Step 4: The Preparation

The Preparation isn't quite a good name for this step, because everything else was done in preparation to pour the bronze. However, this step is done right before the pour to prepare for the pour to happen right after unlike the previous steps which can happen days, weeks, months or years before the actual pour.
About 3 hours before the pour happens the shells are loaded into a big gas furnace (the big black furnace). The wax melts and drips out of the bottom. The hot wax also gets absorbed into the shell. For 3 hours, the shell is then heated so that the wax burns out of the shell completely. The heat also finished drying and curing the shell so that it is strong and ready for bronze.
Meanwhile, chunks of bronze are converted into glowing boiling molten bronze. The bronze is heated in a crucible in a separate furnace (the small orange one). This takes the bronze up to 2100°F.
About 10 minutes to the pour, we get dressed. This means heat resistant pants and jacket (over a thick leather welding jacket), really thick gloves, and a face mask. Very stylish.
Once dressed, we take the empty, now hollow, shells out of the furnace using big tongs. These get placed in a sandbox "right-side up". In order to flip these around, I had to use a second set of gloves like oven mitts- the shells were singeing them. Sand is scooped up around the base of the shell to keep it from tipping over.
Now we are ready to pour.