FL Sales (Grafton, Ohio) and Marcellus Metalcasters (Marcellus, Michigan) combined to provide equipment for a Florida teacher looking to create a metalcasting demonstration for his students.
Dean H. Martin, sales manager, Hunter Foundry Machinery Corp., had a grandson in a class at Riviera Beach Maritime Academy (West Palm Beach, Florida) and met with one of the teachers there, David Sellepack, about conducting “Foundry in a Box” at the school. Sellepack decided to have a working mini-foundry where his students could produce aluminum castings after the completion of mechanical drawings, 3-D processing, and making of molds.
After the meeting, Martin contacted John Greene of FL Sales in search of a small muller and gas crucible furnace. Greene had a muller but no crucible-type furnaces. Greene then emailed customers looking for a suitable furnace and heard back from Andrew Abrams of Marcellus Metalcasters, who had a No. 10 Johnson Gas Crucible Furnace.
Greene and Abrams agreed to donate the muller and furnace, respectively, to the school project. Martin, meanwhile, paid the shipping costs and bought a crucible and safety equipment for the project, which is expected to get started next year.
In the meantime, to further whet the students’ appetites for metalcasting, in May Sellepack and his class visited U.S. Foundry (Medley, Florida). They were taken on a tour of the facility and were sent home with souvenir castings and a further explanation of the casting process. An annual tour of U.S. Foundry is also being added to the curriculum.
