Metal Casting
This is my mom, in early 2000. She agreed to help me with my first casting project:
a sundial sculpture of my dog Snoop.
The part you see here was challenging because it was so large, thin, and flat. I
was worried that the metal might freeze in places before filling the mold entirely.
I was also afraid that we'd run out of metal before the mold filled up. But everything
worked fine.
We're using oil-bond sand. Hence, the smoke. I had to make the flask special for
this job.
Click here
to see
how the sundial turned out.
These are commemorative of year Zeeland High School split into two separate schools:
East and West. The superintendent flipped one of these coins at the first homecoming
game against East and West, to decide who would start offensively.
To see how I made these coins,
click here.
This is the pattern for my most challenging casting project. I made this pig for
HR Electronics, to be an eye-catcher at the Dayton HamVention.
In 2001, I pulled
it out of the garage, dusted it off, and used it
as a pattern for what I hope to
be a piggy bank.
I envision the piggy bank to have a combination-locking door, like a safe, and to
weigh
about 200 pounds.
Click here
to see how far I am on this project.
Before I cast the piggy bank, I decided to try something a bit smaller. After all
the problems I had with the coins, I considered the colossal waste of time and money
I would endure if the thing didn't turn out on the first try. Michelle's cat passed
away before his time, so I decided to make a sculpture to immortalize him and to
mark his grave in the garden.
This is also when I switched from expensive "investment" to plaster and beech sand.
It's a good thing I tried the cat before the pig - the first try was a learning
experience. To see my progress, you guessed it,
Click here.