Spline Weights

I just found that the Westlawn School sell spline weights - it is good to find an alternative supplier. I think they sell at about $27.50 each.

[edneu]

While Westlawn had a hand in making this happen, the spline weights are available directly from these folks.

75 ounce Elkhorn/Westlawn Spline Weights are available for $27.50 each from :

Craig Smith or Dave Hopton
Elkhorn Composites
25 Grove Street
Watsonville, CA 95076
Tel: (831) 722-1654

They can be seen at :

http://www.westlawn.org/news/spline_weight.shtml

[betelgeuserdude]

75 ounces. Um good!

DC

[ErikG]

It's great that Westlawn has had them made but as for banging on the drum like that on the website...

Well YDS and Tom MacNaughton has had his available for any buyer since YDS started several years ago. As they are also priced at 28.50 one wonders why Westlawn choose the same price?

http://www.macnaughtongroup.com/spline_weights.htm

YDS are narrower and higher (I think) while the Westlawn looks "fatter".
Which one to choose?

Your choice.

I'm making my own.
I'm finally doing my own at his very moment. I used lead filled boxes before that -kind of- worked. But now it'll be the real thing.
The first cast yesterday didnt go well, as I misjudged how much lead it would need to fill up. Mine will be heavy :-) I'm considering tilting the form a bit and not filling it as high.

I'll post a pic when I'm done.

[Willallison]

I tried making some a month or two back.
Problem was I only had some pretty big ingots to melt down.
I did this (one at a time in a pot). Unfortunately it was so heavy that when I picked it up, the handle broke, sending molten lead all over the place!!
Once I got over that little epsiode I discovered that my molds weren't very good - so I'm on the hunt for something better - any suggestions?.....

[ErikG]

Well, what I can say after having done four yesterday evening, Plaster of Paris sucks! :-)

Even though the mould was preheated, it started to develop a crack, but luckily it held together...
After the first cast the bottom of the mould deteriorated and continued to deteriorate rapidly. The last (no 4) casting didnt look that great, but as I'll add some "putty in a spray can" (don't know the proper word for it). and sand it and paint it it'll be alright-ish.

The plug and Mould was perfect from the beginning so...

Is there anything I can add to the plaster to get it harder/stronger?

Would an Epoxi/fiberglass mould work or is the lead to hot?

ErikG

[Willallison]

The correct thing I s'pose would be to use casting sand. Whether you can use the stuff from the beach I don't know....

[betelgeuserdude]

Hey Eric.

Sounds like you could use a better plaster. I have been lead to understand that a plaster mold has to be baked all day, before one tries to cast lead. Could this have been an issue? Are you using building center Plaster of Paris? This site may provide some useful info on plaster, but I don't think that it has any information on casting lead.

http://www.plastermaster.com/
Plaster Master - Industrial machines, foam and plaster

Any resin will be unsuitable for mold repairs. It just won't withstand the heat. Hope you can find a solution.

DC

[Timm]

My memory may be failing me, but I seem to remember casting ours in wood molds at the Landing School. Back in those days, the boatbuilding class would cast their own keels for the cruising boat program. While they were melting and poring lead, the molds for the ducks were filled at the same time. We then took them home and finished them ourselves.

A suggestion for finishing the bottoms. Instead of using felt, look for some rubber that will not mark up the paper. I used rubber on one set and felt on another, the rubber works much better as it doesn't slide around as easily. The only drawback is that you have to lift the duck to move it, no nudging it a little for a fine adjustment! I think you can also make the duck a little lighter if it doesn't slide as readily.

[Willallison]

but I seem to remember casting ours in wood molds

Spline weights are sometimes referred to as ducks. So if they are poured into wood moulds, does that make them "Wood Ducks" ?!?

[Dave Fleming]

From out of the depths of the mess on my desk comes this...

As of February 2003, Ducks, Acrylic Splines and Ship Curves were available from HRS Products in New Jersey, USA.

E-mail: imarkunas@msn.com

Contact is David Markunas
Ph: 732-446-4834

NO guarantee they are still in business but, worth a shot I'm guessin'.

[Tad]

It seems to me you could carve a simple two-piece mold in wood, wax it well, and fill with lead shot and epoxy. I bet it would cost less than the $28.50 plus shipping and duty.

But you don't have the fun of melting lead

Also, use slow-kick goop!

Tad

I've used two methods to make ducks.
Method one: I shaped a piece of wood to the duck shape, went outside into the garden and softened some ground. I carefully hammered my wooden shape down into the sand and compacted the sand around it once it was in place, I then carefully removed the wooden shape and poured the lead in. It did work but a lot of sand stuck to the lead and gave a very rough surface even when all the sand was removed. Maybe some very fine, evenly graded sand would work, something like foundry sand (surprise, surprise).

Method two:
I bent a flat thin mild steel sheet into a narrow 'u' shape about 100 mm long and then folded the 'ends' in to close them up. One end of the mould is a lot narrower than the other, but if I re cast them I'd make it even narrower than the first time. The length of my mould is around 100 mm and depth around 40 mm. I then pushed this mould down into the same soft sand patch, making sure the sand around the ends was well compacted to prevent spillage, and cast my 'ducks'. The result was some functional ducks but looks were reasonable rather than apealing.
Kevin Lester

There is nothing magic about the shape of ducks. Cat food cans filled with lead and fitted with a pointer work fine, in some ways better, because you can stack them.

I have also used cut up railroad rails in a mold loft.

(And I worked for a NA who had a nice set. The foundry of a yard he had worked at long ago made them for him as a present, cast out of scrap bronze with lead cores. They actually were duck shaped, with the beak arranged to hold the spline.)

[Willallison]

There is nothing magic about the shape of ducks. Cat food cans filled with lead and fitted with a pointer work fine

I tried this with very small cake tins. The result was ok - but I don't agree that there's nothing special about the shape. Wide ducks prevent you from placing them close together, which in turn makes drawing tight curves difficult.