Headed West, For the Love of Heavy Metal.

The 5th Biennial Western Cast Iron Conference. Nov. 2nd – 6th, 2016 Scottsdale, Arizona was my destination. I missed the 2nd Conference held in Montana which I regret. Otherwise I have attended all four other Western Cast Iron Conferences. I love Fire. Hell, I’m the Mile High Potter and I fire my Pottery to Cone 10 (Fucking Hot). But Iron, is so much more of a hands on Kinda HOT. Instead of just driving the heat up and waiting for the outcome (simplified). Now your driving the Cupola up, then tapping it for the molten metal and distributing it into reservoirs/molds. And this process will repeat until something runs out. Usually, we run out of molds to be filled. However, other reasons do arise.

To me, There is no small job. I use to get pissed at people who didn’t do their fair share of the work. It seems right, huh? I would bust my ass to break iron and coke while they fucked off making their molds and whatever. But I gave that stinking thinking up. I can’t allow other people to manage my happiness. I know what needs done and I’m happy to do it. Because for one, there is no small job for an Iron Pour. No One person makes this happen. If there are no molds then No pour. no permits/No Pour, no broken iron/NO Pour. There are so many variables. Many of which will be accomplished by someone other than me. I deal with what I see needs done. While others have already been working since the planning stage. But no matter what happens, it all comes together and Iron Art is Produced.

I would like to share my Photos of the 5th Biennial Western Cast Iron Conference. I don’t know everyone’s name. I did meet a bunch of new people and reaquainted with people I’ve met at previous conferences and other Iron Pours. A Big THANK YOU to all the Board Members. Tom Fox, Ted Uran, Toby Flores, David Lobdell, Ashley Hope Carlisle, David Jones, Rian Kerrane, Jack Gron, and Alison Ouellette-Kirby.

During an Iron Pour, you feel the searing heat of the bright glowing metal as it slowly turns upon itself in the ladle. Sample its weight, as your muscles flex while lifting and transporting the burdening ladle. Then slowly followed by a false sense of relief, as the ladles weight reduces and possibly a shear sense of danger, due to muscle fatigue. But that’s just Pouring. They have teams of people that do different things and you can be apart of those teams.

Shell crew people heat up ceramic shells and stage them red hot for the ladle crews to pour into. The shell warmer/wax burnout kiln is used. These people tend to have a vested interest in the shells, meaning they probably made them and will handle them with extreme care, due to there fragile state.

Someone has to melt the metal. This is a skilled (Basketball) job meaning the Person firing it, is probably the one who built it. It’s his ball and we play by his rules. That person is familiar with its abilities and performance. Furnance crews require a dedicated team. We melt a lot of metal and burn a lot of coke. All of which has to be lifted and loaded by hand. They also count and document material usage like coke, iron, limestone.

So where is all this metal coming from? recycled! Sometimes it’s donated, bought or acquired, ranging from old iron radiators and bathtubs to black pipes and brake rotors. Whatever we can get our hands on, then armed with hammers the metal is broken to small pieces about the size of a tortilla chip and stacked into charges that weight about twenty five lbs depending on cupola. Coke also gets broken up and charges weighted. Coke is the fuel for the Furnace. It is coal that has been reduced to a purer form of carbon allowing for higher firing temperatures which will melt Iron.

The ladle warmer crew, sets up and uses propane burners with blowers to preheat the ladles prior to receiving metal and put back on the burner in between use.

Shovel crew protect the ladle crews by covering spills with sand that might be stepped on, or removing the spill once it solidifies, shielding nearby molds from splashes, containing a blowout or leak in a mold, patching a mold if possible, deflecting heat from nearby hot molds for ladle crew. and as a spotter if someone on the ladle is fatigued. Its all about safty.

Which brings us to the pre pour safety meeting. Manditory. Usually held by the facility director and attended by all. They will go over safety and their procedures, type of appropriate gear to be worn, and who will be in charge of which crews, so everyone is on the same page.

And of course making Molds and breaking more iron.

There were workshops also, like mold making, tiny cast iron, patinas, ladle lining, build a burner, materials and uses, blacksmithing and forging, and a tiny coupla contest.