[Public-List] Casting Rudder Shoe and Gudgeons

[Peter McEvoy]

Hi Everybody,

I'm the guy who works at the bronze foundry in San Francisco. I've been
trying to keep track of everybody's info re: needs for rudder shoes and
gudgeons for the sake of clarity. After trolling through the digests, here
are the interested parties I have down (Add yours if you like):

*Rudder Shoe*:
Bill Ydel - wcydel at gmail.com
Mike Lehman - sail_505 at hotmail.comJeff Fongemie - fongemie at gmail.com
Brian Curry - brian_curry at hotmail.com
David Mitchell - david at mitchellent.com
Peter McEvoy - peter.t.mcevoy at gmail.com

*Gudgeon Sets*:
Glenn Brooks - brooks.glenn at comcast.net
David Mitchell - david at mitchellent.com
Michael #133 - crufone at comcast.net
Peter McEvoy - peter.t.mcevoy at gmail.com


My understanding is that Mike Lehman is getting a mold made of his rudder
shoe this weekend, with potential to cast copies from the mold at a foundry
in Baltimore- a great idea. I trust he'll keep us updated when ready.

Now, I live in San Francisco and do bronze casting (and mold making) for a
living and would also love to get my hands on an original, quality rudder
shoe and gudgeon pair in order to make molds of them (Plans with
dimensions, accurate diagrams or digital 3-d models work too!). Not trying
to steal any casting opportunities or anything, it just never hurts to have
your eggs in a few baskets instead of one. To Bill Ydel and Mike Lehman -
let me know if/when your shoes are available and I'll make a "backup" copy
for the west coast.

Sounds like our current need is on the gudgeons. Critical dimensions, or a
pair of originals, would be greatly appreciated. I can sculpt new gudgeons
from scratch if somebody at least has some dimensions scribbled down
somewhere. From there, a mold can be made and bronzes cast. I see on the
site that the crappy-looking gudgeons (no offense!) from #231 give
dimensions, but I'd like to base my measurements off of a cast set.

A quick note regarding bronze alloys: All of the casting I have done has
been for fine art, which typically casts using Everdur (astm alloy C-873),
a type of silicon bronze. It is 95% copper, 4% Silicon, and 1% Manganese.
It is has exceptional corrosion resistance and is excellent for marine
hardware both above and below waterline. It would work perfectly for the
rudder hardware and is likely to be the most common alloy you'll find
around bronze foundries, in case any of you are scoping out places to have
things cast. It should be compatible with most rudder stock material, such
as Naval bronze.

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

-Peter McEvoy