Man of the Future: Step 12

Hello again and thank you for joining me for this Artist’s Studio.
This installment is my favorite part to see in person- “metal pour”. Last time, the wax was melted out of the ceramic shells, creating a mold for the bronze to be poured into. Now, the shells are put on a sand covered cart which is wheeled into a large oven to pre-heat them before pouring in the molten bronze. They are heated to around the same 2000° F tempurature as the molten bronze to prevent cooling of the bronze as it flows through the shell.

Then they come out and the bronze is poured into the hot shells through the “cups” and “sprues” which are now hollow.

After the bronze cools, most of the ceramic is chipped off with hammers and air chisels.

The cups and sprues (now solid bronze) are cut off to be recycled, and the rest of the ceramic will be sandblasted off before assembly begins.



March 7th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I find it wonderful to watch your creation process unfold. I look forward to see the final piece. Thank you for all your effort to document and share this process.
March 8th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Thank you Gordon, I appreciate your comment