In the 1970s and early '80s, Peterson Products, a partnership of brothers and educators Jan Peterson and Lyle Peterson, made casting kits for school shop classes. Kits were provided for 1x42 belt sander, a 10" disc sander, a 10" bandsaw, and an arbor press as well as vises, clamps and a motor base.
The kits had plaster patterns, drawings and detailed instructions for making a metal pattern for use in a foundry class, plus instructions on machining and assembling the castings to create the finished product. Although the castings could theoretically be of cast iron, high school shops invariably cast aluminum instead, which was easier to do because of lower temperatures needed. This somewhat compromised the usefulness of the finished projects but the main goal was to teach casting and machining, and in that sense the projects were successful.
Information Sources
- We learned of this maker from Lyle Peterson's YouTube channel, under the name mrpete222, a.k.a. tubalcain. Lyle and his brother, Jan, comprised Peterson Products. There is a video on Peterson Products that explains its genesis, goes through an old brochure showing the products, and also talks about its demise.
- 2019-11-07 NewsTribune obituary for Jan Peterson.