Casting...Did you know? (part 3)
Tavia, Posted October 05, 2009
This is the final installment about the casting process. Watch all the magic!
Step 9: So here are the flasks that are placed into the kiln with the rubber buttons removed (don't want to melt those!) I use a 14 hour burn out cycle to go through the steps of melting all the wax and curing the investment for casting. Also, you see, once again, that safety is important when preparing to cast. Those flames can be bright, so be nice to your eyes and where glasses!
Step 10: Heating the metal in the crucible.
Step 11: Still heating the metal. After it becomes liquid it is time to sprinkle in some flux and use a stirring rod to clean the metal of any impurities.
Step 12: When the metal is ready, the flask is taken out of the kiln and placed onto the casting side of the vacuum caster with the "button" side up (where the divet was created by the rubber button). Here I am pouring the molten metal into the flask after it is placed onto the vacuum caster and the caster is turned on, thus aiding in drawing the air out of the flask and the metal into all the crevices. After all the metal is poured into the flask, you see a metal "button" in place of the rubber button that was used to create the sprue tree.
Final Step: Quenching. After casting and waiting about 5 minutes or so, it is time to quench the hot flask into a bucket of water to break away the investment mold and reveal the cast metal pieces. On the left you see the engagement ring, that I had carved in wax and cast in 14k white gold, after quenching. On the right you can see all of the sprue trees which are now metal trees that have been cast and are ready to be cut apart into individual pieces and made into jewelry.
Hope you enjoyed my photo diary of lost wax casting! Hopefully you learned a little something new!