: This sounds interesting. Like all interesting thing, there is a catch --
: safty.
: I have not done any casting except for sinkers (fishing), but I used
: commercial
: electric heater ( I forget what is the proper name for that gadget) and a
: manufactured mold -- I guess that does not count. However, I have heard
: the danger for casting -- spills when tong slips; mold explodes because
: water (in sand mold) vaporizes when comes in contact with hot molten
: metal.. etc.
: Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage anyone.
: I have in my past rig up a forge to do some blacksmithing with a BBQ kettle,
: fire bricks and a hair dryer. It works and a lot of fun, but also created
: a mess to clean up.
: An alternate method to casting is blazing / soldering. Grind / file the metal
: pieces to shape, clamp them together and blaze with oxypropane -- kits
: available in any hardware store.

I have just about done everything as a patternmaker which also including patternmaking in a foundry for a year. Besides being dangerous, it just seems to me that it isn't worth it. Building your patterns and parting them for the cope and drag match release, alining the cope and drag--male and female, pouring, venting for gases, rizers, gates which are mathematically figured for different kinds of metal and more. And as mentioned, a little bit of mosture and you have a bomb.

John