High temperature art
by Tony Peters on March 31, 2011

Well today was Bronze day......we poured liquid metal.....I made a belt buckle and a pendant for my wife very fun and just a bit scary...I'm the one pulling the crucible out of the blast furnace. Chelsea and Darren did a great job of pouring and it looks like everyone's objects came out. We used the very ancient "lost wax" method which while it destroys the mold yields good results
Six Replies to High temperature art
Scott Hardie | April 1, 2011
Neat!
Tony Peters | April 1, 2011
This is only the second time my school has poured bronze (or any metal) we learned some valuable technical things today. BTW though it doesn't look it the crucible weighs about 50lbs it's fragile and it jiggles like jello when you move it..
Tony Peters | April 1, 2011
here are my pieces out of the molds and at the beginning of cleanup/polishing
Jackie Mason | April 10, 2011
[hidden by author request]
Tony Peters | April 10, 2011
It was about 35lbs of molten metal and a 10lbs crucible....the weird thing was we added about 20lbs of metal after we started so the crucible was heavier coming out than it was when I put it into the blast furnace. it's also 1800 degrees which adds a whole level of heavy to it
vagabond-punk
The musings of Tony Peters, a perpetual child, no matter where I am I will find a way to climb something or go skateboarding Read more »

books and rolling
It always seems that 2-3 books that I have been patiently are all released by the publishers at the same time...such was the case for me with Wrath of a Mad God and the latest Dresden files book Small Favor...unsure which one I wanted to read more I switched from day to day reading one and then the other. Go »
Seriously I am running...
OK maybe running isn't quite the best description especially since I am mostly running/jogging on trails but who would have thought that after 20 years of hating running (and that's an understatement) while in the Navy I am finding trailrunning soo much fun. This all started last fall when I decided that after 4 years the screws in my ankle were still annoying me. Removal isn't an option as recovery from that is a year of minimal exercise/stress which means I couldn't even swim or ride a bike. Go »
Music....my life got a bit easier
I have a music fetish....I collect it and organize it and listen to it all day long....I am likely addicted to my shuffle, the New Itunes 8 just made my life so easy....Genius Go »
Last day skateboarding of 2007
OK I admit that a 41 year old man finding a day of enjoyment skateboarding might sound strange but I find it centers me and provides a source of exercise that I can't find else ware. That said I spent the day working on my tuck, downhilling in a nearby neighborhood. I lost count of the number of times I went down the half mile hill my legs are feeling the hike back up (gotta earn those runs) so I'm gonna guess more than 20 times and I know I listened to at least 6 hours of music on my Ipod. Go »
more liquid metal
My sculpture Professor decided that the burner we use for melting metal wasn't working out well, since it was designed for a forge and not a furnace he had a furnace burner made.....it used to take hours to melt 20lb of bronze, it took us 40 minutes yesterday. I have never seen the crucible as hot as it was. Go »



















Kelly Lee | April 1, 2011
Wow. I really want to do that.