"foundry"

This tag describes articles that relate to my home foundry operation. I was started on this path many years ago when I was first exposed to Dave Gingery's series of books on how to build an entire machine shop from scrap. The series begins with a book which instructs the user how to construct a simple blast furnace and use it to melt and cast scrap metal to make parts which are used, together with judicious hand scraping, to build a simple lathe. The lathe and the foundry are then used to build a metal shaper, a milling machine, and so forth. Achieving this construction, by itself, was a remarkable achievement. That Dave successfully recorded the process for posterity, in such an accessible manner, is downright astounding. I recommend that anyone even remotely interested in tools or the history of technology buy the entire series; the first book alone has changed my life. When I shook my first successful aluminum casting out of the sand, I had a momentary sense of achievement that was as profound as any I have ever known. I suddenly felt like I knew how the ape in 2001 felt when he figured out how to use a bone as a hammer.

sean@seanmichaelragan.com