Dog Sulpture Revisited.

Many years ago I cast this Bronze of a German Shepherd.


Although I was happy with the Dog the rest I wasnt satisfied with. The bronze mass at the base of the hind legs was supposed to represent a water splash and the green slate base was the water the dog was running through. I had two castings of this dog unfinished so I thought I would try to improve the impression of the dog running through water.

To do this I used the same green slate but carved, polished and waxed the stone base to look more like water. I also made it a more organic shape rather than the rectangle on the previous attempt.

In addition to this I used a new white patina recipe I found maade with Tin Oxide and titanium dioxide. This produces a real intense white however it does not stick well to the bronze and a traditionl wax finish just soaks it up and makes a huge mess when you try to polish it. To resolve this the new sculpture has the water splash sealed with a clear acrylic coating while the rest has the usual bees wax finish that I prefer.

Let me know if this is an Improvement.

I have also been inspired by seeing glass casting videos and I am currently attempting to do a third version where the water and water splash will be cast in glass. I have already made moulds and have been experimenting with my metal melting gear with mixed results. What I have learnt is that you really need proper kiln with programmable temp control as glass cracks easily if a proper annealing process isnt followed. I hope to take a short introduction to glsss casting at a local place that also rents out kiln time in march sometime so hopefully should progress then

 

The oval base looks much better.
Changing to glass...brilliant idea!
If you can get the glass to work, working in mixed media takes it to a whole different level of artistic excellence.

 

The second looks great.
I was going through some old files last night and passed over the one I sent to you of my Australian Cattle Dog "Blue" running in the local pond. It was almost the same look as your German Shephard. I think you had asked for shots of the splashing water.

 

Yes I remember that
Heres the actual pic I used.

 

got two more dogs ready in ceramic shell. Just need some good weather. The watersplash has been removed and rods (which will be threaded) are coming from the bottom of the back legs which will pass through holes in the glass and into a stone base. The whole base wont be glass


I made two bases one with watersplash and one without for the bronzes of the dog with the bronze water splash. However Ive since used stone bases with these.



I then made moulds of these to to cast them in glass

pic below shows the dog with bronze water splash in placeto use as a template for the hole



Below are the glass castings. They were very brittle and broke as I was cleaning off the investment



This is the one with water splash. Clear glass for the water (wine bottle) white fritt for the splash. Again it broke on clean up


I will need to learn a new skill and have access to a glass kiln to proceed with this project

 

You are quite right that glass needs to be annealed, and it needs to be done...s...l...o...w...l...y...

In industry this is done on a conveyor through a lehr, and a glass bottle could take anything up to a couple of hours depending on thickness.

 

If the glass thing doesnt work out there is clear resins that can be used instead. but mixing bronze with plastic just feels wrong to me

 

Would borosilicate glass be less prone to stresses as it has a lower expansion co-efficient?.

 

Depending on the thermal mass of your furnace, you could make a flask to fit inside, pour the mold, then put it all back in the furnace (turned off) to retard cooling as much as possible.

Obviously borosilicate is usually flame worked/ blown. (And annealed, but on a much shorter schedule) I'm not sure how the stresses would set-up when being cast.

This glass stuff is all getting interesting, I might have to pick up another hobby :rofl:

 

Did a quick search about borosilicate glass.
quote
Borosilicate glass has a high melting range, typically from 1,500°C to over 1,700°C (around 2,700°F - 3,100°F), significantly hotter than regular soda-lime glass, due to its silica and boron content, allowing it to withstand extreme temperature changes, with softening points around 820°C and maximum working temperatures up to 500°C. Its low thermal expansion makes it ideal for labware, cookware, and industrial applications.

Not sure I would be able to get it hot enough for it to flow into the mould

 

I did something like that. I built an enclosure out of insulated fire brick. Stuck my propane burner into it. Got it hot enough to for the glass to flow into the mould then put fire bricks over the inlet and outlet and let it cool down gradually. although I couldnt see any cracks in the glass it broke easily when digging out the investment. I think it needs to be held at a specific temp (soaking) before a controlled cooling.

 

I have heard of people slumping borosilicate in an electric kiln, the softening point is 850 to 900 degrees C (where it sags under it's own weight) which is worth testing out.

 

It may work. Theres alot of fine detail in the water splash not sure if it will be fluid enough to get into the bottom of that mould. But its something to consider.
edit
I suppose I could grind some up and pour into the water splash part of the mould as I did with the soda glass one above

 

edit
I suppose I could grind some up and pour into the water splash part of the mould as I did with the soda glass one above

 

While the glass idea is a good one I would probably see if I could get my local glass blowing/manufacturing guy that has a studio 2 miles from me to do it. He stays pretty busy with multiple large orders for glass pipes and Christmas ornaments though.
I like the dog statue!

 

had a break in the rain today so cast the two dogs without water splash and rods in its place.
Started raining again just as I finished so good timing. Off skiing in march so be great to get some alpine sunshine instead of this depressing continuous cold rain.



They look ok but wont know for sure until sand blasted. There was some bits rattling around in the shell after burnout so I think there will be a defect or two some where.

If you are curious as to how this will fit together with the glass water cast and the stone base. The bottom of each hind leg has a kind of peg and rod cast in place. Pic below



The larger cylindrical section will pass through the glass casting of the water splash and rest on the stone base. The thinner rod will be threaded and pass through a hole in the stone base and bolted on the other side. I bent the rods a bit and maybe the back legs when hammering off the shell. So I will have to heat them and straighten them up again.