Part 4

 The excitement continues to build....read on it will be worth it.

The moulds are dry. Hurray!!!! Luckily I happen have a large stock of old lead. On it's way to be turned into cash at the scrap yard, quite by chance it didn't get there. Rather ironic that the lead was in its former life chimney flashing at the very house where 'Cats Paws' is destined to be one day moored. Next item I need is a melting pot?? Not willing to sacrifice any of the kitchen cookware the cheapest saucepan I could find was sourced from China. I did check local charity shops to no avail, a national shortage obviously. £8 inc carriage to progress this part of the project I thought was ok.. The heat source? A vintage Gaz Bluet. Think that's everything, light the gas!!

The moulds were lined up and the cleanest bits of lead flashing were thrown in the pan. Some of the flashing had years of moss growth on it and I thought better of adding even more contamination than necessary to the pot.

Took a while to get the lead hot enough to puddle, the luxury non-stick surface soon cried enough is enough. No worries this pan is on a one way journey. A brief moment of stardom before total pan oblivion.

Scrapping the crusty bits off the boiling lead surface revealed lovely shiny molten metal underneath. Time to pour, stand back, the pan handle is starting to spin....it's becoming loose... oh blimey..... Quick...Quick...get on with it!

Just before the first mould was filled to level it cracked....damn...keep going......second mould wedge between bricks to hold if cracking occurs...damn not looking good, another cracked.....keep going, wedging the spare third mould between bricks again I had just enough lead to fill.

Close inspection...looks like there's gonna be some filing action to follow once these have cooled. There was no way I'm gonna go through the whole process again and make fresh moulds..

Filing I did...and quite a bit of it too. Eyeballing....filing....eyeballing...filing....Fill holes with epoxy and lead filing dust mixture...The desired shape appeared eventually with only a small showing of epoxy filler. The second mis-shaped lead form got the same treatment until I had a matching pair. Rub with sandpaper for extra smoothness. Polish with a big dollop of 'Mothers Metal Polish' and hey presto. 

Perfecto!!!!! What once graced a chimney in Luddenden now will hopefully stop a sleek racing yacht from capsizing....

Yeah, like no one will ever know the pain I went through to make these. Only us!!!! You've made a silk purse out of a sow's ear once again Uncle Alb.

What do ya think? Fun??? Well yes it was........there was risk of both poisoning and deep burns on this project.

Next step, drill and fix to the keel fin.

Keep looking in for more news on 'Cats Paws'

Part 3

 Greetings from Alberts Workshop. Read on for an update of progress on 'Cats Paws'. 

With the keel fin nicely shaped and firmly glued to the keel it's time to design and build the keel weight. We've come this far without a proven design plan so why change now.? It's a one off......lets start and go on a journey....

A bulb keel, that's what I want. Think it will look the business. Made in the old skool way....by hand without the aid of AI or C.A.D. Out comes the 'rack of't eye', and a bit of old sandpaper for a finishing rub down. So, before your very eyes a wood off-cut firmly clamped in the lathe will be transformed into a casting pattern. (Hopefully).

Pour in some old fashioned lead and hey presto!!!! Done. (Not quite that quick, there's more too it than that.

So, as I said, wood firmly clamped in the lathe, face well away from the expected firing line (should it decide to break free and fire it's self across the workshop) after a bit of cutting the final shape started to appear. A shape looking more and more like a Flash Gordon 1950s rocket. I like it.....a lot!

Finally smoothed with the old sandpaper it was time to mix a batch of Plaster of Paris and cast some moulds. I wrapped the pattern in cling film to aid release rather than try a wax and polish.

3 moulds were cast to a half way depth. I needed the finished lead weights to be in halves so I can clamp 2 of them to some sort of plate attached to the keel fin. (the third was a spare....)

These were set aside for drying which has to be a thorough job or there may be a risk of explosion when the hot lead meets the damp mould. Wooweee!

Next job will be metal casting. You've got to agree the excitement is building as I venture deeper and deeper into the unknown. Stay tuned and join me next time when there's bound to be smoke...fire....molten metals...and hopefully no exploding plaster!

Alb over and out.