#onefrommany

Well, here she is... Attempt 3!! Not perfect, but definitely the best yet, and most importantly, completely whole. 😅 No big cold shuts, but there is still some pitting on the inside faces. The photos show where I tried sanding it down, but I was afraid to go too far bc it’s already pretty thin. The factory associates think they can fix that with a little welding tho. It would be nice to take one more shot at casting it, but I only scheduled time for 3 attempts. 😕🤷🏻‍♀️ Next up is shot blasting (like sandblasting but with steel beads), then off to welding for touch ups, then grinding, and then into the enamel oven for seasoning. So I’m not home free yet, but so far I could end up with one (maybe even two) useable pans! Let’s hope they make it through the rest of the process... 🤞🙏 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl_H7-dBOlE/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=cg52jqrlg6ys

It takes about 2hrs to break open each of my big molds. For something sturdier (like a bathtub) you can use faster methods, but my pan is really thin and rather brittle so I have to open it carefully. The first time, @sophyetrendy and I used just sledge hammers and wedges... and I broke my finger after 1.5 hours in 100°F heat. ⚒😖🤕 But for the second attempt, we switched to an air chisel. 💪 For this 3rd attempt, I was on my own, but I got better at understanding how to create fault lines in the sand and was able to open it in the same amount of time. 😅👍👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl-scRPhidz/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rfyey81jyzld

This is half of the resin-bonded sand mold from attempt 3. I made deeper registration keys, widened the gating in the cope, kept the 24 vents I used in attempt 2, added scratch vents along all the edges, and added more gating in the drag. This means I’ll have to grind off a lot more iron after it’s cast, but I’m trying anything and everything to get the iron in fast and hot. 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl5ieaiB-ue/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1n9no8asy7lr9

My studio craziness. You can see one half of a big ass sand mold that needs to get thrown out, one cast iron big ass pan that needs its sprue and gating cut off, and two big ass mold halves for my 3rd attempt. Not to mention more fingerprint molds and a bunch of brass bread in the back. 😳😅 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work) https://www.instagram.com/p/BlXvu1NhOEi/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vvf3enggymyx

Attempt 2 fresh out of the mold... The good news: NO HOLES!!! 😅 The bad news: it still has some cold shuts (places where the molten iron cooled before fusing properly), at least one of which could potentially pop out when I heat the pan, creating a hole and/or crack. 😥 But I still have time left in my residency for one more try....... 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work)

Video of closing the mold for attempt 2. We take the wooden flask off the drag, apply glue to the edges, position the cope over it, then carefully lower it so that it locks in place with the registration keys. Then we cover the open holes and take the flask of the cope. This one is smaller than the first mold; it only weighs about 1 ton total. 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work)

Here’s the cope ready to go with a couple of coats of graphite to keep it from picking up too much of the sand texture. I doubled the diameter and increased the height of the down sprue, and I quadrupled the number of vents. Hopefully that will do it... 🤞👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work)

I built a new cope for the 2nd attempt that is thicker to provide more head pressure to help push the molten iron through the thin mold cavity. This shows it just before taking it out to the factory floor to fill with resin-bonded sand. 👷🏻‍♀️ (at Kohler Foundry Work)