Btw, Joshua, do you currently have access to a foundry? If you do, how expensive is it? Do you have to work in pairs or small teams during casting?
I do at the university I graduated from. My friend is now the Instructor and she lets me cast a few times a semester there.
I also have a primitive foundry in my backyard. I can only cast smaller items in that though. (Less then 10 lbs)
The one at the school can pour 265 lbs and the molds are made of Ceramic shell.
At the bigger pours we pour in groups of four
The MC Oversees the procedure, operates the furnace and kiln, Skims the slag and direct operations while pouring.
The Pour master who controls the crucible during the pour and gives instructions to the others.
Shank who works to support the crucible and helps in aligning and removing the crucible from the furnace and during the pour. All at the instruction of the pour master.
and "up down" crane operation. This person runs the hoist to raise or lower the crucible again only at the instruction of the pour master.
My little back yard foundry is a one man job.
Here are a few videos of my good friend down in the foundry working.
The man in the red shirt was my professor who has just retired the woman at the 27 second mark is now the professor and was attending the school when I was there, she is one of my best friends and a true pyro at heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD2l3xfYhFAA few more from our school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmL9RKSEl3AThis one show the procedure well
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z8LmJ9RfeUThe one thing that isnt captured in these is the heat.
Unreal hot!
The room gets to around 120 and in the suit its worse. about 30 seconds into the pouring stage the heat will distort the glass on your face shield and your vision gets wonky for a few minutes.
The furnace is around 2100 at full throttle and the kiln when its unloaded is around 1200.
Jobs like putting the shank on the crucible don't look so bad in pictures but many times if there is any delay your gloves will ignite and you have to back off and throw them down.
Fire extinguishers are not an option in case of an accident as the sudden change in temperature can cause a massive explosion!
We have had a few minor accidents (Burns mostly) but in most cases you deal with them until the pour is done, stopping isnt an option so there is normally a few alternates who step in in case of an indecent.
The videos make it look playful and it can be, but the respect these student have for the situation is top notch. They all understand a working student foundry is dangerous.
It builds such a strong atmosphere of friends in that room. It just cant be beat!
Sorry to ramble on but I am proud of my foundry there and the students and friends I met there.
That room holds a special place in my heart, Its where I met my wife and where she asked me out minutes before a pour. Two years later Its also where I asked her to be my wife.
good times
If you EVER get the chance to pour metal do it!!! its addicting! the heat, the smell. ahhhhhhhh
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