Whitewater-based Wisconsin Makers, a nonprofit community workshop, has announced that it will be hosting its second annual aluminum pour.

The event will be held this Saturday at the Makerspace building, 200 E. Clay St., Whitewater.

The event is free to attend and open to the public.

According to event organizers, an aluminum pour is similar to cast iron pours which have been previously held at the facility.

Aluminum has different properties than iron, the release noted, stating that it melts at a lower temperature, weighs less, is silver in color, and does not rust.”

Event-goers can participate in the event through purchase of a “scratch block,” into which they can scratch a design, or as spectators.

The event “pour team,” the release continued, will be led by Teresa “Tree” Lind, a former University of Wisconsin-Whitewater lecturer of art and design.

Team members will work together to melt aluminum in an outdoor furnace and then fill the scratch blocks with the liquid metal.

The aluminum pour will begin at 9 a.m.

As noted in the release, by noon, team members anticipate that the furnace will have reached the appropriate temperature to melt the aluminum. After scratch blocks are filled with metal, a process of cooling and cleaning will begin. Aluminum tiles, called castings, are anticipated to be ready for artist to take home by mid-afternoon.

Scratch blocks cost $25 each, the release stated. 

Participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Grilled brats, chips, water and soda will be available for purchase during the pour, the release noted.

A story about a similar event, an iron pour, held at the Wisconsin Makers building in April, is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/pulling-the-plug-at-the-seventh-annual-wisconsin-makers-iron-pour/.