What temp do you bake out the wax at? my oven only goes up to 450 If I need to bake it higher than that I'll need to construct improvised oven to do the job, I really hope I don't have to.
@FineHawaiianArt Well, 1300 - 1350° at the highest, so unless you like your food well done as in vaporized, no go with a conventional oven. :^) In the video you can see the kiln, which is small, about the size of a big microwave, and electric, so no gas to deal with. It should have a controller so that you can manage the slow ramp and dwell specified by the investment manufacturer for burnout. Thanks for the comment!
@MonsieurSaxo So, YouTube won't let me post my webpage! Keep getting an error message. Just google me at "Silvera Jewelry Wax Order Form" and you should find it.
Thanks for the video Joe. I'm designing watch cases to be cast in silver and heard there was a small amount of shrinkage in the process. Is this part of the burning off step occurring in the plaster? Also, would that be problematic in terms of warping or the case staying true and flat?
There's shrinkage when the molten metal cools and pulls away inside the metal a little bit. And then when the piece is molded for reproduction, the wax will shrink as it cools and pulls away from the mold. Other shrinkage can be controlled with proper spruing. Most models will not warp and will stay true to shape. Remember: the mold is still in place while the metal is solidifying, holding it in alignment. If it's quenched too early, then warping (and other problems) could happen. Thanks!
I use Kerr satin cast investment plaster. It picks up all the fine details. Follow their data sheet available on their website to ramp the kiln up slowly to 1250-1350 degrees F. You want the plaster to be a lump free batter when you pour it. Formulas by flask size can be found at kerr's website.
Hi. I used for my moulds Herculite 2 and I got very bad result- all of my moulds was cracked on temperature 500-600*C. I think I did wrong proportion 1:1 Plaster and water. Drying proces takes about 6 hours with slow temperature increasing. Today I try to make 100:45 plaster and water and tommorow will try to dry it in my kiln. What plaster you use for yours mould? And may be you can point me my mistakes? Thank you.
I use a plaster of paris and fine sand mix (1:1) for my investment powder .. cheaper and less carcinogenic than the stuff you buy ready made .. works very well too!
The only "problem" is residue. You can burn out natural materials like plants and wood. We even burnt out a tarantula in college (I promise he was already dead of natural causes!). I haven't tried it, but I'd have to guess that clay would not burn out completely, so it wouldn't work. But you could use it to make a cold mold with RTV and inject or pour that mold with wax. You could also make an open face clay mold to pour wax into to. Then cast the wax as usual.
Yes. And charcoal blocks (soft or hard). Also, cuttlefish bone and some stones like tufa. All of which can impart some natural texture to the casting. Fire brick and charcoal could be rough for fine detail. We used charcoal to cast small ingots to make into sheet and wire for repairs. You can make some great jewelry with cuttlefish and tufa. Lost wax has the advantage of fine detail and molds for reproduction.
Oh! Forgot to mention. Wear eye protection, be safe and check this out: make another piece of charcoal or fire brick, larger than the mold/cavity. This second piece should be flat on one side. Melt the metal in the cavity and then push it down flat with the second flat piece when it's molten. That will force it into the mold. Try it with small amounts, like 5 grams or so, first, for practice.
wow, that's impressive. i just read about this in my art history class. it seems really complexed. how did they make things in ancient times without a torch or that vacuum thing you have there?
According to Dr. Sias, Jr. in his book, "Lost Wax Casting", some of the earliest castings were done almost simultaneously in the Middle East, Greece and Africa. Early molds were made of terra cotta clay, often supported in a pit and the metal heated and then poured into the mold. This technique was used for jewelry and large castings. Jewelers also used cuttlefish bones to mold and cast jewelry. The bone is soft enough to carve and take impressions.
Dirty metal , unproper burn out process ( plaster still contains gas fumes from wax ) , overheating during the melting or overheated mold ....try to use a boric acid like as flux ( or combo of boric acid and borax ) :))) reduce the flask teperature .
I think you should have made the security box round the casting machine out of metal. You handle a big torch and everything made of wood. And even show that to thousands of youtubers, that is not a good example.
You make a valid point, but I've had this system for over 15 years and never had anything close to a fire problem. The crucible is supported in a metal cradle, the torch is only used on the crucible, and any metal spray, which happens only rarely because I'm careful to balance the machine, extinguishes itself immediately. Thanks for the post.
All of us who train as jewelers get slightly different training, depending on our schools and teachers. In all the years that I have cast jewelry in a centrifuge, during college, in the jewelry shop where I worked, and all the way through to today (20 years yikes!), I have never vented a casting. No one did. And no explosions or issues with porosity, etc. No one is right or wrong here about vents. I'm just pointing out that there are always different schools of thought and other techniques.
Heavy work is a bit clumsy, IMHO, for my studio size centrifuge. You can use a vacuum assisted casting machine to pour your metal into larger flasks. Or take your models to a caster to cast for you.
Thanks! I spray the waxes with a debubblizer. It helps release air bubbles when you pour the plaster over the wax so they don't stick to the surface forming solid balls of metal.
There's always some left over bits when you're making jewelry. Everything is recycled somehow - the dust from polishing is collected and refined, the unusable bits are melted to make more sheet, wire or to cast, and the sprues and buttons leftover after casting are used with some fresh metal added for more casting. We all have to do our part, because metals have to be conserved and jewelers have been recycling for a long time.
heopia not much but over time it adds up, the skill is how much silver or white gold to melt.
I seen several of these videos we never fired the mold in a kiln, we let the hot metal force the wax out. After about a month I got 2 oz of silver out of the casting machine, that had not been cast into the molds.
nice video. Very informative, to the point and isn't shakey or non professional like other videos. Audio isn't that great though. you might want to host the original video onto a different website so we can download it and watch it in higher quality.
Thanks for the comments and I absolutely agree with the criticism of the audio. It was better before I uploaded it and I'm not sure why it lost so much once it was online - compression? If anyone has some practical advice on how to improve the quality of the video/audio I'm open. I used a Mac with iMovie to edit it. Thanks! Joe Silvera
Very nice video, short and to the point. Only gripe is the quality of the audio - can't hear what you're saying while using the vacuum pump and the torch.
This is my first video post ever, so please be gentle. It's a quick video to show my students more about the process of casting jewelry in a small studio.
What temp do you bake out the wax at? my oven only goes up to 450 If I need to bake it higher than that I'll need to construct improvised oven to do the job, I really hope I don't have to.
FineHawaiianArt 2 months ago
@FineHawaiianArt Well, 1300 - 1350° at the highest, so unless you like your food well done as in vaporized, no go with a conventional oven. :^) In the video you can see the kiln, which is small, about the size of a big microwave, and electric, so no gas to deal with. It should have a controller so that you can manage the slow ramp and dwell specified by the investment manufacturer for burnout. Thanks for the comment!
toomanyjoes 2 months ago
Cool!
epohnopulse 2 months ago
Hey Nice video thanks,
Question:
Do you think if I give you a picture of a ring (with size and weight), can you make it for me? Thanks!
MonsieurSaxo 9 months ago
@MonsieurSaxo Sure thing - I have a wax order form at ....Thanks!
toomanyjoes 9 months ago
@MonsieurSaxo So, YouTube won't let me post my webpage! Keep getting an error message. Just google me at "Silvera Jewelry Wax Order Form" and you should find it.
toomanyjoes 9 months ago
Where can we buy the pure silver rod/stick? Thanks
blacksheephybrid 1 year ago
@blacksheephybrid Try Rio Grande for .999 pure fine silver.
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
I like it, thanks for this useful information!
Joveron2010 1 year ago
Terrible quality footage of a fantastic demonstration. It'd be great if you could reproduce it in hi def with good macro.
confiscator 1 year ago
Someday. :^) Thanks for the compliment inserted in there. Much appreciated.
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
@toomanyjoes plz do it again more detail new camera, i love watchign this
iToasterman 11 months ago
@confiscator "A short amateur video"
Rulox999 1 year ago
@Rulox999 I know, I know. It's just so bittersweet.
confiscator 1 year ago
this looks like a lot more fun than doing dental work!
Nza420 1 year ago
What kind of wax they use? can you make your own wax?
supperstorm 1 year ago
Thanks for the video Joe. I'm designing watch cases to be cast in silver and heard there was a small amount of shrinkage in the process. Is this part of the burning off step occurring in the plaster? Also, would that be problematic in terms of warping or the case staying true and flat?
Thanks
Rob
AVintageWatch 1 year ago
There's shrinkage when the molten metal cools and pulls away inside the metal a little bit. And then when the piece is molded for reproduction, the wax will shrink as it cools and pulls away from the mold. Other shrinkage can be controlled with proper spruing. Most models will not warp and will stay true to shape. Remember: the mold is still in place while the metal is solidifying, holding it in alignment. If it's quenched too early, then warping (and other problems) could happen. Thanks!
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
Is that a homemade centrifuge? If so, what did you use to make it?
MrEhud77 1 year ago
The box/well is homemade but the machine itself is purchased. I think (off the top of my head without running into the studio) that it's by Kerr.
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
I use Kerr satin cast investment plaster. It picks up all the fine details. Follow their data sheet available on their website to ramp the kiln up slowly to 1250-1350 degrees F. You want the plaster to be a lump free batter when you pour it. Formulas by flask size can be found at kerr's website.
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
Hi. I used for my moulds Herculite 2 and I got very bad result- all of my moulds was cracked on temperature 500-600*C. I think I did wrong proportion 1:1 Plaster and water. Drying proces takes about 6 hours with slow temperature increasing. Today I try to make 100:45 plaster and water and tommorow will try to dry it in my kiln. What plaster you use for yours mould? And may be you can point me my mistakes? Thank you.
zond1975 1 year ago
I use a plaster of paris and fine sand mix (1:1) for my investment powder .. cheaper and less carcinogenic than the stuff you buy ready made .. works very well too!
MrKeithElliott 1 year ago
I've always called it a debubblizer, but it's also called vacufilm.
toomanyjoes 1 year ago
Is it possible to use a cured polymer clay item in place of wax? would that melt away or cause problems?
Vincere 2 years ago
The only "problem" is residue. You can burn out natural materials like plants and wood. We even burnt out a tarantula in college (I promise he was already dead of natural causes!). I haven't tried it, but I'd have to guess that clay would not burn out completely, so it wouldn't work. But you could use it to make a cold mold with RTV and inject or pour that mold with wax. You could also make an open face clay mold to pour wax into to. Then cast the wax as usual.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
it is posible to melt silver scraps in a fire brick with the design in it?
cava002 2 years ago
Yes. And charcoal blocks (soft or hard). Also, cuttlefish bone and some stones like tufa. All of which can impart some natural texture to the casting. Fire brick and charcoal could be rough for fine detail. We used charcoal to cast small ingots to make into sheet and wire for repairs. You can make some great jewelry with cuttlefish and tufa. Lost wax has the advantage of fine detail and molds for reproduction.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
Oh! Forgot to mention. Wear eye protection, be safe and check this out: make another piece of charcoal or fire brick, larger than the mold/cavity. This second piece should be flat on one side. Melt the metal in the cavity and then push it down flat with the second flat piece when it's molten. That will force it into the mold. Try it with small amounts, like 5 grams or so, first, for practice.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
wow, that's impressive. i just read about this in my art history class. it seems really complexed. how did they make things in ancient times without a torch or that vacuum thing you have there?
insomb 2 years ago
According to Dr. Sias, Jr. in his book, "Lost Wax Casting", some of the earliest castings were done almost simultaneously in the Middle East, Greece and Africa. Early molds were made of terra cotta clay, often supported in a pit and the metal heated and then poured into the mold. This technique was used for jewelry and large castings. Jewelers also used cuttlefish bones to mold and cast jewelry. The bone is soft enough to carve and take impressions.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
很利害 也很簡易的方法
bigkeelung 2 years ago
Can anyone give me any pointers? I get poroursity in my casts very often. Is this imbalance in the centrifuge you think?
AkevittApekatt 2 years ago
Dirty metal , unproper burn out process ( plaster still contains gas fumes from wax ) , overheating during the melting or overheated mold ....try to use a boric acid like as flux ( or combo of boric acid and borax ) :))) reduce the flask teperature .
midasmith 2 years ago
I think you should have made the security box round the casting machine out of metal. You handle a big torch and everything made of wood. And even show that to thousands of youtubers, that is not a good example.
silverbud 2 years ago
You make a valid point, but I've had this system for over 15 years and never had anything close to a fire problem. The crucible is supported in a metal cradle, the torch is only used on the crucible, and any metal spray, which happens only rarely because I'm careful to balance the machine, extinguishes itself immediately. Thanks for the post.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
hehe, that's hilarious.
insomb 2 years ago
I cast gold crowns all day.
You see that little chute you made for gas to escape. I thought i was the only one that did that.
Marcusthegladiator 2 years ago
Yes- you have to make as many vents as possible
- otherwise the cast will explode and spray you with hot metal!
purbanegoro 2 years ago
Very funny! Vents prevent molten metal to be explosives? :-)
silverbud 2 years ago
All of us who train as jewelers get slightly different training, depending on our schools and teachers. In all the years that I have cast jewelry in a centrifuge, during college, in the jewelry shop where I worked, and all the way through to today (20 years yikes!), I have never vented a casting. No one did. And no explosions or issues with porosity, etc. No one is right or wrong here about vents. I'm just pointing out that there are always different schools of thought and other techniques.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
Heavy work is a bit clumsy, IMHO, for my studio size centrifuge. You can use a vacuum assisted casting machine to pour your metal into larger flasks. Or take your models to a caster to cast for you.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
is that plaster of paris?
dddproject 2 years ago
No, it's a special high temperature investment plaster that can take temps above 1200 degrees.
toomanyjoes 2 years ago
does it have a brand name or website or something?
dddproject 2 years ago
Comment removed
cbarmstrong1 3 years ago
Great video! What did you spray the wax molds with prior to putting the investment around them?
cbarmstrong1 3 years ago
Thanks! I spray the waxes with a debubblizer. It helps release air bubbles when you pour the plaster over the wax so they don't stick to the surface forming solid balls of metal.
toomanyjoes 3 years ago
i really like that ring...good job!
guineaswine 3 years ago
Quality video. Concise, informative, professional.
The only complaint is the audio. Still understandable, but a bit muffled.
Overall, great job. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and techniques.
AppleCider25 3 years ago
how much material is wasted as scrap?
heopia 3 years ago
There's always some left over bits when you're making jewelry. Everything is recycled somehow - the dust from polishing is collected and refined, the unusable bits are melted to make more sheet, wire or to cast, and the sprues and buttons leftover after casting are used with some fresh metal added for more casting. We all have to do our part, because metals have to be conserved and jewelers have been recycling for a long time.
toomanyjoes 3 years ago
heopia not much but over time it adds up, the skill is how much silver or white gold to melt.
I seen several of these videos we never fired the mold in a kiln, we let the hot metal force the wax out. After about a month I got 2 oz of silver out of the casting machine, that had not been cast into the molds.
raypsi 3 years ago
nice video. Very informative, to the point and isn't shakey or non professional like other videos. Audio isn't that great though. you might want to host the original video onto a different website so we can download it and watch it in higher quality.
kevinx0404 3 years ago
Thanks for the comments and I absolutely agree with the criticism of the audio. It was better before I uploaded it and I'm not sure why it lost so much once it was online - compression? If anyone has some practical advice on how to improve the quality of the video/audio I'm open. I used a Mac with iMovie to edit it. Thanks! Joe Silvera
toomanyjoes 3 years ago
Very nice video, indeed, no wasted space and to the point.
1axvn
1axvn 3 years ago
Very nice video, short and to the point. Only gripe is the quality of the audio - can't hear what you're saying while using the vacuum pump and the torch.
Yesideez 3 years ago
wow! nice viedeo!
duzgas 4 years ago
this process is a real pain in the ass! it took me 2 damn months in sculpting class
scorpionscream86 4 years ago
This is my first video post ever, so please be gentle. It's a quick video to show my students more about the process of casting jewelry in a small studio.
toomanyjoes 4 years ago