Today is D-Day. Or, to be less dramatic, the day we discover whether all our hard work has paid off and we have created wondrous things in bronze.

When I arrive my cast has been cracked open and I'm presented with a thing. It's heavy, lumpy and covered in plaster, but mine. Unfortunately we can't take the cheats route of washing the plaster off and my day begins with a wire brush trying to rid the piece of the plaster so I can see what lies beneath.

All clean I can see that it's worked. My piece has turned out ok but ominously I can see far too many instances of what look like metal drips where the excess wax fell onto my piece before it was put in the kiln. But it's not like I have anything else to do today so I set about cutting off the runners and risers and get filing to remove any bronze I don't want to keep.

The sawing and filing keeps me occupied for quite a few hours and we all work through lunch determined to squeeze every minute we can out of the day and return home with completed pieces. Apparently there is a World-wide shortage of Acetylene which means some people can't do the welding they want to but we do get to see Terry amaze us all as he removes holes (purposely made as part of some people's castings) using a rod of bronze, some hammers and a tap and die set. Truly amazing to watch holes disappear in what seems like seconds leaving absolutely no sign of their previous presence. What a pleasure to watch someone who is an expert in using a material at work.

When my filing is all done, it's then time to decide whether I want to add a patina. Terry demonstrates some possibilites using Liver of Sulphur and Culpric Nitrate as well as shoe polish and waxes. I am pleased with the colour of my work but, where I have refined some of my lettering, the colour isn't consistent. So, as the man in charge of the large gas tank, Terry heats my piece and paints Liver of Sulphur onto the back before I spend some time sanding most of it off again so it just stays in the letters.

Then, as I'm doing the final polish, I realise I like the warm red glow the back has picked up from the Liver of Sulphur and use dark tan shoe polish to bring this to the front of my work as well. A bit of polishing later my work is done and I leave with a piece which is exactly as I envsioned it- but so much better as I got to experience the blood, sweat and tears of making it.