Super center grille piece?

[Andrew]

From a thread over the other parts for sale/wanted foru, I'm going to talk to Cirecast next week here in SF about whether they can cast reproductions of the Super lower center grille (the part that always gets cracked; see pic).

If it works out, I have two OK grilles that are could be used, but a perfect one would make a better master for the casting. If it comes to it, anyone care to offer the use of a perfect grille as the master?

Andrew

[Andrew]

Update:

I just now took a Super lower cast grille center piece to Cirecast in SF, which does lost-wax casting, mainly door hinges, handles, lamp parts, and the like, from brass, bronze, other metals.

The owner says the grille, originally die-cast zinc, could be made by the lost-wax method, or by CNC machining. He's kind of a crotchety old guy, and while he says it can be done, he could not really be pinned down on cost. He indicated at least $10,000, perhaps double that, including polishing, chroming, and drilling the four holes and inserting studs. I could not get a clear idea of whether that would be the setup cost, to be spread over the whole range, or the price per item.

I got to tour the shop, which was very instructive. It's a complicated, hand-work intensive process. Cirecast can do the whole thing, from making a master from an original grille, to casting, polishing, machining, and sending out for plating. The owner thought the piece might actually lend itself better to CNC machining, since it has no detailed ornamentation, which is where you really need to use a casting method. He thought a CNC process would probably not come in any cheaper, mainly because it would take more machining and polishing to smooth it out before chroming.

So I'm not feeling real positive about this. My sense is I would not be able to get a firm, fixed price before embarking on the project. $10,000 spread over 50 grilles would be $200 each, and I don't think that's bad. But if that number doubles, now we're looking at $400 each; perhaps before polishing and chroming.

I will send some pics to my brother in law, who does aerospace CNC machining, and see if he could estimate whether and how much to mill some pieces. I'm thinking, however, that this is not an economically feasible proposition. What’s anyone willing to spend?

Andrew Watry

[acurtiss]

Thanks for continuing to pursue this, Andrew. I didn't think it would be cheap, but I was expecting something in the $200 range. For $400, there are other things I'd sooner address on my Super...

If the bulk of the cost is in fact setup, I wonder if you couldn't work with our friends at Centerline / IAP / Alfa Parts to increase the quantity and maybe take some of the sting out of the price per item? Just a thought.

Aaron

[Andrew]

Somebody rightly pointed out I should talk to Matt Jones about it to see if RO is interested, though I can imagine what might happen to the price. Maybe by some miracle the original dies are still extant?

Andrew

[kengta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Somebody rightly pointed out I should talk to Matt Jones about it to see if RO is interested, though I can imagine what might happen to the price. Maybe by some miracle the original dies are still extant? Andrew

[Andrew]

More on this thread over on the for sale/wanted forum. Sand casting is not feasible; I talked to a local sand casting place already.

Andrew

[Chi Si Dici]

Hi Andrew,

I'm an Architect and have designed/built many buildings for 'Tool & Die" companys. Could you forward me the pic of the Grill with ruler for scale? I can forward it to a few of my contacts.


Thanks,
Carm

[Andrew]

Here are a few pics. If you want me to email them direct let me know.

Andrew

[rabhalter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Somebody rightly pointed out I should talk to Matt Jones about it to see if RO is interested, though I can imagine what might happen to the price. Maybe by some miracle the original dies are still extant? Andrew

[Andrew]

I just emailed Matt and told him a fair number of people are interested. I'm checking with my machinist bro-in-law too.
Andrew

[Andrew]

I checked with my machinist bro-in-law, who said it would be killer expensive from the CNC perspective, and still need finish polishing and plating. The thin walls would be a problem, he said, and you’d have to go in tiny passes, like .010”, rather than normal .100”, which would greatly increasing the machining time.

Also, on a suggestion, I checked with Artworks Foundry here in Berkeley, which does lost wax and other casting for artists. They didn’t even want to consider it, taking into account the thin walls of the shell, and the likelihood that something this shape would probably come out warped.

I haven’t heard back from Matt Jones. So I pretty much give up on this unless someone can dig up the original dies in Italy.

Andrew

[rabhalter]

Thanks so much for making the effort, Andrew. True, finding the original die is probably the only reasonable answer. Given the fact that so many other grilles are being reproduced these days, the die for the Super's grill must have been lost/recycled or someone would be cranking out repros of it, too, by now.

Regards,
Bob A.
Paducah KY