Awesome Furniture

[Raymond Fries]

Want to create something different? For those that want to be adventuresome with metal and wood, this is for you:

http://www.earthporm.com/wood-metal-furniture-hilla-shamia/

I would love to try it but do not have the space or resources at this time.

[Joe Tilson]

That is really neat!

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

She came up with something really cool there.

[Tom Stenzel]

Considering the moisture content of wood I would never have tried pouring molten metal on it. In addition to her artistic vision she had a lot of nerve.

Very striking work, I like it.

-Tom

[Mark Bolton]

Has anyone seen the ant colony castings done thus way? Its interesting for sure. It'd be interesting to know if she soaks the wood to reduce burning but I'd bet in the oxygen depleated pour once the wood is charred there is very little burning and likely a quick quench.

[Bob Vavricka]

I don't think soaking the wood would be a good idea. Molten metal and moisture are a dangerous combination.

[Mark Bolton]

I don't think soaking the wood would be a good idea. Molten metal and moisture are a dangerous combination.

Not really in a deep thick pour. When I was an apprentice we worked with molten lead daily. Pots with 50-60lbs of molten lead were everywhere. Slightest storm cloud, or a guy on the crew who was a spitter, would put us all in a panic.

That's a lot different than some moisture down in the pour. It may cause some spatter or a void in the pour but its not catastophic like a spoon full of water hitting the surface of a molten pool in a crucible.

[Chris Padilla]

I love the combination. Very cool!

[Myk Rian]

I've been witness to molten steel contacting puddles. The concussion cleans the rafters of carbon dust.
She does some awesome work.

[Mark Bolton]

I've been witness to molten steel contacting puddles. The concussion cleans the rafters of carbon dust.
She does some awesome work.

A puddle and a bit of moisture are completely different things. Any extremely hot material coming in contact with liquid water that expands 1728 times its volume when converted to steam is going to result in a bad situation. That said, as has already been stated, there is no way the wood is devoid of moisture especially in a log form.

We would routinely pour joints in days following a rain and there was simply no way to get the the joint cavity completely free of moisture. Lead is of course less hot than aluminum or steel but we would simply pour slowly which would allow the molten material to drive off the moisture and the rest of the pour would keep the joint molten enough to allow bubbles and voids to flow out. This wasn't finish casting work so perfection wasn't a concern but the principle is the same.

Clearly in this case, and the numerous people who cast ant colonies in aluminum, pouring into a kiln dried mold is not an issue. If there were a way to kiln dry an ant colony I'd be surprised.

Neet none the less.