Hey Scott, since you are in Pleasanton you are only a BART trip away from this non-profit organization called the Crucible. There are plenty of DIY parts casting types there that you might want to get to know.

New forum member: I am a sculptor in the San Francisco Bay area, I teach at a local University and have been welding steadily for 14 years. I TIG a lot of bronze and stainless, but do not consider myself any kind of expert in welding. It is great to see this forum and the videos on Jody's site are g...

I keep this stuff called "Water-Jel" in my shop. It comes in several sizes. It is essentially a specialized burn dressing designed to get you from an accident site to a hospital while minimizing tissue loss. The nice thing is, it works great for cooling off bad burns that you might not oth...