![]() As it came back around on the conveyor system it was removed, and dipped in another slurry to wet it, then dipped in a medium sized silica sand. A very fine slurry was first applied, then it had to dry. A ceramic pour cup was added them the dipping began. The ingots were cast in a hard red wax that was then treed up to make the pattern. I worked in a small foundry that did dental metal ingots for the labs. Good luck and keep us in the loop on how it goes!! This fella has a pretty good site on techniques for doing simple work - it might give you a little inspiration. You might connect with the local college and see if they have a casting dept that might be willing to take your piece on as a project. It can go wrong on you in a whole bunch of unexpected ways if you've never done it before so finding expert help or getting some training really is the way to go. Proper sprueing and gating of the wax is critical to getting a successful pour and techniques vary widely depending on what the shape of the piece is.ĭon't let any of this discourage you, but Fe's right - you need to work up to what you want to do. Microcrystalline wax is a common type used for lost wax casting and is available in a number of grades depending on the work being done. There are commecial mixes in different grades that will hold detail right down to fingerprints (Google casting supplies). ![]() ![]() You can use straight pottery plaster as an investment up to a certain size (quite small) then you need to start making mixes of silica sand and use mechanical reinforcements to produce a failure free mold. ![]() This means using either an electric kiln with built in temp controls or gas fired with a pyrometer and thermocouple paired up to burners regulated by an electric gas valve. The temperature will have to ramp up slowly then be maintained for the number of requisite hours determined by the size of mold(s). Along with a furnace, you'll need to construct a kiln that withstands temps upwards of 1100 - 1500 degrees. Pouring molten metal can be as easy as pouring it into a simple form and letting it cool to get a rough shape but investment casting is a multi-step complex process that takes some experience at each stage to make it all come out in the end. I intend to use the lost wax method which leads onto another quick question is there any particular type of wax I should use or can I just melt a load of candles down? I presume that if it is possible to use it, I'd need to cure it for a couple of weeks first to ensure all the moisture had gone? I read somewhere that you can use plaster-of-paris as a mould but I would have thought that it's too fragile. For my first attempt at casting I'm looking for something that's relatively simple to use, so was looking at using fireclay but I'm guessing that it would be too firm to capture detail and that I really need something more liquid. I've read various things about it but have no idea which is the most suitable. I've figured out how I'm going to make my furnace and have pretty much figured out how to construct the mould with the exception of knowing what material to use. I recently made a "Bust of Pallas" out of plaster-of-paris and now I'm hoping to cast it in bronze.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |