the foundry

i enjoyed my time working in the foundry during the 2004
spring semester reusing aluminum cans so much, i couldn't
wait to start another project. after finishing my steel rod
diagrammed sentence project i decided to melt down more
cans and try sand-casting, the forms of another sentence.
i found that the fine detail in my sand-mold paired with my
inexperience would not yield a satisfactory result; though it
did give me invaluable experience.

in order to use the sand pit for casting there
was a lot of prep work...we added some clay
particles to the sand and had to mix it
up...then mixed in the proper amount of water
to hold the impression but not cause the
molten aluminum to "pop" on contact

day one photo credits
reonna gurtner

i added literally hundreds of aluminum
cans to the crucible to pour into the
steel ingot molds to allow for a quicker
melt/pour time when actually pouring
my sandcast

skimming the dross off of the
molten aluminum, and
knocking it into an empty dry
ingot mold

pouring the ingots
see the far right where the
wood frame caught fire!

i set-up the furnace again to melt my last
bags of cans and because no one else was
there i was able to turn off the lights and
take a bunch of photographs

above: i am just barely visible
on the left, peaking into the
furnace

left: detail of cast, there was
so much flashing and the cast
was too thin; after three pours
and multiple grinding attempts
i have accepted temporary
defeat
right: third aluminum pour in
sandpit with the two handmade
ladles

back to fall 2004

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