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Almost Finished With "The List". Mostly. Yeah.

old casting01
 
The end of the "list" is finally in sight. Taking advantage of a yearly awaited sale from a couple manufacturers to get the rest of the big ticket items on the foundry list. (Compressors, Vibratory Tumblers, a Pyramid Sized Pallet of IFB, Industrial Oven, etc)
 
I also get a tour of a facility near Philadelphia and some lazy real-estate scouting in the mix.
 
Now theres this annoying "little list" of the stuff you don't think about if its your first time around the block, like re-stocking buffing compounds, making measured ingot molds, extra plinths, and more clay to name a few. Fortunately I've always had the majority of whats been needed for this upgrade as the general things you'd find in most casting shops are pretty much the same. Alot of what I'm doing is the same but also new method and calculated experimentation needs some off the wall items at times too. Fortunately I've been active in the "crowd" and instead of trying to re-invent the wheel rely on tested procedure and equipment because the name of the game is making the stuff, not talking about how you can.
 
I've always used "standard" method for prototyping and despite bitching for years about knowing better ways to do it, couldn't because the tech needed to catch up to me and little did I know all the years in digital graphic arts would give me the edge I needed to get up to speed and surpass the average in short time. One can argue (and I do too) that in our field, digital sculpture is kind of cheating. It is, yes. However. It's no easy task to master and still requires knowledge and practice of fundamental art theories.
 
On some levels, its MORE difficult because without the dedication to that AND the tech AND how they relate to produce desired results will test the hardiest of insomniacs. The software is not cheap, nor is the hardware for rendering the prototypes; of course there are the garage saler corner cutters and DIY wannabes but on this subject, you simply cannot cut corners, nor should you. Look up 3DStudio MAX and Maya to name a couple and you'll see what I mean. Sure, some dufus will start rattling off shareware or public domain freeware equivalents but when you are trying to talk amongst other masters in the industry or applying for a position, (if thats your gig) having extensive knowledge of "shit" will still land you in a catbox when you are trying to communicate- not my thing.
 
I'm also not a fan of repeated trial and error when good people before you put their time into it and are already there to save you the grief. It's how amazing shit happens. It's like banging your babe- do it right the first time, every time and you'll never have to settle for blisters on your hand, or pride.
 
fensig2
 
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