N8PPQ

Foundry

October 11: I brought the mold in to work yesterday and made this strap to pick it up.

(It weighs 156 pounds.)

Tonight I made this pan to catch wax. It couldn't be very deep because there isn't much room in the kiln. The mold is 23" tall.

Finally! At long last, I get to use my crane. I made that crane five years ago to pick up the pig mold and it's been waiting ever since. One of my students stole my chain block that first year. I bought this one today. The crane is on wheels and it rolls easily. I wasn't sure if my welds would hold since I wasn't very experienced back then. I could imagine that 150 block dropping right through the floor of that kiln.

Everything went smoothly. I tightened up on the nuts so the mold would stay in place unless I forced it to turn.

Cool, huh? I have to turn it upside down to get the wax to run out.

Here it is, ready to be lowered in.

And down we go. I had the kiln at 400° but, after 1-1/2 hours the wax still wasn't running out like I expected it would. I had to go home so I left the heat on. I'll see if there's any wax left to save tomorrow.

October 15: Learning Experience

Michelle drove down separately. I was there early, getting stuff ready for classes on Monday. (There was no wax in the pan. It was all in the air. I like the way it smells.)

Things went pretty smooth. Everything went like it should. Here, Michelle is warming aluminum ingots and then inserting them into the crucible.

I don't know what I'm doing here. I see the mold right behind my glove. I shaved the mustachio off when I got home.

You can see the problem. It filled completely. Just as I shouted, "Yes!" it sprung a leak and the cat spilled out. I knew from experience that it was hopeless now, but I still had Michelle help me pour all the rest of the metal into the mold, even as we watched it run out.

This is all I have. I broke it out of the mold earlier than I would if it had worked. I wanted to see it before we went home. It was ruined anyway, so I didn't wait. The metal was still soft and, what was there, broke apart. The face was missing - just a big hole. The back of the head was there with part of the body, and these legs. The finish looks bad. I'm learning from all this. I hope to pour again over Christmas break. (I'm glad I'm not learning all this on the pig.)

Back

My Personal Site