Other Things

Here are some other random foundry-related and not-so-related items.

Here's my shop. My home was built in 1920, and this garage was built not too terribly long after. It's about 10 feet wide and maybe 18 feet long. The entire inside is covered in the same tongue-in-groove flooring that is in the house. I use this shop for my yard work, my wood working, metalworking, and foundry operations, as well as storing a number of otherwise difficult to store items, like my yurt. As you can see, it's a tight fit!

When I was trying to do foundry work with forced air on coal, I melted through a cast-iron pot that I was using as a crucible. So I decided to get a graphite crucible instead. Third time I used it, it fell over during the pre-heat and had one side resting right on the coal where the air nozzle was blowing in. It lasted about 20 seconds before it exploded.

So, while I was working on the large furnace one day, I decided that I really just needed to cast somthing, so I whipped out a foam positive and stuck it in some sand. This was the result. It worked pretty good, but I had some flaws. Not bad for a first try, though!

Here's a closer shop of that same piece, still steaming hot.

The foam positive I used for that first casting.

Update Jan 4, 2007

This is a positive that I made out of sculpey, to cast in brass. 4 of these together will form the rim of a viking drinking horn.

I decided to try a product called 'Delft Clay' to cast this first. This is a shot of the first mold after I rammed it up. I still need to make a riser.

this is inside the delft clay mold. It's difficult to see, but it held the detail really well.
Next, we pour the brass!