Hot Shop
Glass Shop Garage Sale Coming soon!
Time for spring cleaning in the glass shop! The Glass shop has a number of flowers, solid animal sculptures, vases and other vessels that need to find new homes. This Sale will happen in the Mines Glass shop for a short time only. Date: March 8th Location: the MME Hot Shop (Hill Hall 125) Time: 2-4pm.
The Mines Hot Shop is located at the end of Hill Hall High Bay (Hill Hall 125) and contains equipment for foundry (casting), glassblowing, and forging. The Hot Shop hosts activities in all three of these areas that you can get involved in.
Supervisor:
Sarah Harling (sarahharling@mines.edu)
App Coming Soon!
A mobile app is being developed for hot shop event scheduling and sign up. Stay tuned for details.
MME Senior Design Group recognized in National Competition
MME Senior design students built and ran a cupola furnace to melt gray iron for the National Conference On Cast Iron art and Practices, usually held at Sloss Furnaces Historic landmark in Birmingham Alabama. This year, due to COVID-19 the conference was virtual, and the students planned and executed the design and building of the furnace, as well as the iron pour event for the competition. The students won an award for best video production of their pour.
Foundry
Casting is the process of pouring liquid metal into a cavity to form a part when the metal cools. The Mines foundry permits a wide range of mold making and casting activities, including sand casting, investment casting (lost wax), lost foam, and permanent mold in tin, aluminum, copper (bronze/brass) and (soon) iron (steel).
This semester, the main opportunity will be Free Pour Friday, on Friday from 9-noon. Sign-ups can be found at the bottom of this page.
MTGN 300, Foundry Metallurgy, is offered in the Spring and provides in-depth look at the art, science, and technology of casting as a manufacturing method. Students in MTGN 300 will experience most of the casting options available in the foundry.
Contacts:
Sarah Harling (Sarahharling@mines.edu)
Mark Graham (graham1@mymail.mines.edu)
Glass Shop
Our hot glass blowing shop is up and running! Contact Sarah for more information and/or if you’re interested in a tour, lessons, or anything else.
Soda Lime Saturdays (SLS) is a glassblowing workshop for current Mines students and faculty. Keramos, the materials science professional organization, hosts a campus wide SLS the first Saturday each month. Gaffers (experienced glass blowers) will assist you in making a paperweight with a design and color of your choosing. Check the Daily Blast for sign-up details. For more information contact Sarah Harling (sarahharling@mines.edu)
We are also offering a 2 credit hour course each semester on the Art and Science of Glassblowing.
Contacts: Glassshop@mines.edu
Forge
The forge includes a gas-fired furnace, hydraulic press, and the associated tools to shape hot metal through pressure. Open forging times and classes are planned throughout the semester
Contacts:
Dr. Kester Clarke (kclark@mines.edu)
Mason Weems (mbweems@mines.edu)
Upcoming Events
Free Pour Friday is back for Spring 2024! Our Next pour is Friday March 1st from 9-noon. You must arrive on time and stay the duration in order to participate in this activity. This is FREE to ALL Mines students.
EVENT SIGN UP
Intro to Forge Classes Available for Mines Students!
Come learn how to forge hot steel! Mines Students are welcome to sign up for a free five part introductory workshop and learn some blacksmithing basics. You MUST be a Mines student to register. Not a Mines student? No worries! Stay tuned for future opportunities!