I am proud to be the first to install a build thread here in our ceramic shell method section. Toboho Mott threw down the challenge when sand casting some parts didn't go so well. I opened my mouth and offered to try it with ceramic shell. Here is the process for your viewing and learning pleasure. While I am no expert by any means, every new challenge brings the opportunity to learn from successes and failures and for that I am grateful for the opportunity. The goal is to cast 3 parts. First part is a single sided dog leash holder (or key holder) , a simple light switch cover that has a thickness problem and last is a small mirror I found at a junk store. I am videoing the entire process and this is my first time running editing software so I expect this to take 3 lengthy videos to cover the process completely. So, grab some popcorn and a few cold ones and get ready to laugh! Here is the preview. Editing takes FOREVER with hours hours of video.
Hahahahahaha!!! Awesome! Good luck with those dog-gone dogs, they like to bite. Sorry I didn't pack the plaster pattern a little safer. Looking forward to seeing what's going on with those tails, and the rest of the process too! Jeff
2-AB150 micro crystalline. Bought at the Phoenix reynolds advanced materials. Here is a link, https://www.arizonasculpture.com/products.asp?page=2&catID=4&subcatID= We have talked to other Reynolds stores and most don't stock it. OCD bought a case of it, that's the cheapest option considering the shipping charges. :-/ I like it. Firm enough to handle, but with a little heat, it's game on.
Arizona Sculpture is now owned by Reynolds's Advanced Materials. Call the store in Arizona and order over the phone. Don't know why but shipping is about $20 cheap over the phone, at least it was when I called my order in.
Did a rose last night too. It's about 6 inches long. Why I have no idea..... The wax work doesn't seem to be ending at my place!
you should defenitely do that those videos as public, those are going to be an awesome series from the preview, lol.
Stuck the rest of the jewelry box up on youtube. It's dewax and breakout. Dewax is NUTZ! Hot flying wax thats on fire is not fun. You can't shy away and have to stay in there until the job is done. The HF weed burner is perfect for the job. You hit the trigger on it, and it goes mental! My camera suxs. Time to think about a gopro I guess.
looks good, your camera is fine, most have trouble when it's dark out like that, even go pros. The video is actually really good quality, and you can clearly see everything, so I wouldnt worry about getting a new camera, lol.
Paging Mr Zap! Paging Mr Zap! Please pick up the white courtesy phone. No, the WHITE PHONE.... lol Please peep my sprue job. I'm still new at this and I get a warm fuzzy feeling after I have a second set of eyes double checking my work. This has been a TON of wax work over a short week. My back is killing me from sitting at the bench. I want to get this stuff in shell soon. Thanks bro. Jason Thin light switch cover. Front and Back (note, NO MAIN SPRUE! No real place to stick it. Mirror, Same deal, no main sprue, just 6 feeding tubes. Dog PITA. The dogs are pretty thick, but it's thin between them, that's why the added yellow. Same with the tails, I want to make DAMN SURE THEY FILL!
Looks great! I see you got the tails back to normal, did you have to carve them? Good luck avoiding the hurricane! Jeff
yup. ya see. I load up clay under them to fill the void during molding in silicone. I just followed the line with a knife and Bob's your uncle. Half face molds are pretty easy. I went over kill on sprues. These need to work right the first time as I'm outta time. lol. I'm not retired so my down time is at a premium. A mirror and the rose is going in a case at the jewelry store in florida, it will be interesting to see if anyone buys them. I still need help on my patinas, but I hit up Fritz Hoppe a bronze artist for some help. Lets see how they pour probably next week. I'm waiting for a green light from zap on my spruce job and I can start shell today.
You guys are getting good with the wax stuff. Its enough to make a guy consider trying that, but I know that when it looks easy in the videos, it is generally anything but.
Those sprues look great jag. I've seen a lot of professional foundry people sprue objects directly. I've never had the best of luck doing them direct like that but I am interested to see how they turn out. It would be much easier making them like that instead of adding the J sprue like I usually do and bottom feed them. I think you get less turbulence and gas with a bottom feed so it is better for thinner pieces with a lot of fine detail, though I suppose there is less head pressure too compared with a direct feed. So longer sprues are necessary for a good pour. Also, why the hollow sprues? Is it to save wax? It shouldn't matter if they are hollow or solid when burning out. The heat soaks in from outside to inside, so having a hollow core shouldn't make the shell crack any less from expansion.Also much faster and less fiddly to make solid sprue and you can save that booty butter for... other uses. You planning on making a shell burn out kiln at some point? That weed whacker is pretty crazy looking haha.
Thanks zap for the speedy reply. Has me a bit concerned about turbulence, hadn't thought about that. Point taken. I'll sacrifice a local tree rat (squirrel) on the alter of my pellet gun and sprinkle his blood around the furnace before I pour. My theory on the hollow sprues is while I'm shooting flames up the pour cup, the heat actually goes up the interior of the main sprue and causes a collapse of the sprue quicker by being hollow. Then next on the hit list is the yellow wax. This stuff melts at a much lower temp than the brown wax. THUS, providing an exit path for the main wax piece. At least this is how it works in my mind. I do get that the shell itself heats up and melts the part on the outside, but by offering the system a clear path to get outta there, I might help prevent cracking the shell. As it stands now, this run is 6 pieces, so the odds are not in my favor that's for sure. Let's see what happens. I don't plan on building a dedicated dewax kiln at the moment. As I only dewax one piece at a time, the way I do it at the moment with the weed burner, gives me excellent control on where and how much heat I am applying. While I cut the dewax video really short, on first blast, I tend to concentrate the main heat on the pouring cup and sprues for the first 20 seconds or so and move up into the part itself. Again, the theory is providing a clear path for the expanding wax. If it has to expand, it will go where it's easiest I think... out the empty holes. lol Pat, videos by design, tend to make something look easy. How many times do we watch something and say, If that clown can do it, so can I??? The real issue with lost wax is the stupid time it takes. Sand casting is WAYYY faster that's for sure. This load of parts is new territory for me. Everything is a little on the thin side and failure is a definite possibility. With that being said, if this works, the detail and surface finish will make all the time spent worth it. Fingers crossed! Jason
I bet it will work. Everything looks well sprue and si bronze is super forgiving. I think bottom feeds are more important with other alloys and home made bronze rather than the commercial stuff. I expect perfect pours for you!
Looking at the PITA dogs and the attaching sprues, shouldn't they have a couple of vent sprues attached to the void areas just to be safe and allow for a free flow of molten metal?
Good eye. After I had made that post, I saw one more was needed and stuck it on them last last night. Far left bottom corner. The one dog head shouldn't need it me thinks being so close to the main action. The 2nd from the left is part of the overkill. It's on to Shell! YAY