material poured in. The entire flask is then rammed or vibrated making sure everything is packed in nice and tight.

When the molding material is dry, you will remove the flask and carefully split the mold to retrieve the original, in this case the tiny elephant. Now, if you want to make sure that there are some empty spaces in the cast to be finished then you will place cores into the mold. The cores are made of sand or wax.

The type of mold used depends heavily on the type of Metal Casting , alloy, and complexity of the pattern to be cast. Metal molds have little use in small foundries unless you plan on casting a lot of tiny metal elephants.

In some cases, pre-made molds can be found in hobby shops or through company casting companies. Usually, pre-made molds are used in miniature castings. Many individual metal casters prefer to make their own molds since it is inexpensive and allows them greater control over the finished casting.

Metal Casting involves several sets of skills and mold making is one of these skills. Eventually, all metal casters must learn to obtain the skill for making molds as this is very important to the casting process. Not only are molds used in metal casting but in other casting types as well. Resin casting and other plastic casting requires a mold as well. Wood or Metal are good materials that can make up flasks but use your imagine as just about anything will work that you have around the house. As long as the flask can hold the mold material until it dries it can be used.

Every metal caster should learn how to make a mold instead of relying on others. Independence is one thing that this is all about, but the other is also that this will help you save lots of money. Making your own mold is just cheaper.

 
Metal Casting ZOne is a new community website all about Home and DIY Metal Casting. Come by today and join the site for free and you get a free Metal Casting Basics EBook just for signing up! Come by MetalCastingZone.Com Today for your free Ebook on Metal Casting.