Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Lost wax casting

It's always fun to see video of a process in action! Last night I had my studio assistant take a short video while I poured a silver casting. It makes the process look so smooth & easy.


I've been doing vacuum casting for about a year now & have learned a TON....and I'm only just now starting to feel confident with it. There's always room to learn & I've definitely had my share of mistakes.
In the video, I remove the hot flask (has been cooking for several hours to get the wax removed & the flask up to temperature), while wearing gloves. It is set on the vacuum machine & the suction is turned on. Then I go over to my melting furnace, which has heated my metal to the right temp. I then pull out the removable crucible, and pour it right into the heated flask. Voila!
Lost Wax Casting
Lost Wax Casting

And here's the ring that came out of that flask! http://www.etsy.com/listing/51409895/calla-lily-ring

I'm super lucky to have access to an amazing arts center studio and that has been such an awesome experience to be a part of. It's in Lawrence, Kansas & I teach 3 classes there- metalsmithing (monday nights 7-9pm), Open Studio, and Lost wax casting (wednesday nights, 7-9pm).

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Please, please, PLEASE wear safety glasses when casting (or doing anything in the shop really)! Just a tiny bit of moisture at the wrong place and time could send molten silver flying at you, or you could drop something and have it splash, or....

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