I've always been fascinated by foundry work, moldmaking, casting, creating metal.

There's a burgeoning grassroots foundry community, luckily, they're a pretty savvy bunch, many share their knowledge via the web.

(Almost) needless to say, playing with molten metal is not for everyone...

Here's a little safety notice from a foundry site...

"This is a dangerous hobby.You're playing with large quantities of VERY hot metal that moves like water.Materials don't always act like you'd expect when they're very hot.Wear safety glasses. Wear a safety face shield over the safety glasses when you're actually pouring. Wear a denim or canvas jacket, heavy leather gloves, blue jeans, and leather work boots. Don't wear anything synthetic. Don't cast when it's wet outside. (You might be safe; it *might* not explode in your face when it hits wet ground. But keep in mind my friend Boris, the world's best Russian Roulette player, whose record was 384-1..."



Here's a
site.

Another