A REALLY old casting

[Pistolero]

I was really impressed in a museum today to see these cast bronze chariot wheels from
about 700 BC. So, almost 3000 years ago, guys could make castings like this - lost wax, amazing
details and quality. I guess they had segmented wooden tires riveted into the grooves.


I feel happy to get a really nice H&G 68 or Lyman 311334 ......wow, this is impressive for the day.

Also, the nearby Roman amphitheater has been partially restored and they use it for modern plays and concerts.

Brad was asking about cultural stuff....

So,
And for those thinking of their latest weapon acquisition....
How about a genuine Roman arrow catapault torsion spring bearing housing assembly?
The upper and lower trunnions held rope bundles, often made with horsehair, with a
bow arm inserted. The cage was supported on wooden crossarms by the four
loops. See the pic at the upper right.
The Romans were pretty good iron workers, besides doing a lot if really impressive
brick, marble and roads, too. Oh, yeah, and a couple of hundred stone river bridges that
still stand and carry modern traffic. 2000 year old bridges blows this structural engineer's
mind. Don't get me started on the Roman Pantheon. (No typo, this is not the Greek Parthenon)

Lyon today. Nice tomorrow - F1 GP at Monaco for the weekend. Big boys toys.
1300 lb loaded, with driver and ~800-900 HP hybrids, corner at 5Gs, brake at 4-5Gs,
7 speed sequential paddle shifters, running on a narrow street circuit with guard rails
everywhere. One corner is a steeply dropping hairpin that has the cars with the steering
against the full stop, and cars are specifically designed to be able to turn this tight, far
tighter than most courses.
Yahoo! Oh, yeah, and they drop into a tunnel from full sunlight and then out again into
full sunlight. A good four tire change pit stop has the car stationary for about 2.5 seconds. A
3.5 second 4 tire change is considered a screwup.

These are really challenging cars to drive. One F1 driver was irritated at his team's poor
performance, so he hopped over to the same car maker's Indy team for a run at the 500.
A couple of days ago, Fernando Alonso, qualified at the middle of the second row his rookie run,
about 3rd time ever in an Indy car..... These guys are good.

Bill

 

[freebullet]

Neat stuff there, Bill. It boggles the mind how well they made stuff, the pride, & craftsmanship is amazing. Makes me look down on new stuff with more scrutiny in today's throw away society.

 

[KeithB]

Great post Bill. Some old stuff is really amazing for the quality of work. But remember, the junk was the LEAST likely stuff to survive.

 

[Ian]

Wow, full schedule there, Bill! Sounds like a blast but not for the inexperienced traveler.

Here's the amphitheater we've been visiting:

 

[Brad]

Have climbed up there? Notice the sky is white, that is due to lack of oxygen.

 

[Ian]

My camera apparently has hypoxia. Or maybe it's me. It was near dark, in any event, and I just caught the "alpineglow", the last rays of sunlight hitting the mountaintops. I hiked to the rim of the amphitheater a few years ago, in the fall, when the snow was mostly gone. It's treacherous near the top, windy and very slick. It's better to hike Mt. Sneffels behind our house, only about five miles to the summit but it's just over 14,000' and has an actual trail. When you start out from the back door at 8100 feet it ain't so bad, the oxygen deprivation just sitting in the living room for a few days must have contributed to all that seeming like a good idea, but it's cool to see, literally, four western states from the summit.

I'm waiting for pix of the race. Bill, can you do video?

 

[Brad]

I hunted elk north of Durango in 97. The camp was just over 10,000 ft. Air was in damn short supply. At the end of the week it was better but I decided after that I was destined to remain a flat lander.

 

[fiver]

that ain't lack of oxygen.
it's an over abundance of hydrogen.

this is the greatest weekend in the world.
Indy-500.
Grand Prix of Monaco.
coca-cola 600
and the Idaho state trap shoot.

 

[Ian]

And my wedding anniversary.

 

[fiver]

nice... congrats.

 

[Pistolero]

Brad,

I hunted elk north of Durango several years. On ridges above Hermosa Creek. Got a
nice cow, learned to love elk meat. What a coincidence.

Ian, - a beautiful place! I have been going to the mtns for many decades. First trip out
west when I was a college kid in 73, never stopped, finally got our place in southern
Colo in the early 80s. Never tire of the mountains, something just special to me and
wife. Alpenglow is just a magical time.

So, who is going to make up a functional modern version of that arrow catapult? I think
we have enough there to know how to do it.

Yes, congrats to Ian.

Bill

 

[Pistolero]

Keith,

Yes, and no doubt the ordinary stuff wouldn't be as likely to earn it's own display in a museum, even if
it survived and was recovered. There are small "household" castings, winged Mercury, and such that did
survive, groups of them in displays, generally not as nice. Some of the weapons points were impressive.
Roman lance tips, one with gold inlaid lettering, was particularly impressive.



Even so, being able to do lost wax castings of that size and quality (they are hollow at the hubs, and
maybe the spokes, too) plus the decorative rings and such is just impressive. When I worked in
industry, we were making complex electronics housings with investment casting (lost wax process) and
I can tell you that holding tolerances is still difficult today. Shrinkage distortion on larger pieces is
a serious problem, but maybe in bronze you can straighten them up afterwards.

In any case, casting bullets is pretty simple by comparison.

Bill

 

[Intheshop]

Bill,there's some scary interesting similarities between an arrow "launch" and a bore riding CB (smaller bore rifles).

Great pics,thanks.Have fun and be careful at the race.BW

 

[KHornet]

The weapons of the Romans and Greeks always fascinate me, in the European museums. Most
often over looked however were the slingers, and the projectiles they used. Cheap, practical,
functional, and fast. A lot of the projectiles were lead cast, and looked like little footballs. Quite
difficult to master (IMO), but bet Golith regreted going up against one.

Paul

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

You had a picture of the interior of a cathedral. Some years ago I found a sight that had a similar cathedral that had a 360 degree picture that you could rotate the view and look from any point to anywhere you wanted. Just an amazing view.

 

[fiver]

I enjoy outer/inner architectural features.
I never could figure putting all that effort into carving stone and pillars and then putting those carvings 175' up in the air where no one can look at them.

 

[Brad]

Fiver, anyone can look at them, just not up close!

Bill, you have made my wife and I want to spend more time in France. Maybe next year.

 

[Pistolero]

Brad,and
We took the scenic route from Lyon to Nice today, stopped many times, roads were pretty
amazing - wish I had the Cayman. But the Toyota Advantage, (no USA equiv) was pretty
competent on handling and braking, stupid diesel is crap, zero torque, revs to 5K max,
just a pain to pass anyone.

Over several mountain ranges on roads that dwindled to single lane, maybe 8 ft wide at times,
and then down the other side. Awesome views. Took 12 hours when the AutoRoute would have
been about 4, but that was way OK with us. Had picnic baguette sandwiches along side a glacier
flour tinged stream (that slightly cloudy blue is unmistakable once you know what it is). Just
fine day, beautiful weather all the way.



We had to stop for the bus - it needed the full road to make the corner. This is where the road
is still wide.

Note the size of the vehicle. Road runs right hard against those rocks on the left, maybe 12" from dotted line.


We were into the Maritime Alps, not the really big ones. Also, this is the wide portion
of the road, where I could pull off to take a pic.

Real good day, lots of time playing boy [oops, geezer, I guess] racer on the extremely twisty, narrow mountain roads.

 

[Pistolero]

Guys kayaking past where we had lunch.


Rock flour slightly clouds the water, showing glacial origins of at least one of the tributary streams.

 

[Ian]

What a treat, Bill, thanks for sharing a few photos of your adventures.