David Hendley on tue 19 mar 02
Wow, what success, I got John Hesselberth to go to a junkyard!
Sorry it didn't work out, John, but it sounds like you got a great
deal at the metal shop.
For others who want aluminum die material:
There are great differences between junkyards (recycling yards).
Most have mainly steel. This is not what you want.
Call around to find a yard that specializes in aluminum. If there
is one in my mostly rural area, I'm sure every city has one.
Aluminum is EXPENSIVE compared to steel, like a dollar a pound;
I can't imagine anyone having a minimum purchase of $2000.
One advantage to using road signs, as opposed to sheet aluminum:
Signs today are made by sticking a heavy reflective plastic sheet
on the aluminum backing. Put the plastic coating facing up in
your extruder, and it makes for a great, easy-to-clean surface.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Hesselberth"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 4:14 PM
Subject: Blank Extruder Dies
> Aluminum is my material of choice for extruder dies so being an avid
reader
> of Clayart I set off to my nearest junk yard (now called metal recycling
> centers) to see if I could use David Hendley's suggestion of cutting them
> from a recycled road sign. Well, the junk yard I found here in
southeastern
> PA wasn't quite as friendly as the one in Maybelle, TX. After waking up
> (literally) the third person to try to get some help, I was rather
brusquely
> told they sold by the ton--not by the piece.
>
> So, what to do? Turns out it wasn't hard at all. I looked in my yellow
> pages under sheet metal and on the first call got a quote of $38 for 20 ea
4
> 1/4 inch square x 1/8 inch aluminum pieces. Picked them up that same
> afternoon. While I was there I also learned this particular sheet metal
> shop has a water jet which could cut really intricate patterns in my
> aluminum blanks if I needed that. Overall, not as cheap as road signs
would
> have been, but not bad considering they are cut to size and ready to use.
I
> now have a multi-year supply of blanks and hope this info will help
someone
> else in "junk-yard-challenged" parts of the world.
>
> Regards,
>
> John
John Hesselberth on tue 19 mar 02
Aluminum is my material of choice for extruder dies so being an avid reader
of Clayart I set off to my nearest junk yard (now called metal recycling
centers) to see if I could use David Hendley's suggestion of cutting them
from a recycled road sign. Well, the junk yard I found here in southeastern
PA wasn't quite as friendly as the one in Maybelle, TX. After waking up
(literally) the third person to try to get some help, I was rather brusquely
told they sold by the ton--not by the piece.
So, what to do? Turns out it wasn't hard at all. I looked in my yellow
pages under sheet metal and on the first call got a quote of $38 for 20 ea 4
1/4 inch square x 1/8 inch aluminum pieces. Picked them up that same
afternoon. While I was there I also learned this particular sheet metal
shop has a water jet which could cut really intricate patterns in my
aluminum blanks if I needed that. Overall, not as cheap as road signs would
have been, but not bad considering they are cut to size and ready to use. I
now have a multi-year supply of blanks and hope this info will help someone
else in "junk-yard-challenged" parts of the world.
Regards,
John
who is gradually beginning to be able to sleep normally again after of 5
days of stimulation at NCECA. Did you all notice how the environment at the
Hyatt had changed by Saturday evening? From a crowded lobby of friendly,
chatting potters enjoying each other's company and a beer to a stiff, more
formal world of suits and sport jackets with nobody looking like they were
enjoying themselves--what a difference!! Not much question about what group
I want to be associated with--and I used to belong to the other one.
web sites: http://www.masteringglazes.com and http://www.frogpondpottery.com
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com
"Pots, like other forms of art, are human expressions: pleasure, pain or
indifference before them depends upon their natures, and their natures are
inevitably projections of the minds of their creators." Bernard Leach, A
Potter's Book.
Jim Larkin on wed 20 mar 02
John says:
shop has a water jet which could cut really intricate patterns in my
aluminum blanks if I needed that.>
I traded a few mugs to the waterjet operator of a local airplane part =
manufacturer to make some dies for me. He put my drawings in using CAD =
and had beautiful dies made, no cleaning up needed, before I could have =
gotten out the tools to start making them. A wonderful tool to have =
access to.
Jim
Jim Larkin
Fox Pass Pottery
379 Fox Pass
Hot Springs, Arkansas
71901
foxpass@aristotle.net
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