Metal foundry near Raleigh that can reproduce vintage parts?

[Rick M]

I found a few foundries listed but has anyone used any of the locals for reproduction of vintage machine parts? The place I read about the most is Cattail Foundry in Pennsylvania, run by Amish. Sounds like you just mail them the part and they will make repros and bill you but if I could find something local that would be nice.

 

[gator]

Have you considered the possibility of taking the part to a local machine shop and checking to see if they can hog the part out of solid stock?

George

 

[Rick M]

When I click the reply button next to "reply with quote", the reply I type doesn't appear in the thread. Am I doing something wrong?

Anyway, someone contacted me that has extra reproduction parts already but says they need machining so I might end up at a machine shop anyway.

 

[tmwassack]

I found a few foundries listed but has anyone used any of the locals for reproduction of vintage machine parts? The place I read about the most is Cattail Foundry in Pennsylvania, run by Amish. Sounds like you just mail them the part and they will make repros and bill you but if I could find something local that would be nice.

Greetings from Asheboro!
No help with a local foundry, but I can attest to the work Cattail does. I have had a couple of parts recast by them and their work is top-drawer, reasonably priced (cheap), and expedient. Here's an example from my Porter jointer...

Regards,
Tom Wassack

 

[Rick M]

Tom, did you just send them the part + some money, just the part and get billed, or did you contact them first? The casting doesn't look like it needed much if any cleanup.

 

[tmwassack]

Tom, did you just send them the part + some money, just the part and get billed, or did you contact them first? The casting doesn't look like it needed much if any cleanup.

Rick,
I sent the broken part with a note requesting quantity and return address. The part arrived 4 weeks later with a bill for $35 (yes 35 dollars). I then mailed Martin King a check and a sincere thank-you note. The pivot point area of the casting required some less than precise machining, but since it was aluminum, a simple wooden jig to hold the part level and the router table made quick work of this. The pivot hole was rough, but I drilled it slightly undersize and a neighbor had a 5/8 inch ream for the final fit to the pin.

Regards,
Tom Wassack

 

[Rick M]

$35, you gotta be kidding. That is cheap.

 

[Touchwood]

I found a few foundries listed but has anyone used any of the locals for reproduction of vintage machine parts? The place I read about the most is Cattail Foundry in Pennsylvania, run by Amish. Sounds like you just mail them the part and they will make repros and bill you but if I could find something local that would be nice.

I used this outfit to machine a couple parts when I was rebuilding my Multi-Router. It's a family owned operation. Good work and good pricing. Saved me a bundle on precision bearing rods.
https://plus.google.com/113773983192170007769/about?gl=us&hl=en

Don

 

[Gotcha6]

Keep in mind that casting in aluminum requires much less heat than iron, and also a lot less mold preparation. Although the iron materials may cost less, they may wind up costing more to cast.

 

[tmwassack]

Keep in mind that casting in aluminum requires much less heat than iron, and also a lot less mold preparation. Although the iron materials may cost less, they may wind up costing more to cast.

While not disputing anything in your post, a cursory search over on OWWM (Old Wood Working Machines), yielded 600+ topics related to Cattail Foundry, with many attesting to the modest cost of many cast reproductions - even in cast iron.

Regards,
Tom Wassack
Asheboro, NC

 

[mkepke]

I assume Cattail and most low cost custom places will not adjust for shrinkage, right, ie all the repro parts come back slightly smaller than the original, precision surfaces and openings/holes need to be machined, etc.


-Mark

 

[tmwassack]

I assume Cattail and most low cost custom places will not adjust for shrinkage, right, ie all the repro parts come back slightly smaller than the original, precision surfaces and openings/holes need to be machined, etc.


-Mark

It depends on your submission to them. On my jointer guard, the shrinkage of the new casting based on my original was not a big deal. Others that require more precision, submit patterns over-sized to account for shrinkage. And yes the casting comes back rough, thus final machining is required before the new part can be put into service.

Regards,
Tom Wassack
Asheboro, NC