Metal Casting Zone Info Blog

Posts Tagged ‘making’

To clean silver jewelry, use a product called Tarnex to dissolve away heavily tarnished areas and use a jewelry cloth to restore a high-luster polish on the piece. Keep silver jewelry clean and tarnish-free with information from a bench jeweler and gemologist in this free video on jewelry. Expert: Chuck Koehler Contact: www.chuckkoehler.com/Services.htm Bio: Chuck Koeler is a bench jeweler and gemologist in Nashville, Tenn. Filmmaker: Dimitri labarge

Learn how to make your own jewelry molds so you can make the same design again and again. Expert: Courtney Gray Contact: www.courtneygrayarts.com Bio: Courtney Gray is an artist and professional jewelry maker who creates jewelry from the design stage all the way through to the final product.

Learn how to create your own jewelry making patterns and see some jewelry pattern examples. Expert: Courtney Gray Contact: www.courtneygrayarts.com Bio: Courtney Gray is an artist and professional jewelry maker who creates jewelry from the design stage all the way through to the final product.

Jewelry casting, also known as lost wax casting, is a process by which a wax pattern is made into a jewelry mold and then filled with molten metal or silver. The wax mold and heated metal inside the mold are thrown into cold water, causing the mold to dissipate and leave behind the piece of jewelry. Learn more about jewelry casting from a bench jeweler in this free video on jewelry making. Expert: Chuck Koehler Contact: www.chuckkoehler.com/Services.htm Bio: Chuck Koehler is a bench jeweler and gemologist in Nashville, Tenn. Filmmaker: Dimitri labarge

Making sand cores as used in Metal casting at Home part 1 and 4

Demonstration of metal casting and organ pipe making at the Ahrend Orgelbau workshop in Leer, Germany. From the film ‘Martinikerk Rondeau’ part of a 5CD and 1DVD boxset ‘Pronkjuwelen in Stad en Ommeland’. See www.fuguestatefilms.co.uk for further information. Music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659, played by Sietze de Vries on the Martinikerk pipe organ. Pipe maker: Hinrich Manssen Now available from www.fuguestatefilms.co.uk And from www.muziekhandel-boeijenga.nl US NTSC Edition to follow. Release Date TBC.

Product Description

Fine Art Metal Casting: An Illustrated Guide to Mould Making and Lost Wax Processes

Casting jewelry is a process called centrifugal jewelry casting, beginning with a wax pattern, which is placed inside plaster, melted out of the mold to form a cavity and then the mold is filled with the gold to form a piece of jewelry. See the jewelry casting process with a demonstration from a bench jeweler and gemologist in this free video on jewelry. Expert: Chuck Koehler Contact: www.chuckkoehler.com/Services.htm Bio: Chuck Koeler is a bench jeweler and gemologist in Nashville, Tenn. Filmmaker: Dimitri labarge

Guidelines of making Plaster craft

Plaster craft is a complex process unless you are aware of its ins and outs. Given below are a few guidelines of making plaster craft.

Step – 1:

Cover your work surface with an old newspaper or a vinyl peace. As you may see from this photo plaster casting is a bit messy, so it is essential to protect your countertops.

Step – 2:

Check the mould to ensure it is clean and dry. Any dirt might show on the finished casting.

Step – 3:

Many moulds cannot sit flat on the counter, therefore, it is important to give them support while using. The most simple process is a zip lock bag filled with a few pounds of rice. Rice bags are convenient to pack and store when not being used and are made of common materials most people find handy. A box of sand will also work well but it is more difficult to store it when not being used.

Step – 4:

The surface tension of the water tends to trap air leading to pinholes in the finished casting. Airid is a product meant to break that surface tension, reducing the chances of trapped air. Spray or wipe a thin coat of Airid into the mould.

Step – 5:

Wiggle the mould down onto your rice/sand bag till it looks level. You are now ready to mix plaster.

Step – 6:

To find out how much plaster will it hold fill the mould with water. It is the exact amount of water you will need. Add a bit more and weigh it on scale.

Step – 7:

Plaster should always be added to water and never vice versa. Sprinkle it in slowly to allow it to absorb water.

Step – 8:

Let the mixture remain undisturbed for 2 minutes so the plaster absorbs all water.

Step – 9:

For coloring, pigments should be added now.

Step – 10:

Utilize a potato masher to mix thoroughly for about a minute. Small amounts can be mixed with a stick.

Step – 11:

Pour the plaster in a corner of mould and let it flow across the complete mould. On deeper moulds, pour it down the side of corner to avoid entrapped air.

Step – 12:

Once the mould is poured, wiggle it to dislodge any air which may have remained in the mould.

Step – 13:

Periodically feel the mould. When the mould is warm to touch, the plaster casting may be removed.

Step – 14:

Gently flex the edges of mould to break sides of casting loose.

Step – 15:

Hold the mould just above the rice/sand bag. Use pressure gently to take out the casting.

Step – 16:

After casting is out, set the mould to be cleaned.

Step – 17:

Utilize a knife to cut the sharp edges off the back of the casting. For fast drying it should be put where it gets air from all angles.

Step – 18:

When fully hardened, most of the plaster will flake off or breakout the plaster.

Step – 19:

Flex the blade of the plaster blender to flake the dried plaster off.

Step – 20:

Wipe off tools and moulds for final cleaning up.

Step – 21:

If you utilize a rice bag any drips may be removed by flexing the bag. For sand box, just pick out any plaster that has fallen on sand.

Step – 22:

Pack up your moulds, tools and plaster. Throw away the old newspaper with which you had covered the working area. If you had used vinyl piece, dust it and wipe with wet cloth.

Precious metal clay (brand names are PMC and Art Clay) is modern-day alchemy. PMC is a clay base with tiny pieces of silver suspended within it that, when heated, burns off the clay leaving a solid silver residue. The clay base acts as a binder for the metal particles. Once this has been removed, the remaining silver particles bind together, giving you the finished product.

The real beauty of precious metal clay is that it can be manipulated like any ordinary modelling clay, making it perfect for jewellery making. The modern precious metal clay can be using a jeweller’s torch, as the firing temperature is much lower than the early versions of this clay. However, a small kiln will produce a much more constant temperature range and can be controlled exactly, meaning that the results will be more consistent.

Precious Metal Clay once had a very bad reputation for shrinkage, making it unsuitable for fine work or detail. Modern precious metal clays have a much lower shrinkage rate (around 10-15%), but you still need to factor this into the final piece to ensure that really fine detail is not lost in the firing process.

Once fired, the silver piece will seem very lacklustre and dull, so it will need finishing. The dull matt surface hides the real beauty underneath, so finishing and polishing will reveal the shining silver below. When soldering finished precious metal clay pieces it is essential to remember that the surface will be more porous than standard sterling silver, so it is best to burnish the piece prior to soldering. But because it is almost pure silver there is little risk of fire stain on the surface and the final results are almost indistinguishable from sterling silver.

Because precious metal clay is a clay, it takes impressions very well. A design can be pressed onto the surface of the clay and be revealed in the final silver piece. Patterned rollers, lace or even leaves can be used to create unique effects that are difficult to reproduce in ordinary silver unless it has been cast. Precious metal clay is a popular way of making silver beads. The clay can be formed into beads, decorated with a surface pattern and then fired in a kiln quickly and easily, producing high quality silver beads.

Safety considerations have to be taken into account when working with precious metal clay because of the high temperatures required to fire the clay. A small enamelling kiln allows you to safely achieve the temperatures required for optimum results, but ensure that you have all the correct equipment such as tongs with heat resistant handles to extract work from the kiln safely and a heat-proof surface upon which to work.

Precious metal clay is an ideal medium to work in if you want to create pieces of silver jewellery that are unique to you. The only thing that limits you is your imagination. Precious metal silver clay is widely available from good jewellery equipment suppliers. There are two main brands – Precious Metal Clay and Art Clay Silver. The clay is also available in other metals including gold, but the cost is significantly higher than the silver clay.