tlbh

Guess I need to check my OCD at the (barn) door! I suggested that Granusil/30W motor oil as the po'boy alternative to Petrobond, personally, I've been sifting dried up creek-bed sand through an "extra fine double mesh" restaurant strainer and then through a dollar store grease splatter guard. I only do 'bout 2#'s at a time while having a beer/shot/smoke in the barn though (cold winter nights this year). Thankfully I'm finished grinding up the bentonite (kitty litter)! Unfortunately, (frustration) time and five bucks is just too much cheaper than shipping/gas (3 hour round trip in a hungry V8) for 7-10 pounds of bentonite.

I've been thinking about going down the Gingery Rabbit Hole. Like you said, acquiring ENOUGH aluminum is quite the challenge. Living in Kansas, I face the same challenges, but sometimes a tornado can drop aluminum in your lap. While technically illegal, I found a couple of these: ...on uncles farm. Gonna use one for the ways and the other one for part of the miler or shaper (undecided now). The nice thing? -Don't have to make/worry about "the hardest part to cast" and no need to make a one off flask Also lucky enough to find 1/2" thick structural angle scrap I plan to use as the foundation of the carriage (i.e.- the saddle) assembly. Oh, one other thing, instead of hand scraping, I plan to use a grinding wheel on my dad's radial arm saw. Even though you already mixed up your sand, I saw a youtube guy using this stuff from the Home Depot (Unimim 75 lb. Ind5020 Silica Sand-Fine) with 30W motor oil as a poor man's Petrobond. Another guy said Middle Eastern casters use molasses water and fine sand, which we also know can be baked and used for "cores" Thought I'd throw that out there as you could use either as "facing sand" Good Luck!

The one thing playing bass has over playing guitar, is you can be pretty lax about fingernail trimming!

Irondragon Forge ClayWorks; I always tend to forget "Kansas" isn't the only "Oz" Notice you're in Arkansas. Canoed the White a couple of times in my youth and a friend of mine transplanted to Velvet Ridge after her mom and stepdad moved there. While not as familiar with your neck of the Ozarks, have been to Branson quite a few times and wish you well.

When my roommates moved in '94, within a month the bar next to that Checkers was "bombed". It was gang related and it never opened back up, but what a "Welcome to the neighborhood"! I didn't move in until summer of '97 because my band members hadn't graduated yet. BillyBones; After graduating high school in '92 and before going to record my first "EP/CD" I attended The Recording Workshop program in Chillicothe so at least one of us knew if our engineer was milking "the mix". While there, went and saw G-Love and Special Sauce at The Palace in Columbus and the MFA art exhibit at OSU that had some of the best sculpture work I've ever layed eyes upon. Went thru the Rock-N-Roll Hall of fame the next weekend which was not at all what I expected/imagined. Ironic that "Draftday" is on TV while typing this! Guilty as charged!!! Looked it up after refilling my bourbon decanter. Needed the distraction from the IFI rabbit hole I fell into. Wish I could say for certain I'll be attending the meeting next Saturday, but the hatches have to be battened down before I commit. I begrudgingly admit I'm getting old.

BillyBones encouraged me to share some music here. Growing up in Kansas, my folks raised me on Hank Sr., Elvis, Johnny Cash and one my favorite Christmas memories is when my pa' pissed off grandma (moms' mom) by playing The Ventures Christmas album. Summers on the farm my uncle (the Vietnam vet) introduced me to the classics; Beatles, Stones, Pink Floyd, Zep, CCR etc.. In grade school, The Stray Cats played our little town and since then Rockabilly and Surf (NOT The Beach Boys!) became extremely influential to my appreciation of music. Then in junior high, I met "the musicians". They were into the standard teenage revolt bands The Misfits, Sex Pistols, Ramones, KISS, Metallica (and later Megadeath) Iron Maiden etc. But Manhattan is unique. It's both a college (K-State) and military town (The Big Red One, Fort Riley). While meeting the guys whom I'd eventually play in a few bands with, I meet kids from all over the country that introduced me to Public Enemy, N.W.A. Ice-T and some young LA bands that weren't big at the time, but of course now we do; Motley Crue and Guns N' Roses! That said, everyone either wanted to play guitar or drums and out of necessity I became a bass player. Most everyone I'd eventually play with were 1-4 years older. So I've been a "hired gun" since I was 13. Having been in original bands and cover bands, the truth is, some bands are "just a gig (paycheck)" and other bands are a stroke of luck (fun to play in as well as a cash cow). This video is of one of the latter. Some 30 or so years after my father dropped the needle on that Ventures album I am NOT a KSU alumni or much of a sportsfan by any means, but my big sister was a badass volleyball player 88-92 and the Wabash Cannonball is the KSU fight song. But, for any of you Stanley Kubrick fans, Kansans Don't Surf -circa 2010 Enjoy!!!

Shainarue; Lived in KCK for Y2K until my truck crapped out and Wyandotte Housing Authority gave the landlord the choice to bring our residence up to code or kick us out. Obviously he chose the latter. If you per chance crossed the river and saw the "Why not Wyandotte" sign on the side of 6th and Central, that was on the side of building I lived in. A couple years after the Checkers on 8th and Central burned down, they finally put a Metro stop there. Go figure. Although our landlord was a cheapskate, he was still alright. Definitely miss (drinking beer with my roommates while-) cruising/dumpster diving the west bottoms in his plumbing van.

Thanks Brian. I see you're from Peoria which has a small space in my heart for giving us Wilco, Son Volt and of course Uncle Tupelo. Cool/sad fact, I was at Uncle Tupelo's last show here in good ole Manhappiness, KS. Bittersweet

Greetings from the Flint Hills of Kansas! Normally I go by the handle tk421 ("TK421 Why aren't you at your post!") but since someone grabbed it before I signed up, the moniker of my youth, "The Legendary Bill Hughes" will have to suffice. I was led here from The Home Foundry forum. Because eventually I'd like to cast some aluminum necks for (electric) guitars/basses after scoring some beautiful spalted maple last spring., Unfortunately all local metal casters here in Manhappiness have passed within the last decade and I haven't found anyone to fill their shoes. That said, in October I came across a couple of Champion blowers. Since there's 2 and I have a chunk of RR-rail (is railroad rail redundant?), I figure while my maple is drying I can get some exercise since I'm not hauling around Marshall stacks much these days. So if there any 'Smiths around the Flint Hills/K-State area, hit me up if you want to impart some wisdom while throwing back some cold ones while smoking some ribs! -Bill Hughes