Who doesn't want a non-functioning solid aluminum anvil covered in flocking? I mean I do! Secretly I know you do too...so here's how!

Step 1: Preparation

Supplies:

Cardboard
Super 77 Adhesive spray
Wax
Red gating wax
Aluminum
Flocking of choice
Plaster
Sand
Chicken Wire
Tar Paper

Access to :

Thingiverse
123D Make
Foundry
Kiln

Step 2: And So It Begins

Access Thingiverse at:

https://www.thingiverse.com

Type in Anvil and find one you like.

Download it

Save it to your work space

Open in 123D Make

In 123D Make you can change the anvil to your desired size.

Once your size is chosen segment the anvil into slices as seen in the figure above

Save as a file to work in Illustrator so it can be sent to be printed by the laser cutter

Once printed use some sort of adhesive spray to glue the anvil together

Step 3: Wax

*Important to note here...depending on the size of the anvil and crucible you may or may not have to break up the anvil into smaller sections. This will show the anvil into a few different sections.

I used a brown wax to cover the cardboard this gives me the opportunity to shape and contour the anvil if needed.

Step 4: Gating

Once the pieces are waxed they need to be properly ventilated so the flow of the molten metal hits all the corners and areas necessary. Each piece needs to be gated properly and then put in a plaster and sand mold to be burnt out in a hot kiln as seen above.

This is where the chicken wire, tar paper, sand and plaster come in.

Step 5: Unearth

Once the molten metal is poured its time to dig them out of the investment, grind off the gating and edged and weld the pieces together. Once the piece is together you can begin to flock it with the color of your choice using a paint as an adhesive.