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Depending on the quality of the plaster you are using you could do that, but just know that the wax will stick to the varnish so you will need to use a release of some sort so you can clean off the mold afterward. I like leaving the plaster bare and soak in water. The water in the paster create a barrier and wax from sticking to the mold, it also keeps the mother mold cooler, chilling the wax coats faster.

@LunarburnStudio

Im not sure I understand the first part. When I first fix my slurry I like to let it mix overnight to let the silca fully wet in. As for before each dip, I like to mix for 5 mins and then make sure the mixer is off before dipping. To test viscosity, I use #5 zahn up amzn.to/3Zk5eLN Im looking to have the slurry run smooth for 14-20 secs. wetting between coats is not necessarily but can be help reducing pin-holing is your slurry is too thick.

Thanks for watching and keep asking questions.

@@LunarburnStudio Thank you for helping me I am a master student I have coarse sand sio2 and I get fine sand by sifting it about 180 microns which is equivalent to 80 mesh. Are there any problems with that except that I will get rough surfaces I mean when I make slurry. Any advice

@@LunarburnStudio Last question I really need help can I use Aerosil as it is currently available?

Depends on how many dips you have on. if your on 5-7 dips of less i will fix with slurry and chopped fiberglass. It closer to the last tip and its a complicated brake, I will finish dipping the individual pieces and burnout, then reassemble with slurry and glass or refractory paste like green-patch.

Fotos o dibujos

It is a unique solo pouring rig that was designed by @Chicagocrucible. www.chicagocrucible.com/custom-foundry-equipment It is dependent on having a overhead gantry/crain.

I dont have any workshops scheduled at the moment, but I do do them from time to time. Usually connected with conferences, iron pours and visiting artists gigs. I have considered offering an in person master class at my studio, maybe in the future.

I typically cut my cups, gates and vents off with a grinder with a cutoff wheel. But I have also used a hand saw with a metal cutting blade for small delicate cuts or a carbon arc for heavy hard to reach gates.

Unfortunately, it is my understanding that ceramic shell is dependent on the colloidal silica, but I will ask the chemists at my supplier if there is a work around. As for a substitute for Fused Silica, you can also use Alumina or Mullite. Alumina (Al2O3) and Mullite (3Al2O3·2SiO2) are both oxide-based engineering ceramics, commonly used in high-temperature applications.

@@LunarburnStudio thanks for responding. I have an idea to try, what is called here "liquid glass" (Na2O(SiO2)), i guess there's should be something like this in US, instead of coloidal silica. What do you think?

Even though the chemical makeup seems similar, Liquid Glass and Colloidal Silica behave differently and are not interchangeable. Liquid Glass is a soluble compound, while Colloidal Silica is a suspension of particles. Liquid Glass has a fixed chemical composition, whereas Colloidal Silica’s particle size and distribution can vary depending on the manufacturing process.

@@LunarburnStudio ok. So I'm in search) thank you

Not yet but I will put it on my list. Thanks for the suggestion!

There are a variety of investments you can use for metal casting, ceramic shell is just one type. Plaster of paris with sand or grog has been the staple for a 1000 years and has been used to create amazing castings. I know it can be frustrating when you see a new material on the internet but have no access to it. My advice is to embrace what you can get locally and focus your energies on the objects/art you are creating and focus less on the process. So if Plaster is what you have access to, go for it. Just remember with plaster, gate and vent more.

Yes, absolutely, also the shell does not need to be crazy hot. 400F if its a solid/thick casting minimum. Alot of my castins are 3-5 mm thinck and my shell temps range between 800-1200 F

www.chicagocrucible.com/ Lloyd makes them to order so I dont think you will see them listed on his website, so you will need to email him and request one.

I have not, but thats an interesting idea. Just a reminder, you dont want to mix too fast. the spped should be just enough to keep the slurry moving. If too fast, it creates friction that will heat up your slurry and dehydrate it. Just keep an eye on it.

Yes, the ceramic shell needs to be first heated to evcuate the wax then to 900C/1600F to vitrify the shell. After this is a good idea to let cool and inspect for cracks and then patch. When you are ready to pour, preheat the shells to around 1000F.

I get mine from REMET.com

Not sure for sodium silicate glue, but for ceramic shell I burnout to a tempeture of 900C/1650F.

Colloidal silver is not the right material. You need to look for "Colloidal Silica". It typically come already suppened in the water base liquid. To my knowledge it is not something you can make out of common materials.

Remet.com

Its a basic chart allowing me to note day/time of each dip/ It is also helpful to note temp and humidity of the the room.

Interesting question. Id say reversae the process. Because the of the nature of the material you wont be ablto to just pour it in solid, it will crack as it dries. Instead try to slush the slurry in and pour out. then pour in a fine grain stucco/sand. Using a blower or airhose dry that layer. once dry repeat to desired thickness. Let me know how it works out.

I wouldn’t do that. During burnout the fiber glass will melt out creating voids that will fill with metal and interfere with your detail/surface. As for the cracking how soon does the cracking start? are you doing a slurry only coat your first dip? Are you cleaning your. Wax for dipping?

I get me colloidal and silcas from Remet.com

I get my materials from Remet.com When you say water, you mean colloidal correct? With the AdBond II my mix is 1 part colloidal 2 parts fused silica flour.

@@LunarburnStudio ok 1/2 the water you talked about was to freshen it. sorry guess i should clean my ears, at least pick the grass thats growin. thanks wish me luck

I try to keep my tools separate for different tasks, but there is always cross over and thats fine. just heat them up and wipe them down before using them for something else.

It depends where in the process it brakes. If between the first 1-5 dips ill fix with slurry and fiber chopped fiberglass cloth and continue dipping. Much after that Ill continue to dip the parts separately and fix after burnout. But its really on a case by case basis. But if your gating is consistently braking away from your patterns the problem is probably how your welding your wax parts together.

You can use a vairety of waxes but I prefer Microcrystaline wax. I use Premiere Bronze from Remet.com

Its on my list. Finally getting back to making new videos. Thanks for the suggestion.

Some of the colloidal companies also sell wetting agents. I worked in a foundry in Texas and they used a diluted mixture of "Mop-in-glo" a floor polish/wax. Not sure of its chemical breakdown.

Thank you for your answer

Thanks for the suggestion, Ill put it on my list. Glad you are finding my channel helpful.

There are a number approaches but if you are looking at a plaster as your main ingredient, you are talking a variation of standard investment. I do realize there are some DIY'ers that have tried a layered approach using plaster but that is chemically different than ceramic shell. The challenge of plaster is that it does not like to release its water content in a timely way, even in a kiln burnout and cure times can take days. But if drywall plaster is all you have, I would mix silica sand into it to help it withstand the thermal shock of burnout. It will also strengthen.

REMET is competitive price wise but not sure if it is the cheapest if that is what you are looking for. I find their products and customer service to be super consistant though.

I have done two skulls at the time I think the largest one I did was 4 skulls, but at that point, the shell gets unwieldy

Unfortunately, I don’t but that’s a good point that would help in the understanding of that technique.

There were some creative alterations to the original human skull to make it castable in one piece

If the pattern is too large and can’t be supported by one gate, it probably needs more gates to feed the metal appropriately across the pattern

As for the cups anything combustible is fine. And they can certainly be all Wax. I prefer the Styrofoam because of evacuates that much quicker. There is something said that it’s not great for the environment but there’s so much other nasty stuff out there that it’s a drop in the bucket.

I’m not sure I understand your question

Glad you found it helpful. The round ones certainly work, but I find the square one give me more consistency in my castings.

I see from your profile that you are in OK. You must be one of Jenn Peek's students. Thanks for watching and for asking questions!

@@LunarburnStudio I am she talks about your helpful tips all the time. We are preparing for our first try at this whole process.

Sometimes we just have to work with what we have, but if lost-wax casting is possible it certainly gives us more flexibility and control.