Neither But it's science! ......and small 3.75" flask diam helps. 450g of investment at a time isn't too bad. Those 4"dia x 6" pour$ are waiting patiently.
This Kiln is at the perfect price. Is this worthy? It's your time to shine Can this be turned into a burnout kiln by adding a PID to it?
You'll need tongs that can grab a flask from above instead of from the side. Haven't seen any available commercially like that, but then again I didn't go looking. And pay real close attention to the order you put multiple flasks in because you'll need to put them pretty close to last in first out.
That would work. Front load is easier, but I have a top load kiln and I make it work fine. You didnt post a link. How much is it? Craigslist is usually the place to find super cheap kilns.
Thats a good point. I just looked at the tongs I have for my propane kiln and the flask(s) I'm using now is way to small. I guess I'll need some heavier duty gloves to pull those out or move fast. I'm pouring Zamak (melting temp -810F) at approx. 900F. So I think the flask should be around 500 when ready for the pour......I need better gloves. How do you move the flask?
I have 2 kilns. Tongs on the front load and I use kaowool to grab shells with gloves hands. By the time I get to shell, I'll be damned if I am going to drop one jacking with tongs.
Thanks, I'll go that route. Have you tried anything like these or are your flask temps way too high? This comment from the listing makes these a little suspect: "Perfect for handling animal like DOG CAT BIRD REPTILE from getting bited!" But there might be some worthy gloves somewhere instead of using kaowool no? These are interesting, but getting too pricy.
No those gloves will not work. Commerciall available gloves to pick up 1500 degree stuff will be expensive. That's why I use a 12"x12" piece of kaowool or use tongs. And I still wear some serious gloves and can still feel heat through it. Tongs are the way to go picking up round flasks. You can make a set of 90 degree tongs to pull them out.
I think I’ll keep looking and find a front opening kiln. No savings are worth bad f-ups or burnt toes. On another note, I spent a little more time making a better tree for tonight’s 3” flask. The pictures don’t do it justice….it’s no Bo Derrick (from my bell-bottom days) but it’s a lot better than before. The longer spruce is of course cut off. Thoughts? I'm still learning this wax-tree thing. Hmmmm
Maybe a stupid question but is there anything preventing you from just turning that kin on to its side, maybe with a little spacer underneath so the door won't drag on your benchtop?
That’s a good question. It went through my mind but there are layers that come apart. I could strap them together but my ‘damnit’ radar was going off thinking about issues that might pop-up later. I like how you think though.
The biggest problem would probably be that the heating elements would be unsupported at the roof, makes my damnit-radar go *ping* as well.
Casting small 3" Dia x 4" tall flasks using a microwave and a toaster oven works fairly well. The patterns shown here measures 44mm long 3mm thick (less than 1/8in!) and 15.5mm tall. The detail/texture was captured really well. The edges impressed me with how they turned out just like the wax patterns. These thin patterns needed an additional runner to feed metal to the center. I had one out of four almost fill in completely. The rest couldn't connect the 'a' and the 'i' in 'Saint.' It will be interesting to see how a hotter flask will handle fewer runners to fill the entire mold. And being able to keep the metal flask on the mold should help draw metal into the mold cavities. That's my assumption at this point. The flask didn't start cracking until maybe a minute after the pour. I expected a crack sooner and was pretty pleased when the crack didn't cause any noticeable defects in the cast. Overall, using a microwave and a toaster oven can give you some decent results when casting these smaller molds. If the pattern was less detailed and thicker it shouldn't be much of a problem for those of us kiln-depraved. I think larger flasks are possible too but more testing will need to be done. But I won't be doing it. I think I've found a kiln and hopefully will be driving up to get it this weekend, if the kiln-god$ smile upon me. Here is what I found worked pretty well; (Materials used are posted at the top of this thread-page 1) 2:00 pm Invested 5:30 pm De-waxed in the microwave to let the wax flow out. 5 minutes on high -Sprue down. 30 minutes on high -Sprue up so steam can escape while the wax residue is further reduced. 6:05 pm Flask wt =497.2g Placed the flask into a toaster oven at 325F 7:00 pm Toaster oven turned up to 450F (it bounced back and forth between 425-450F sadly, but hey... it's a toaster oven and that's the max temp this thing can muster!). Flask temp =250F (measured the exterior of the mold using an infrared thermometer) 8:00 pm Flask wt =475g Flask temp =350F 9:00 pm Flask wt =474.6g (95% of the de-waxed weight) Flask temp =370F The metal I used was Zamak 12 with a casting temp of approx. 815F with the exterior flask temp of approx. 350F (flask temp drops 100F/minute from what I've read). I think having the flask's internal temp at around 400F would have better. Maybe even 500F but I just don't know enough about casting Zamazk 12 (or casting anything lol). A quick sloppy paint job and Wa-la!
I appreciate everyone's comments and help. Casting this small detailed piece helped me understand the whole process better which should help me with my real projects down the road. After I get my kiln I'll need to set it up with PID and automate this hobby! jbc
OK...I just read something about metal. A good rule of thumb is to get your metals temp approx. 200F above the melting point. And get the flask about 400F below the pouring temp. Zamak 12's melting point is 810 (I thought it was 710F). So the ideal pouring temp would have been 1010F instead of the 810 I used. And pour when the flask is approx. 600F. Huh......
That little electric pen makes life sooooooo much easier! The electric-corded wax pen things-of-old are painfull. thanks!
Before you try one let me sell you this wired dinosaur first. On a different note, I need to replace the oil in my Vacuum pump. I have a lowes near me and a home Depot not too far off. Suggestions?
I get vac pump oil from amazon. Wish I saw your offer earlier. I ordered that pen thing already. Post a photo of your dinosaur and a price, I might still take it.