[Jewelry making - Article 00097] - Re: [Orchid] Metal set-up time

[Bill Churlik]

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Deb,

    Think Sand Casting and foundry work. The metal is poured into
    cavities and the air vacates by means of risers, vents.  My hobby is
    antique steam powered machinery. I am always awed by what was cast in
    a sand pit and the metal poured down the holes. Think of casting
    flywheels 40 feet in diameter, Locomotive frames 50 or more feet
    long, all done in one piece and in one pour with only gravity to
    assist and vents to get the air out of the way. The ship I served on
    (USS John F. Kennedy CVA-67) had bronze propellers 25 feet in
    diameter, sand cast. Much of the casting done around the world is
    done by gravity alone. 

    There is a book "Contemporary Southeast Asian Arts and Crafts" 1977,
    Thelma R. Newman. The section on metalworking is an eye opener for
    what you can do with how little in tooling. Why there is not a
    pyrometer or vacuum pump in sight and the air feed for the furnace
    are pumps made of bamboo. 

    What I may be trying to say here is that we need to be careful that
    our technology does not blind us. I do need to say that I want to
    know the "why it does what it does". "Just because" is never good
    enough even though that may be the only answer we can find at the
    moment. 

Bill Churlik
wechurlik AT earthlink.net
www.earthspeakarts.com

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