Virtual Foundry Tour

The Bronze Process

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Step 4: The Metal Pour

Now the dance of the foundry begins.

Pouring metal is a team effort. It is dangerous business and the team needs to work as one unit. There are two teams that work together. One team takes the white hot crucible full of molten metal out of the furnace where it was heated. They lift it out with a two-man heavy duty hoist.

The pour team then changes the lift to a two-man pouring carrier lift.

At the same time the other half of the pour team takes the hot shell molds out of the other furnace where they have been heated and props them in sand and leans them against metal bars for stability.

 

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The molten metal is poured into the hot slurry molds through the cup. The metal flows into the piece via the wax evacuated sprue system that was attached to the original sculpture. The shell team watches to make sure that the pieces stay stable and upright as the metal is poured into the molds. They also watch for holes that may break through the mold as the hot metal is poured into the shell.

After the molds are all poured any extra metal that is left in the crucible is poured into ingot molds and left to cool. They will be used in the next pour. The crucible is raked out with a special tool so it is clean of any residual metal and will be ready for the next pour. The hot slurry molds filled with metal are left to cool.

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Go to Step 5: Breaking Off The Mold & Finishing

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