A Waynesboro made pattern will help a Johnstown company cast a 76,000 pound slag pot, a pot molten steel is poured into, for a steel mill in Argentina. The mold will be used to make six slag pots per year.
Precision Pattern Works, located in the former Landis Machine Co shop on West Fifth Street, was hired by Johnstown Specialty Castings to create the largest, one piece pattern the company has ever made.
Co owner and master patternmaker Mr Joseph Florence said that "We've been doing work for Johnstown Specialty Castings for the past four or five years."
Mr Florence created the unique pattern with co owners Mr Greg Crunkelton and Mr Bob McCardell and employee Mr Daryl Woodring.
According to Mr Florence's friend Mr Bill Helfrick, the oval shaped, hollow pattern is 12 feet in diameter and 16.5 feet long. It is constructed of 1 and ¾ inch thick rings, each made from joining 16 segments. The 76 completed rings were stacked, glued and screwed together to form the finished pattern.
He added that "The project required extensive engineering and planning, and the making of many templates and jigs to obtain the finished result. 8000 board feet of seasoned sugar pine and 2 1/2 months of intensive work by four pattern workers were needed to complete the job."
According to Mr Helfrick, in metal casting, the pattern, a mirror image of the part to be made, is placed in a metal flask and packed with sand containing a bonding agent. When the sand has hardened, the pattern is withdrawn leaving the mold behind. To make the actual casting, raw material is placed in a foundry furnace, turning molten when exposed to 2,500 degree heat.
Mr Helfrick explained that "As the metal melts the impurities or slag rises to the top and the purer metal settles on the bottom. After the good metal is poured into the mold to make the desired casting, the slag is poured into a slag pot for later disposal."
Mr Florence said that "This was the largest pattern we have ever made. It required a lot of engineering and special fixtures to make it. We are delighted with the way it turned out. There were a few glitches along the way, but all in all, the job went pretty smoothly, which is a plus."
(Sourced from www.therecordherald.com)
