Chess Men. Next step, make a tree
by John
Next step, to paint the PLA models with investment medium, then fill the flasks with medium and let it set overnight.
Incidentally, I tried several methods of cleaning up the PLA.
Soaking in acetone – waste of time.
Sanding and filing- effective, but very time consuming.
Using a heat gun – caused the entire model to heat up, with resulting distortion.
Using a flame gun, propane torch – very hot, so extremely brief exposure, maybe 1 second. This was my best method. It melted the tiny zits, burned the loose strands and removed some, and made the rest easy to finger nail off. A bit tricky. You don’t end up with much hair on your hands.
Casting in a day or 2. Watch this space.
johnsmachines 
Hi John
Did you ever get any further with the little 1.5″ scale Burrell traction engine ?
I have a full set of castings and materials for the same engine.
I also have the original drawings if you need a copy.
Phil (UK)
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Hi Phil, I eventually bought a second hand 3″ compound Fowler TE, and have gone onto other modelling projects. Spent a lot of time and effort fixing various issues on the Fowler. So, no, I doubt that I will build a 1.5″ version. Thanks for the kind offer however. I do have quite a few castings for the Burrell which I should sell one of these days. John (Oz)
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