In this modern age people have forgotten how to be truly horrifically bad hosts. I like to start by inviting new friends over to do something dangerous, then build on that momentum by spending the entire time out in the garage. Letting people actually come in the house sends the wrong message. Then to truly sell the experience I generally have them do some manual labor when they arrive. It is the bad host hat trick.
In this case Ian and Dave came over to test cast some belt buckles. We started by making a “sandbox” so we could cast in the garage. I live in Seattle and that means lots of rain. Rain does not mix well with molten metal.
I was surprised how well the sandbox ended up working. With the garage door open and an extraction fan ventilation was not a problem. The sand also gives a clear working area over which to keep anything hot, and minimizes the hazards of a spill. So all in all it looks like I will be able to cast in the winter time.
One nice thing about sand – it lets you wiggle items a bit to seat them. Even hot items. So you know they wont tip or move on you. Very useful.
And here is Ian’s first pour. More videos describing the process of casting to follow.