Nora Bennett (u/nora_bennett72)

Posts

Changed my mind about preheating the ladle for gray iron

Honestly, for years I just gave the pouring ladle a quick warm up with the torch before a shift. My foreman, Jerry, kept telling me to get it cherry red for a solid five minutes before the first pour, said it was non-negotiable. I thought it was overkill until last month when we had a string of cold shuts on a big run of manhole covers. Jerry made me watch the temp drop on the pyrometer when we used my 'warm' ladle versus his properly heated one. We lost almost 15 degrees, which was enough to cause the defects. Now I do the full five minute heat every single time. Anyone else have a simple step they used to skip that actually matters a lot?

2 comments

Recent Comments

5h ago

So I tried to make a 'quick' demi-glace in 2 hours...

Honestly that sounds like a skill issue. Demi-glace is supposed to be a project, not a shortcut. Maybe just stick to store-bought next time.

1d ago

After trying to shoot the Milky Way from my backyard versus a dark sky park in Utah, the difference in detail is just insane.

Oh my gosh, yes! I drove four hours to a state park last fall and it was a total game changer. The Orion Nebula went from a fuzzy gray blob to having actual pink and blue hints. It makes you want to just keep driving further out.

2d ago

A grad student basically told me my site sketches were useless

Was it Mesa Verde you went to, brown.willow? I was just at Bandelier last month and it blew my mind. Climbing up into those little carved-out rooms in the cliff face was wild. You can still see the soot marks from their fires on the ceiling. Standing in those same spots just gives you a real feeling for how they lived.

3d ago

I thought bulk buying was always cheaper, but my store proved me wrong

Bulk bins are a total scam sometimes.

3d ago

My recent piece cracked from cooling too fast on the marver.

Totally! Annealing is the key step, for sure. Parker gets it.