First Day in the Foundry

Today was my first day in the foundry. I've learned several important things already:

1. Bronze is heavy.
2. Molten bronze is really hot.
3. The little chunks of bronze that fly off the grinding wheel leave neat little holes in skin.
3. A wire wheel turning at several thousand rpm is an effective way to remove fingerprints.
4. Foundry sand gets everywhere.

So far, so good. Best of all, I don't have to worry about being accosted every time I walk out of our room to fix some problem, which more often than not is the result of either poor design, poor execution, or both. Now I just smile and tell them to call maintenance. Which is not me.