The past several days have been quite productive here at Pedvale. We held the first Symposium Iron Pour a day earlier than planned on Sat. and things went very smoothly. The pallet jack /bull ladle system worked reasonably well and the gantry was exactly what we needed. I can’t say enough about what a great crew we had. The teamwork and initiative was fantastic! No injuries of any kind and several difficult situations handled with finesse made for a memorable experience. We poured in excess of 6000 lbs of iron, the cupola performed flawlessly and the molds filled quickly and as planned. This big cupola finally got a name ; she is the third LARUA at Pedvale! Laura M had my camera during the pour and she took many excellent photos. I have downloaded a few which I will post, but there are many more I hope to put on-line within the next several days, so stay in touch and check out the action as we prepare for another BIG pour on Wednesday, June 11
I am doing the first tap of the pour.
First Tap in to the bull ladle!
Pouring Tamsie
The first mold poured was Tamsie’s. That’s Liz skimming.
Pouring my wood mold.
My wood mold was almost the last thing poured. It took all of one bull ladle and two small ladles from the last tap! Well over a thousand lbs.
Finishing the wood mold.
I was amazed by how little fire there was with this mold. It certainly doesn’t react as violently as the fir we use in the US! I’m not complaining, mind you, it was nice not to get cooked!
taking a break
Nothing brings a smile to my face like pouring iron!
Last iron.
I tapped the cupola one last time to clear it of iron before we dropped the bottom and it provided a preview of the Mid-summer performances!
Last shot is particularly awesome – it does look like a midsummer performance piece (minus dancers, of course)!