Thinking about investors.

T

Tod

Well-known member
I'm considering finding several investors interested in helping get a small, dedicated foundry operation going. This may also be expanded into interest in my Model A block project and heads, and upcoming V8 flathead block project. For now, though, I would stick with the prospects of buying into just the foundry end. If I can get several dozen people interested, I would look further into a suitable building to lease, and the necessary equipment. Return on investment will be ...a percentage of every block and head cast at the facility and sold to my machining company.

My reasons for wanting to do this are mainly, total control of all aspects of casting production, getting closer to my machine shop, and keeping invoice payments tied to sales of machined product.

I am wanting to wade into printed core technology more than I am already and cast almost the entire A block in printed sand. This will eliminate most grinding and many of the headaches of the mold assembly process. I intend that the increased cost of external printed sand will be offset by decreased casting finish time, my time having to drive to foundries to assemble molds, take back product to be ground on by me personally, and the natural delays of not being the only, or biggest customer of any foundry.

I will post this on as many Facebook pages as I can for as wide a coverage as I can get.

Tod
 
Tod best of luck on your journey and sounds cool. I like the idea of new technologies using powered metals and 3D printing. I dig the capabilities to improve old products and appeal to the aftermarket and speed racers . A new over head for the banger motor 4 cylinder guys also a aluminum block. This can be made and disguised as a original part but with better performance
 
Tod I also deal with Foundries in the US thru my work.
I'm an Quality Control Inspector and as you have also seen first hand, many Foundries have a "Take it or Leave it attitude".
Just an Idea but have you thought about contacting Edelbrock? They have their very own Foundry in San Jacinto California. Vic Edelbrock may just be the Man to pour your Castings since he is a Hot Rodder.
Just an idea of mine. If I knew him personally I ask him.
 
Does every thread I start have to veer off topic almost immediately?

If I wanted someone else to do the casting I would stay local and save shipping all the way across the country. And I quote, "My reasons for wanting to do this are mainly, total control of all aspects of casting production, getting closer to my machine shop, and keeping invoice payments tied to sales of machined product." "...the natural delays of not being the only, or biggest customer of any foundry."

Tod
 
Scratching my head, applause, and oh jezz at the same time...

I dont know the cost of a 3d sand printer but something tells me that it would require quite a bit of production to off set the cost of one.

Keeping things all in house and local, yep that's the way to do it!

What is it that has been lost over the years that makes reproducing these blocks so damn difficult and expensive? Back in the day the made a million of them. There could not have been an astronomically high rejection rate (although manual labor was much cheaper than it is today) Yes I fully understand that you are not looking solely on the production of the A block, but looking to start up a foundry to produce castings. Challenging to say the least.
 
What is it that has been lost over the years that makes reproducing these blocks so damn difficult and expensive?

the original drawings for the v8 were filed and forgot about long ago. plus there are multiple casting pieces they used just to make one block.
 
Midnightcaper said:
What is it that has been lost over the years that makes reproducing these blocks so damn difficult and expensive?

the original drawings for the v8 were filed and forgot about long ago. plus there are multiple casting pieces they used just to make one block.
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Knowledge of just about everything has passed away as older skilled labor died or retired. People younger than 30 are generally dumber than dirt and don't want to work. There are no foundry men anymore, just people that work in foundries killing time until the weekend when they can get wasted on drugs and booze. I have literally had a hard time with "molders" putting sand in core boxes correctly. Good grief. If you can't do that then just bite on the business end of a shot gun and do humanity a favor. Reduce the surplus population, please. Costs on materials is outrageous and the EPA and OSHA have clamped down on things so tight that you can't move.

How's that for a start? I have all kinds of ideas if you want more negativity/reality.

Tod
 
I don't think the average guy has any idea of the complexity of the cores required for a V-8. I got to watch hundreds formed and poured at Cleveland and the process is amazing. The cores are made from a different sand and have different qualities than the rest of the mold. The placement and how they are held in place is critical, think of all the water and oil passages, they all start out as cores that have to maintain their location throughout the pour but then be easily removed after cooling. The location, size, etc. of the risers to maintain a molten pool to keep the mold full. Went thru a lot of testing just to get risers the right shape, size, and location when we switched to a different pouring method.
 
Tod said:
Knowledge of just about everything has passed away as older skilled labor died or retired. People younger than 30 are generally dumber than dirt and don't want to work. There are no foundry men anymore, just people that work in foundries killing time until the weekend when they can get wasted on drugs and booze. I have literally had a hard time with "molders" putting sand in core boxes correctly. Good grief. If you can't do that then just bite on the business end of a shot gun and do humanity a favor. Reduce the surplus population, please. Costs on materials is outrageous and the EPA and OSHA have clamped down on things so tight that you can't move.

How's that for a start? I have all kinds of ideas if you want more negativity/reality.

Tod
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I appreciate the honesty, but I certainly don't want to get you started. This just isn't the place for it.
There is still plenty of foundry men left, problem is most of them that I like are from down under (Australia not dead). At least the one's who have proven their skills and earned my respect.
There is this whole open source movement going on in the 3d printing world. Its my feeling that if I were going to invest into a project as ambitious as Tod's I would focus my efforts into developing a mold or core printing machine at a reasonable cost.
Melting metal is easy, turning that melt into a usable casting takes quite a bit more. But also understand that a casting is just a casting and not a finished part. (in most cases)
Tired of commenting at this point, likely speaking into the wind anyways.
 
pooch said:
Yes, I think that anyone younger than 30 will not respond here after that .....
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And seeing as the only chance to get the thing off the ground with investors to put money up would need some people under 30 to be involved as I don't think a short term return would be happening. :eek:
 
Thanks for the response. I think things are covered now. Enough people have stepped up.

Tod
 
Manager said:
And seeing as the only chance to get the thing off the ground with investors to put money up would need some people under 30 to be involved as I don't think a short term return would be happening. :eek:
Click to expand...

'ONLY chance'
' WOULD need some people under 30'
This is a 'mouthful' of faulty words...and based on what ?

Oh yes, I know of...exactly zero people under 30 who:
A. know what a foundry is;
B. know what a model A block and/or V8 flathead block is, and
C. have any 'extra' funds to invest in something that they know nothing about and no interest in.

These types of words and worse have been used priorly, by others , to state that this particular man cannot do this or that !

Hm, wonder how that worked out :rolleyes: !!

When you ask a man to state/justify what he is doing, used to be that you would expect a direct answer..whether you like the way he says it or not.
 
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