I got into metal casting early in my sophomore year and was quickly fascinated by it. Like most 3-D printer users, I had long been intrigued by the idea of making my plastic prints into solid metal. After a short bit of googling, I stumbled upon metal casting and built a starter furnace out of a paint can, a steel cup, and some metal tongs. That approach, somewhat predictably, didn't work, and I was back to square one. Fortunately, the holidays rolled around, and I received an actually great propane furnace from my parents. I spent that year honing my skills, from crude aluminum casts I made using soda cans to my first steps into investment casting to capture more detail. Today, I still cast metal, and as of writing this, I am negotiating with a local potter to fire one of my molds.
