That time a stray cat in Toledo taught me about mold prep

Cameron Gonzalez · 2026-03-28T08:05:07.17069+00:00

I was helping a buddy with a small bronze pour in his backyard foundry last spring, and we left the mold boxes out overnight. A neighborhood cat decided the warm sand was the perfect litter box. We didn't notice until we were about to pour, and the ammonia smell hit us when the metal heated it up. We had to stop everything, break down the molds, and re-prep all the sand from scratch, which took three extra hours. Now I always cover my mold boxes with a tarp, no matter how quick the job seems. What's the weirdest thing that's ever ruined your setup?

the_oscar6mo ago

Checking the weather like a moon landing" is so real, I started doing the same after a surprise rain shower turned my clay slip into soup.

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the_andrew6mo ago

That sounds like a truly awful surprise.

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paigep206mo ago

Oh man, the "ammonia smell when the metal heated it up" part made me cringe. I can just imagine that awful surprise. It's always the little things you don't think about. I had a similar disaster once when a gust of wind blew a bunch of those little helicopter seeds from the maple tree right into my wet oil paint. Had to scrape off a whole panel and start over. Now I check the weather for wind and pollen count like I'm planning a moon landing.

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