Recently I had some difficulty in pouring a one sided two-piece soapstone mould that I had carved because I had forgotten some of the “best practices” rules I have been slowly working out over the last few years.  These best practices I shall consolidate into a post later, however for now lets just consider the solution to fixing this particular mould without having to entirely re-carve it.

As the mould was not generating enough pressure from the weight of molten pewter in the button I needed to find a solution that would allow more height in the button whilst not adding significantly to the cooling effect of the Soapstone.  I achieved this by laying the carved mould flat and creating two extra pieces out of wood to pour through.  The advantage of this was that the wood is quite a good insulator and allowed the heat of the molten pewter to remain until it spread evenly on the surface of the soapstone below.  As the mould was flat this also allowed for a more even pressure spread across the face of the token.

I am tempted to create a generic RTV Silicon version of this method as the wood does tend to char and disintegrate over a number of castings.

I’m really excited as tonight I have started my IT Cert4 course in Website design. I’ve been looking forward to this course and was very disappointed last Thursday when I was sick. This course is hopefully going to start my career in web content.

This evening we were looking at actual design concepts, which is where I probably need a lot of help. It’s good to have some theory to understand why certain designs are really interesting whilst others don’t really.

I have recently been put into a position where my energy and enthusiasm to communicate and get things organised can possibly be put to good use.  I guess my only concerns are that the people I am working with do not share the same energy and enthusiasm which will mean that my expectation to have these people actually communicate and trust either other to share their thoughts without fear may mean that I will be quickly disappointed.

I am someone who does like to discuss things excessively, as I feel that it’s a good way to ensure that most aspects have at least been thought through.  I feel it’s a also a worthwhile process for everyone involved to express an opinion as the only thing that silence indicates is a lack of commitment.  Sure look I understand that sometimes people don’t have the time to get involved, however I believe they need to make the time if they are in a position of responsibility.  Anyway, I guess maybe my expectations probably need to be toned down otherwise I’m going to get rather annoyed and disheartened.