Alpha Foundry

Hi there!

Sorry it's been awhile....AGAIN. :/ But I'm about to explain why so FASTEN SEAT-BELTS! :D

Ok, so maybe I've told ya'll already that I quit the Cabela's Costumer Service job and got a new one at a foundry. Well it's true. :D Anyway I'm now working at Alpha Foundry in Wright City, Missouri. It's an aluminum casting foundry that makes all kinds of aluminum products. A few of those are: gas pump fittings, gas pump handles, electrical conduits, pipe fittings, and much more.

So I bet you're wondering what all goes into making a product and possibly you're wondering where I fit in. Well let's start with the casting process.

Ok, so, casting, here we go. :D So first the aluminum is melted down in a big o'l pot thingy called a vat. The aluminum melts at about 1245 degrees. After its been melted, one of the workers takes a giant ladle and dips some out and pours it into these sand molds. Now, lets talk about these molds for a second. The molds take a whole process themselves. First the sand comes into Alpha as just common, tiny, fine grains of sand in 2000 lb bags. Don't worry, these bags are only moved by forklifts, no personnel are being abused. :P Ok so the sandbags are then lifted by the forklift over top of a big hopper and dumped into it. The hopper itself is about the same size as the bags and holds the same quantity. The hopper is then lifted to a position above the sand mold machine. The hopper is then connected to the mold machine by a flexible fabric hose. Now, the way the molds work is, there's these buttons that you push and 2 halves of an 800 degree iron mold come together as an arm swings over top of it. The arm then connects to the top of the mold and releases sand into it until it's full. Then the sand bakes for about 15 seconds and the arms come back apart and the worker pulls the now hardened molds out of the half molds and places it on a metal pallet. Once the pallet is full, it gets carted over to the pouring station. Ok, now that you are an expert on mold making now.... :P

So, we've gotten the liquid aluminum into the sand molds. Now they're slid under a giant hood with a chimney to the outside world. The reason for this is to catch most of the smoke from the hot aluminum burning the sand molds and pipe it outside the building. That way we don't all die. Pretty smart huh? :D Ok, so once they've cooled off a little, they are stacked on the opposite side of the hood next to a giant vibrating counter thingy known as "Shake Out". After the aluminum has had time to cool and cure, it is set (still in the sand molds) on Shake Out. Each individual part is then "hit" by a worker using the air hammer gun. This tool vibrates the part so that pretty much all of the sand mold brakes off. The now clean and free parts are then stacked into a wire basket on a pallet and sent over to the band saw. Now, the parts when they are poured are connected because there's several parts to one sand mold. So after Shake Out, they're still connected and have to be cut into individual parts. That's what the band saw center is for. There's a worker at the band saw who now takes the connected parts out of the wire basket, cuts them apart, and puts them into another wire basket. Next the parts are sent to Grinding. The guys over in Grinding then take each part out of the wire basket and removes any pieces of aluminum that doesn't belong, kind of finishing the part to smooth, you might say. Then the parts are put into a heat treatment machine. This cures the aluminum to the perfect point. Lastly, the parts are sent into a different section of the building known as the Machine Shop. Now these fellas put each part into a machine to finish them. Now there's a lot of different parts like I said, so there's different things that need to happen to the parts to finish them. So let's say the part we're fallowing is an aluminum elbow pipe fitting. So by the point it gets to in the machine shop, the last thing it needs is the threads to be cut into it. So this part is put into the threading machine. The threading machine is a big drill with a thread bit, inside of a box, and only operates when the door is closed. This insures the safety of the worker. once each part is drilled, it goes into boxes and are then shipped out the door to the costumer who ordered them.

So that's the casting process. Now I'll tel you where I fit in. :) I really don't have one particular area I work in right now. My title is Shake Out, but I've worked the sand molds, Grinding, Threading, and more. So I'm kind of floating around right now working wherever my Supervisor (Kevin) wants me to work. Kind of depends on what needs to be rushed. I usually get stuck into the rush orders.

Well that's about all there is to know about Alpha. :) It's a pretty neat place to work. Work hours are 6am-4:30pm Mondays through Thursdays and 6am-2:30pm on Fridays. So it's early and long, but I'm young and it's pretty fun. And I make good money. :)

Alrighty there's the update for now! Ya'll stay safe, work hard, have fun, and above all thank and praise the LORD for everything He's done for you!

Busy Busy Busy

Hey all!
Sorry I haven't posted in FOREVER! I've been pretty busy.

I started working at Cabela's about 2 months ago in Customer Service. Now I have put in my 2 weeks and my last day there is the 7th of DEC.

I just got a new job at Alpha Foundry aluminum casting. It looks pretty "fun" in the sense of excitingly interesting. :) I took a tour before I filled out the application, and I got to see the guys making the molds, and the tour guide opened the melting pot so I could see the 1250 degree melted liquid aluminum. It was pretty awesome! :)

I've also been doing little odd things around the farm....kinda finishing up the cleaning up at such. It's all shaping up nicely....although I miss our giant 1466 FARMALL INTERNATIONAL tractor. It was fun to drive and just seeing it sitting there gave you the romantic "classic farm life" feeling. :P

Another event that happened is that on the 8th of NOV I spun out in the rain on I-70 eastbound in Foristell MO and hit a concrete barrier backwards at 60-65 mph. Then I slide back across the interstate with 2 side-by-side semis flying at me and I hit the median cables. My car was damaged enough that it made more sense to get a new one, and I had heavy whiplash and a lot of bodily soreness. Which the soreness and weakness to my left shoulder/arm is still there even after 3 weeks. But thank-you Lord that You protected me and kept me safe!

Anyway, just a quick update. It's 12:30pm and I got to go to the chiropractor in the morning then go to work...so perhaps I'll post more later.

Again, sorry for the wait, to those that fallow this blog.

Now ya'll have a jolly good day, ya hear?! :)

Life

Life

Life is a mystery we cannot know,

The sorrow of the world shall not overflow.

Whether life is edgy,

Or a little sketchy,

We shall soon to Glory go.

We very soon see, the day of God,

When our spirit isn’t blinded by the fog,

For His right judgment the world will go,

And we with happy rejoicing shall glow.

When the time of our years shall end,

And the chariot of God descends,

We shall see the Holy King of all,

Saving the rich, poor, big and small.

-Brady Cutler

Oops!

So....I know there's some of you that wanted to hear the next part of my "Sunday Sermon" story. Well, unfortunatly....I'm having trouble remembering where I was going with it. Arg! So, as I'm coming up with the nex part of the story, you may see other posts unrelated....BUT....I will get back to it asap. :) Thanks!

I'm back!!!

FINALY!!! I just got my computer all figured out, and I'm back now to complete my stories!!! YAY!! :)

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone, my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all-in-all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Fathers

Tonight it snowed. Yep, that means the roads were slippery, and I had to go to a CAP meeting. So, my Dad drove me! I was thinking about the slippery road we were on, especially as we passed several cars in the ditch. As we drove I was watching my father's driving skills. When we got onto the entrance ramp, he made the turn at a careful speed, then excellerated slowly until he got up to a safe speed. I also observed that he kept his hand on the shifting stick, in case he needed to slow down, because, as he told me later, if you hit your breaks on snow, you are likely to slide and lose control. I pondered on these things the whole way there and the whole way back. Then as I thought about these things when I got home, something hit me. God gave us fathers for a reason. It's our duty to respect and honor them, but it is also our duty to learn their wisdom.

Praise God for the awesome father he gave me! Willing to teach me all he knows, and loving enough to show me safer ways of doing things! I love my father. Do you love your's? Does he know you do?

The Civil Air Patrol

Cadet Airman Cutler reporting for duty! *salute*

Yep! I'm in the Civil Air Patrol. It's been tons of fun, in the 4 months I've been in. My rank is Cadet Airman 1st Class.

This is us doing "Flight-line"

We've had a good few months, by God's grace. We've had some trouble, we've had some fun, but the majority of it has been quality time working for the community.

One thing that I'm VERY grateful for, is that God has helped through all my tests so far, allowing me to pass all of them! THANK YOU LORD!!!! 

Semper Vigilans,

-Brady

The Sunday Sermon

"Daddy?", Malisa asked.

"Yes Pumkin?" was the reply.

"Does God really care about me?"

Now I know what you are thinking. 'Why in the world would someone ask a question like that?'. But if you look around, most do wonder the same. 

As our story unfolds, we must use our imaginations to see a beautiful little girl of about 9 years old, strolling the gardens of flowers, belonging to the village, with her loving father. The two often walked these paths of joy. They would spend many an hour together each day, talking of things Above, or just chatting to each other of their love for each other and the world God placed them in.

"Why, of course He does, Dearest!" the father replied.

"And is He the strongest in the world?" was the child's next question in line.

"Yes, Dear."

"And does He mean to kill that bad spirit, the devil?"

"Well, He tells us in His word that He has prepared the lake of fire for the devil and his angels" the well versed father answered.

"Well, if He does care about me, and if He is the strongest, and if He is going to throw the devil in the lake of fire, why does He let me get hurt? Why do I still sin? Why doesn't He get rid of the devil right now and save us from all this trouble and pain?" the little girl asked.

Here we must stop, and consider, what is this little girl asking? Is she innocently thinking about God and His love for His people? Yes, she is wondering of God's saving grace, and what's keeping Him from using that power to save his people from torment on this earth. Does God truly love us? Yes. Why is He letting us get in car crashes, killed in war, have pain and trouble in this world? Keep these questions in mind as we continue our story.

The father pondered for a minute, "Very good question, especially for a 9 year old" then out loud, "Well dear, tomorrow's sermon is going to be on that very subject. Shall we wait for an explanation from Pastor tomorrow?"

"Yes! I love Pastor Evans. He's so kind and does tricks for me and I love his sermons because they're based on the truth of God's word alone." she said with a smile of joy that would melt any father's heart.

"Very well, then we shall see what he says about it tomorrow. But right now, we must head home for darkness is almost upon us" and Mr. Frank led his little girl back home.

As the darkness crept over the village, the light from one tiny cottage brushed the trees overhead until, slowly, the candlelight burnt low and Mr. Frank blew it out after he tucked in his little girl.

.....What will the sermon be like? Find out next Sunday night, right here!......