Aniket sent me the first photos of the new 1000cc Musket V-Twin engine castings fresh out of the foundry. Those gorgeous wooden patterns we saw several weeks ago performed their job beautifully and the new aluminum castings look just perfect. The photos below step you through the process from making the sand molds to pouring the molten aluminum and finally we see the new castings emerge from the molds.
Watching this project evolve over time and take shape before our eyes is really a pleasure. The crucial point to remember is that this began in Aniket’s mind and became something we can all see because he decided to act on his idea and make it real. This is something many could possibly do, but so very few actually do, because it takes determination and commitment, there’s no easy way, there’s no shortcut and that’s why it’s so rare.
Great work, Aniket!
Link: Musket V-Twin
cycledave says
I’ve heard and have seen the musket proto in person and all I have to say is I WANT one!
Makes it appear the future of motorcycling interest may be saved after all.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
Saw the Musket myself at Vintage Days last year. Looks really gorgeous up close and sounds a whole lot better than the single from which it evolved.
This 1000cc version holds a lot of promise, and judging from the comments on previous posts, I think Aniket will have a real winner on his hands once he gets it on the road.
cycledave says
That’s where I saw it!
B50 Jim says
Wonderful! It reminds me of my high-school shop days — except we didn’t cast anything close to V-twin cases — a small bust of Lincoln was all we could manage. This is virtuoso pattern-making and casting; the finish on the parts is first-rate, fit excellent and design very attractive. I wonder if they are looking into casting them using bottom-up pouring as kevin Cameron outlined in a recent column in Cycle World? That would yield castings that are stronger, and which could then be made thinner. But I’m sure these cases are plenty strong. Can’t wait to see the final bikes! This will be the perfect motorcycle engine — plenty of usable power, light weight, narrow dimensions and a great classic design. I want one!
todd says
God, I’d love to be doing something like this.
-todd
Paulinator says
Gorgeous. Aniket is showing us how to dream it then do it.
B*A*M*F says
I literally just walked up to my computer from to change a file for our CNC router. What I’m doing is a ton of work, and will not be nearly as cool as even the maple mold pieces Aniket made. When I get home I’m going to have a nice beverage and it will definitely be raised to the Musket.
When/if parts become available to replicate the Musket, I would love the chance to buy them and build a working man’s Vincent.
db says
Thanks for posting the pictures. I have never seen cast parts made and I’m very impressed.
Eric says
I had a chance to learn a little introductory aluminum casting, as I found a deal on a month and a class from TechShop (http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/04/12/techshop-and-chinese-tools/). It was neat, but we didn’t get nearly the definition in our molds that he does. Maybe it’s the green sand mix, maybe it is the beautiful wooden pattern (probably a combination of both), but that is a mighty fine end product.
Scott D says
Thats a comercial sodiem silicate blend I think. Its very tricky to get great surfaces from homemade or industry reject sand.
Marvin says
That is very nice work towards a nice project from a guy with a well proven track record. Driven with spirit it should be pacey enough for the frame and in a more gentle mode should get some serious mileage per tank full of go go juice. Coupled with the ACE kit this could be a serious wolf in sheep’s clothing.
AlwaysOnTwo says
Great looking pieces and the foundry floor isn’t too shabby, either. For anyone that ever decides to get addicted to the casting process, I’d urge more than the usual modern learning curve of a Google search. In my own case, I was fortunate enough to work summers in my uncle’s foundry (LeRoux Brothers, Muskegon MI) way back when. I actually rode my Norton 850 Commando from Salinas CA to his shop just for the priviledge of sweating in the heat and risking serious injury to learn things first hand (hey Mule, that’s not an opinion, that’s MY experience!). That shop produced everything from cast iron heads and blocks for Detroit Diesel to brass fittings for propane tanks and aluminum engine cases for Briggs and Stratton.
I would offer this tidbit….if you know someone, or can find someone, that would allow you to take a personal tour of a small production foundry, be really fast and jump on the opportunity. While you’re taking the tour, regardless of your age or the distance, make a firm offer to do some work as an unpaid intern. What you can learn “hands on” in a very short time is more than worth it.
And that, my good pal Mule, is my opinion.
Paul Crowe - "The Kneeslider" says
This foundry sure is a lot brighter and cleaner than the brass foundry I spent a short while working in those many years ago, but the process is the same. You learn a lot on a job like that, you get to see first hand how the process works and the knowledge stays with you your entire life. It’s hard, dirty work that pays off in ways you can’t imagine.
Dano says
Paul, do you know if it will be at Vintage Days this year? Due to other events & commitments I go every other year.
B50 Jim says
It will have an ACE kit, I hope? Can’t imagine Aniket going to all this trouble and then bolting stock top ends on it. An ACE Musket would be a nicely potent machine in the mold, so to speak, of the great classic English V-twins. Can’t wait to se it and hear it run!
Rex says
Truley great work Aniket. Cannot wait to see the finished motor!
Aniket says
Hullo hullo!
Darn it, emotional Indian guy here…getting choked up again with all the nice things Paul posts and you guys write 🙂
FIRST, have to sing praises to Seaport Mold and Casting in Toledo OH: http://www.seaportmold.com
These guys have been in the non ferrous line for sixty years. Run by Fred Kumor, a GREAT guy, it was started by his dad back in the forties. They are one of the pioneers of plaster mold casting, which is a technique using plaster instead of sand, yielding tighter tolerances and better finish. The first motor was also cast here four years ago. Would you believe that he was ok with me showing up at 7 am, patterns and camera in hand and staying there the whole day watching, asking, being a pain, getting my castings the same day itself ! I did this last time too!
Quick overview of the process used- we used air-set sand, which is different from green sand in that it has chemical binders in it which cure and harden in a few hours…this can also be speeded up with heat, which is what you can see in one of the pics with the flame curing. A special hopper mixes precisely the two-part binders and sand, which is hand packed on the mold. Advantages…greater depth of cavities and narrow features are possible because the mold sets hard and strong. Green sand is basically just sand and clay and some other additives, and it sets to the pattern form purely under the pressure of being squeezed really tight- just like sand castles which will hold up somewhat but can crumble in your hand if you tried. This makes it hard to get deep holes and cavities because the green sand tends to just break of when the pattern is being removed. Downside of air-set sand (also called no-bake, just like the cookies :-), is that it can’t be continuously re-used like regular green sand- it breaks into rocky chunks after casting removal. It can be recycled but needs equipment to do so.
To answer B50 Jim…hope you don’t mind but the very first motor will be all stock 🙂
Have all the parts already, want to build a basic, minimum budget project first as a good first step, entry level demo, make sure everything holds up well… the second set of cases will be dual Fireballed…that won’t be cheap and I sure hope to sell a couple of motors to finance that project 🙂
Btw, machining has begun, CNC this time, making good progress. Staying in the machine shop right after I clock out, all wired and giddy and kicked at diving right in 🙂
Thanks very very much!
Aniket
B50 Jim says
Hullo, Aniket!
I don’t mind that the first one will be stock — I’m sure you had enough obstacles to overcome; adding twin Fireball kits would add to the complexity! I’m highly impressed with the casting process use by the folks at Seaport — air-set sand looks like a vast improvement over the old standby green sand; the next best thing to (very expensive) injection molding. I’ll eagerly follow your progress. This is just the right kind of bike!
Scotduke says
Great work Aniket, liked the look of the prototypes and I’m curious to see what will happen next.
Paulinator says
I remember CO2 sand from years back. I have to check if “air-set” sand is available for the hobbiest. That would give me a whole new dimension of capability with my homemade tilt-smelter. Maybe I’ll finally cast my little (smokeless) 2-stroke into reality.
R Gustafson says
Fantastic job Aniket! It’s a pleasure to see enthusiasm at work. For starting from scratch, you’ve done a marvelous job of learning & applying the mature & basic technology of manufacture to turning your dreams into hard metal & throbbing machines! Best of luck!
Sodium silicate used to be available from agricultural suppliers & concrete additive suppliers. It came as a clear liquid in a sealed bottle.
There’s a chemical process with CO2 (even the CO2 from out of the air) that forms a hard glassy coating, binding the molding sand particles together. It only breaks down over 800 deg C (see Wikipedia 🙂
Mix the liquid with your clean molding sand until it is wet through. Store it in a covered bin to slow the natural setting rate. All being well, there’s about an hour or so of working time to get the mold making done before the sand turns to brick. Molds made like this are much more robust than with green sand but they are still brittle so careful handling is recommended.
This procedure was in common use in brass & aluminium foundries back in the 60’s & I imagine it has been well refined since then.
rafe03
Paulinator says
Thx Man. I’ll have to try that.
Tom Lyons says
Looking great!
We have a pair of Fireball kits set aside for this project.
Can’t wait!
Aniket says
Tom! That is a most admirable boost to my fatigued-but-churning brain!
Perhaps you can build the Cannonball the same time as I build the stock one, then we’ll race ’em 😀
Aniket says
Hi Rafe03,
Thanks for mentioning the sodium silicate process…I remember looking it up when making the first castings, the stuff is still available… http://www.budgetcastingsupply.com/Sodium_Silicate.php
Quite likely that it can be found at a local chemical supplier too.
The small local foundry I tried first (4 years ago) was unable to make molds with green sand due to the depth of the cavities (the sand would keep breaking off) and told me to get sodium silicate…I located a supplier and was about to go ahead and buy it when…..I found that the foundry guy had ruined my patterns by letting them get soaking wet!
Paulinator says
…reading that in the original article made me weep.
Josh says
So awesome..! Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Aniket says
Hi Dano!
Shooting for having it running soon enough to ride it down to Vintage Days this year if I don’t screw up anything too major.
Wooley says
Well I see Aniket, that you are proceeding along at a fine pace. Been some time since I conversed back and forth with you. Interesting information on the casting materials used on this set of castings. Let us all know what you might ask for a stock engine. A few of us here in North Carolina are starting a motorcycle co-op and have a vintage 1920’s brick building to be cleaned up and upfitted for our purpose. Would be nice to have you come with the original bike and the other stock if finished to show off to us Southerners. You can check it out here if Kneeslider won’t mind the link http://motorcyclecoop.blogspot.com/2012/04/carolina-motorcycle-cooperative-begins.html
Fine work Aniket.
David Richardson says
This is an inspirational story for me because I have spent a (very) long time designing a side valve (flathead) V twin based on two RE 500 cc Bullet engines and am now getting to the stage when I want to start making patterns, castings etc so I’m very glad to see that someone else has done it and made such a grand job of it. All success to you Aniket, bloody well done! Whats the latest news?