We can't tell you how much we appreciate your patience as we work to get the 13.5-inch braiser into production. This page will serve as a home for development updates, for anyone waiting on a pre-order who wants to stay in the loop. We've outlined a timeline of events below, starting with the onboarding of a new foundry to cast the braiser in 2019. We will continue to update this page as we make progress so please check in periodically. We'll still send email updates with major news along the way, such as when we start full scale production. Thanks again!
March 2023: Pattern D construction was completed and setup was started at Foundry 4.
February 2023: Subsurface porosity was revealed during machining. Foundry 2 is removed from consideration. Foundry 5 was added and design began for Pattern E/F.
January 2023: A selection of samples from Foundry 2 and Foundry 3 are sent for machining to assess subsurface porosity, despite ongoing breakage concerns. Construction of Pattern D was started at Foundry 4.
December 2022: Additional samples cast at Foundry 3 to address breakage with little success. Breakage remains an issue. Email update sent.We have three foundries actively developing this braiser simultaneously.
November 2022: Pattern C setup was completed and samples were cast at Foundry 3. Failure due to breakage during shakeout.
October 2022: A second sample run was cast at Foundry 2 with the goal of minimizing breakage, with little success. Pattern C was removed from Foundry 2 and sent to Foundry 3 for setup. Foundry 4 was added and we began developing a different type of pattern, Pattern D, designed for a new molding process.
September 2022: Pattern A/B was retired after another failed sample run at Foundry 1. Email update sent. After a problematic batch of samples in the spring of 2022, we made the difficult decision to pull this project from Foundry 1.
August 2022: First samples were run at Foundry 2, and failed due to handle breakage.
July 2022: Construction of Pattern C is completed and setup began at Foundry 2.
June 2022: Foundry 2 added and we started construction of a new pattern, Pattern C, to mitigate risk after a failed sample run at Foundry 1. Email update sent. Production of the braisers continues to move forward despite ongoing bumps in the supply chain. We've been working on this braiser since 2019 so believe us when we say, we can't wait to get it out the door. But more importantly, it needs to be done right.
April 2022: Casting samples from Foundry 1 were sent to a lab to assess microstructure. Email update sent. Casting small sample batches and fine tuning the pouring process.
February 2022: Email update sent. A few tweaks were made to Pattern A/B at Foundry 1 to further minimize porosity and improve surface finish.
2021: Gating changes were made to Pattern A/B which successfully minimized subsurface porosity in the castings. Casting quality improved significantly. The braiser is launched for pre-order.
2020: Tested many different gating designs on Pattern A/B to address subsurface porosity with minimal success.
2019: Foundry 1 onboarded and Pattern A/B is constructed. The first samples were cast, and machining revealed subsurface porosity.
