Foundry Upgrade for Bronze Casting

I have refurbished my foundry again and completed several firings. The new insulation mix, along with a stronger air supply (hair dryer) is now able to melt bronze! it has gotten to such high temperatures it has melted the sand in the fire clay mix into glass, creating a glazed lining, I think this is also due to the lie made from the coal ash that I have added to the mix. I also increased the sand this time and it has made an incredible difference. Melting 2.5 kg of bronze in under 40 min, without pre-heating.

I have used a steel crucible again, however I intend to not use it for many firings and switch to a graphite crucible soon. I was able to cast one of my sculptures for an upcoming series entitled “Grazing the feed” using the lost wax method, and my charcoal foundry.

This project is something I started as a student to make metal casting more viable in my artistic practice, I am incredibly happy to be using it now to create sculptures for exhibition.

I will continue to test the fire clay recipe for longevity, but the thermal efficiency of this foundry has greatly improved since 2013. Originally it took over an hour to melt aluminium at 660 celcius, and now it can melt bronze at 1080 celcius in under 40 minutes. This foundry has become an economical way for me to continue creating cast metal sculptures.