The "A Friend named Calvin ….. or is it Jerry: Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing next to Jerry in the parking lot talking about the good old times when we were classmates at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, PA.  I used to know Jerry by his given name, Calvin, but after calling him this morning at his business and having him answer with "This is Jerry," and then laughing when I gave him my name and asking if I could talk to Calvin, I guess I'll have to try and remember to use his nickname from now on.  Fat chance of me remembering that!  It was back in 1955 that we entered junior high together so we had plenty to talk about today.  We shared some classes and had many of the same teachers during our six years at Manheim Township, but after graduation in '62, went our separate ways.  Well, today we are reminiscing outside the company that Jerry now runs known as Flury Foundry.  Flury Foundry was started by his grandfather, Alfred C. Flury, and his dad, Calvin Flury Sr., in 1939. Both had worked for Lancaster Malleable Casting for years and when the business suffered a fire they  decided to open their own business.  They first started a pattern-making shop in Alfred's basement and eventually built the Flury Foundry building in 1942.  Jerry's dad Calvin Sr. eventually took over the business from his father and in 1966, after graduating from Lafayette College, Jerry began working at Flury Foundry alongside his brother Roger.  In 1989 Roger sold his share of the business to Jerry to pursue other interests.  Jerry told me that he plans transition the business to his nephew Jason, a minority stockholder, when he feels that he can longer meet the physical demands of the job.  Foundry work is physically demanding and mentally stressful and Jerry runs his business by working in the plant alongside his 13 employees.  He pitches in and helps where ever he is needed and you can tell that his workers respect him for his management style.  Because of the danger involved in the foundry business OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) makes visits to his business to make sure that all federal regulations are being observed. I made my visit today so I could write about another one of Lancaster's diverse businesses and also to visit with a friend that I usually only get to see when our class has a reunion.  Even though I taught Industrial Arts (formerly know as shop and now known as Tech Ed) in high school, I only know the basics of foundry work and was amazed at the level of technology that is now used to make castings for just about anything imaginable.  By way of photos that I have taken, I hope to give you a very basic look at how a modern foundry produces metal parts for anything from your car or boat to pieces that may run your sump pump or fridge.  I will give you a look into how sand, which is used for all the castings, is prepared as well as show you how castings are manually made to making them by with the aid of computer science.  I hope you can follow along with me as I take you through Flury Foundry.  It can be confusing to explain and foundry casting has a variety of processes, so I have chosen to show half today and the other half tomorrow.  So, here goes ……..

Entrance to Flury Foundry Company in Lancaster, PA

After entering, follow the stairs and you come to this office door.

Photo shows Jason and Calvin (Jerry)

This photo shows Jim trying to release the white core that will be used in making a casting.  The core is actually sand that is mixed with a combination of 2 parts resin, and one part catalyst.  After the core is removed it is checked to make sure it is free of any imperfections, then ready for casting procedure.

Here a worker is using a pattern to prepare the flask for the casting which will include the use of the core. 

The core is being put in place in the preformed opening in the sand which is inside the mold.

The core has been put in place in the mold and the top half of the flask is being lowered.

Sand is poured into the flask and pressure is used to pack it tight.  At this point the flask is ready to be taken to the area of the foundry where it will receive the molten metal.

 Tomorrow I will show you another method to prepare the flask for pouring.  I will also show you the preparing of the molton metal and the pouring of the metal into the flask.  During this procedure the mold will be poured with metal, forming the final product that is them cleaned and machined.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.