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Thanks for this video Kirra-lea! I am curious, if I screw up on casting in place a large solitaire diamond, can I put the torch directly on the stone to melt the gold to remove the diamond and start again or would that ruin the diamond? Thanks for your thoughts.

What’s the name of the song ?

Fantastic work, also great song 👍👍

I love your videos! So you have a course or subscription channel?

Hi! Thank you so much for these videos :) I have just started experimenting with sand casting and love it. I live in NZ so it's great to also be able to get most of the things needed in your videos easily. One thing I'm not sure on is where to source the metal from. I have bought some granules from Warburtons here, but is there another way to purchase metal? Do most jewellers purchase granules for sand casting? Thanks heaps!

Hi Kirra, great to see a real troubleshooting video, most are so perfected. The vacuum assist looks great something I’d be meaning to try. A technique I’ve used a few times is to dip my pattern into hot molten wax and then shake it off straight away. This seem to give a thin smooth surface to what was originally gripping the clay and not releasing well. Having a waxy surface to the pattern helps cut down on the amount of parting powder needed. Occasionally I feel I’ve used too much parting powder that gets embedded into the surface of the impression. very deceiving as the impression looks neat. however it’s structure is very weak as it is mostly made up of powder instead of clay. Love your relaxed natural style … Nick

cool technic! but i think that stone is a bit big for the ring xD

My ring never forms whole, could you explain what i did wrong?

perfect! what metal did you use?

Hi. I love watching your videos. If I might offer a couple of suggestions... when making a master pattern for casting, you normally incorporate a certain amount of 'draught' in the walls of the pattern. It might only be one or two degrees, but this allows for the pattern to separate from the sand cleanly. It also gives the edges in the formed sand some strength. From my (limited) experience and from what I have seen elsewhere, molten metal does not like right angles. The sand pattern at these sharp edges are quite weak and can 'break' from the pressure of the metal and could be causing the detail issue. Thank you for your videos. Keep them coming!🙂

I tried casting diamonds set in wax and they all turned white:(

I'm new to sandcasting. Every time I fill the mold with the delft clay and pound it down, the clay will "split" open on the mold. Usually it splits in a different part of the mold, that I'm pounding. I hammering the clay in fairly hard. Is it possible I'm doing it too hard? I just can't understand what's causing this. When I turn the mold over, the bottom of the mold is nice and smooth. Can you please tell me what could be wrong? Thank you in advance.

I'm new to pouring. Every time I "pound" the clay into the mold, the clay "cracks" in certain places. It usually doesn't crack or split, where I was using the hammer. When I add more clay, it still happens. Is it possible I'm pounding too hard on the hammer? Thank you in advance.

Muy cuestión is., you put the stone on the sand & have the pouring the metal with the stone? And what kind stone resist heat?

After a few days some stones fall out. How can we prevent this?

Hands down the best sand caster! 🙌

Ok so my borax just turned to popcorn and blew away 😂 I don't think my MAPP torch is hot enough??

No wasted motion. You are incredibly proficient in pouring and teaching. To end up with such a fine ring, is amazing!

For anyone wondering... your metal will expand. So even if its not perfectly set its still good. I didnt know this till a week ago.😊 This project gives me a chance to use my small CZs. Also re crisping wasnt in my process till i saw your videos. 👍

Hi everyone im a sand caster. And i am so glad i watched this today because i was missing two important things in this video. 1. I wasnt packing the male side upside down. Doing this gets a cleaner surface. 2. I wasnt gently packing around the object with my fingers. Thank you for this video!!😊

Good work

Great sand casting tutorial, i am still a beginner but this video it is very interesting, thank you for sharing your knowledge 😊

Beautiful shell! I have nothing but problems using a jewelers saw. The blades break very easily and they're a real pain in the butt to put them in the saw. It looked like you were pushing fairly hard when you were sawing. Did you use a jewelers saw? Thanks.

Thank you! I'm wondering why you put an air vent on only one side of the mold. You don't need it on both sides?

Here's some ideas Kirra-lea. Sifting the sand, and changing the pattern slightly. Let me explain. When I cast things with fine detail, I always sift the sand. Begin with pattern on the bench, details down. Then put the male on and pack the sand in. Now lightly starch, make sure nothing is left in the details. For the details you must use some sand with a very fine sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, first fill it with this very sifted sand a few mm's. then you can sift with a rougher sift till it overflows. First pack it hard with the palms of your hand while standing. Then beat it with the hammer. If the surface of the sand looks smooth like glass the casting will be cleaner. Also the pattern is very square, if the grooves or channels have a little slope/angle it easier to lift the pattern out without disturbing the details. Have fun

People who say "partner" instead of boyfriend/girlfriend or wife/husband are mentally unfit to live in society. These are the ones snitching on their neighbors to the Stasi and NKVD types. Never trust someone so detached from their humanity that they refer to their lover, boyfriend, wife as "partner" like you're cops or something. I thought it was a transgender at first...still have my doubts as to what kind of "partner" they/them is, are, was, were 😂

thankyou.

So I’ve been working on a line with round/flat discs in sand which is a design choice for me. I use red clay, and Craig’s vaccum… I dont hammer at all I hand press it all, I heat the flask, I tape the join of the two sides … I don’t think your detail is too small. Just some ideas.

Change the print angle the sides of the maze

Fascinating video! Could it be the corn flour getting stuck in the recesses?

I think that the clay is a bit too crusty. I've heard it where people use unused clay for just the faces and then the well-used clay for the bulk/mass of it. I would try re-conditioning your clay as well.

I've cast aluminium into plaster before, heating up the mold before pouring helped get the finer details filled in. Once that molten metal touches a cold surface it can harden quite quickly. Another way to come at it maybe is to heat up the molten metal for even longer!

Nice work! It turned out good in the end

Another really helpful video, your research really helps my process - thank you ❤

Oh! I searched the whole world to find you. Thank you for sharing so many great techniques, the video tutorial - Resizing a clay ring - sand casting tutorial has been great for me and the whole community. Thank you so much, love you so much. Wishing you good health and continued work growth.

I love this pendant idea so much and your clear and confident teaching is a Joy . I have been working and teaching with Gold & Silver for more years than I care to count ..always something new to Learn …YAY!😁 THANKYOU Kirra-Lea

What about using a toaster oven to warm your prepared crucible? I learned this from Craig's group! Let us know if you try it!

Que mujer tan hermosa, muy lindo tabajo!

You've got to let it come to room temp before removing it, otherwise you shock the stone and it will likely crack. Thanks for taking the time and energy to share your efforts with us.

Whaaa, you’re amazing at this!! So quick and confident and awesome outcome. Have had such a knowledgeable session watching this. Thanks. my kit just arrived today and I’ve been keen on trying for so long. I’m stubborn with my creativity so I was trying to do it alone working out what sands and moulds and melting points of metals. Just bought the kit that you are working with. (With delft clay) So so keen to try. Thanks for your tutorial, helping a lot!

What holds the pieces together? Is the metal actually fusing?

Beautiful outcome. Very clear instructions given

It looks like there are a couple of methods for doing this, and these are the pros and cons that I can think of at the moment: The first one I saw, the guy sprinkled the borax around the bottom and sides of the crucible before melting it on there, which seems quicker, but could be messy and may leave some small gaps. The method in the video seems less messy and might be more effective at covering the entire inner surface, but takes longer. It also seems to use more borax, which I don't know if it's a pro or a con. I guess you can pick whichever method works best for you, or do a combination of the two for maximum effectiveness.

Warm the stone with a heat gun and see if you can get the water out

When the metal cools it contracts and squeezing the stone but being silver ( a soft metal) I don’t know if it would have enough force to crack the stone.. I’m wondering if there’s water in the rock that creates steam and cracks the rock on its way out

This is so cool! Thanks for sharing your technique, this is a great guide for a beginner like me 🙂

Thanks so much kirra-Lea! This answered more questions than just the stone breaking. Watching that, I was surprised the silver even encompassed the stone on such a thin mould- but the “rolling melt” seems to be a very important point! My silver often sticks to the crucible before pouring, and in my trouble shooting, the stone would be so large that I imagined it was drawing heat away from the silver and it would stop it in it’s tracks. Not allowing it to encompass the design- even on a much thicker band. Choosing stones with softer edges sounds like a good plan for future attempts. I’m sure many people will find this helpful!! Thanks so much!

thx a lot ! useful video. cool organic shaped stone setting

I love your passion for jewelry

Hello Kirra, I really enjoy your channel. I would like to have some advice from you regarding making a textured bracelet. Which email can I contact you at?