Lost Wax Casting with Joe Silvera
December 11, 2009 - 2:35 pm
A short amateur video of casting in a small studio I made for my students. From spruing the wax model through investment, burnout and casting with a centrifugal casting machine. Find out more at www.SilveraJewelry.com.
Duration : 0:4:49
[youtube Yyx7RXIy3ng]
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Thank you a lot for …
Thank you a lot for video its really kind of you, I have decided to start my own lost wax casting unit so trying to know as much as I can.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Dirty metal , …
)) reduce the flask teperature .
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 )
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
According to Dr. …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
wow, that’s …
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?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
hehe, that’s …
hehe, that’s hilarious.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
很利害 也很簡易的方法
很利害 也很簡易的方法
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Can anyone give me …
Can anyone give me any pointers? I get poroursity in my casts very often. Is this imbalance in the centrifuge you think?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
All of us who train …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
You make a valid …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I think you should …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Very funny! Vents …
Very funny! Vents prevent molten metal to be explosives?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Yes- you have to …
Yes- you have to make as many vents as possible
- otherwise the cast will explode and spray you with hot metal!
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I cast gold crowns …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
does it have a …
does it have a brand name or website or something?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Heavy work is a bit …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
No, it’s a special …
No, it’s a special high temperature investment plaster that can take temps above 1200 degrees.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
is that plaster of …
is that plaster of paris?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I’m interested in …
I’m interested in making nickel or copper sculpture that will later take a gold guilding well, I want to make pices larg enough to get good detail work so maby items as large as three inches high and several ounces heavy. Will this method work with pices of such a size?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Thanks! I
spray …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Great video! What …
Great video! What did you spray the wax molds with prior to putting the investment around them?
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
i really like that …
i really like that ring…good job!
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
heopia not much but …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Quality video. …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
There’s always some …
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.
December 11th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
how much material …
how much material is wasted as scrap?