If you're interested in any of the tools or equipment I use and you want to help support the channel then don't forget to check out some of the affiliate links in the video description. Thank you for the support!
Fun fact: Most gastropod shells spiral in the same direction, the direction of your shells (called dextral). But a genetic mutation causes a small amount of shells to spiral in the reverse direction (sinistral). There are some species whose shells are sinistral, and the rare mutation makes them dextral.
These are just left handed and right handed creatures :). Does anyone really think these creatures figured out how to construct the shells by themselves?
depends how you describe mutation, I always thought it's same as humans being left or right handed. It's like saying that everyone who is left handed is a mutant? I'm both .. I use mouse with right hand and write with right hand, but when i eat with fork and knife, i hold fork in right hand. I also do martial arts and I prefer my left foot and right hand for primary punches and kicks. So I'm a semi-mutant?
It's interesting how good the pewter came out compared to the others. I wonder if you could use your normal lost pla casting style and make one out of Brass in a "Lost Pewter"
Honestly, you can cast pewter out of silicone molds and get far better surface finish. If you're willing to make a mold, may as well make one you can reuse.
or cast wax in the shell dissolve the shell with an acid and make a plaster mold out of the wax model. Then you can cast it at higher temperatures with a better finish.
very nice work they all look great. I like the fact that you are the only one on you tube that fully protects himself with all the proper safety gear. It doesnt inpress any one when you burn yourself.
Sea shells are made of calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). Above 840C calcium carbonate decomposes into CO2 gas (which was causing the bubbling and splattering) and Calcium Oxide (CaO aka Lime).
The problem with the bubbling is the carbon dioxide release of the shells. Would be interesting, if you would get smoother results, if you would heat the shells above 1000°C beforehand, and then put it inside the oil sand. On the other hand the baked shells would get very brittle and absorb moisture and decompose. Perhaps with a shorter heating period you could still reduce the CO2 content.
Considering what it turned into after the pour, I'm not sure it would hold up to the abuse after heating. In fact, maybe the single-use nature of this method helped maintain the shape. Would be an interesting experiment though
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 Could use a hot gas jet like a small propane blow torch at the enttrance to the mould, it doesn't need to get as hot as the metal is, it just needs to evaporate any moisture in the mould. That shouldn't be hot enough to really damage the shell at all as it literally takes a few seconds to do. It's just a safety thing as moulten metal spurting everywhere is generally a really bad thing. I do see your point though and agree it would require a little test shot first to see the effect.
@@RogueWraith909 oh yeah for sure, but the OP was talking about the chemical release of CO2 when heating a shell. Its actually something done on purpose to create slaked lime. My concern was that by attempting to remove much of the CO2, you would turn the shell into dust. It would be labor intensive, but you could do a double lost mould method to accomplish a similar goal. Fill the shell with a low-melting temp resin, allow it to harden, dissolve the shell in acid, coat the remaining resin in essentially plaster (theres a kind for forging), melt out the plastic, burn off the remainder, clean out the mould with water, and then fill that with molten metal. So yeah, a ton of work lol
Fantastic work! I wasn't expecting the different temperatures to affect the surface finish so drastically. If you're not sick of making shells, do you think you'd ever try making one with bismuth? It has a pretty low temp too I think
Having worked at an investment foundry, try the following for copper & bronze: 1. Cut the pointed end off to provide a small vent open to the atmosphere out of the box. 2. Pour with pointed end up using a sprue to feed the large end from the bottom upward 3. Use a metal box in lieu of plywood & bake the box, shell & sand to 4-500°F before pour
When I look at the shells it takes a second to wrap my mind around the fact that you're not making a cast of a shell using a mold. You're using the shell as the mold, so it like an anti-shell or something. cool.
absolutely no idea why youtube recommended me this, but it was something I never expected to see, totally random thing to do, but looks cool. It's something I'd like to have on my desk or hanging somewhere. I actually have epic idea, why don't you put LEDs inside the spiral and then fill it with some transparent acrylic .. it should look insanely cool.
Ohh OK, so I felt like I was having deja vú then I was convinced I'd seen that thumbnail before and I clicked to see why you would re-upload that video again. Then you start out immediately with "you guys asked for all these different metals" lol.
When the Calcium Carbonate was heated above 1544°C it converted to quick lime, which upon contact with water converts to slaked lime, which is used in mortar compounds, whitewashing and Nixtamalization(how corn and sorghum have their pericarp removed before food preparation)
Very nice. Splashes like my timber pours. Hope to try casting metal into a Conch shell this summer. Wondering if sanding the tip down until the opening shows, would be better than drilling?
Metal splashing around when you aren't expecting it can be a scary thing. I appreciate that you use good PPE and have your body covered with leather and a face shield. I do something similar. It would only take one drop of molten copper to get some nasty burns!
You know, as a native spanish speaker, I'm fascinated by the names of metals. For starters, I had no idea that "pewter" was a metal. Since I only knew that word from Pokemon, and the Pewter City Gym is a rock-type gym, I figured pewter was some kind of rock. On top of this, a bunch of metals in english, have no actual word in spanish. Google translate tells me pewter is "estaño", but "estaño" is the word we use for soldering wire. And according to the wikipedia page, there are many compositions for soldering wires, none of which are pewter. It's so weird. Another one I realized the other day, is that to us brass and bronze are synonyms basically. This is fascinating to me lol.
Awesome attempt. Would have liked to seen full surface features of the metals to the shell smoothness. Proper sanding, polishing, and buffing would make some absolutely one-of-a-kind sales product.
If you build your own melter it'll take about $2k-$3k (still cheaper than buying ready to use melter wich cost about $5k last time i check on e bay and amazon) don't forget the propane cost too and some tools that you might need like a big metal spoon for removing the slag and skin....if you're asking about the bondo (casting sand) price i found it really cheap at ebay $100 for 30-40 pound of it,Don't know if it still on sale or not Edit:the kiln is for big melt (15-20kilos)
You can buy a Devil Forge for 300-400 US. I have one in both sizes and have found them fine to use. You also need some PPE like a respirator, welding gloves, and an apron to keep yourself safe. Then you need metal to melt. I got my casting sand from a local foundry for a $1 a kilo or around 2 pounds in weight. Petrobond (casting sand) is like it's gold plated where I live. Depending how you do it you should have change from $1000 US. I made a lot of tools myself and I'm probably out 600 USD. This video will give you an idea of where to start th-cam.com/video/nyp0GiE5FTQ/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=bigstackDCasting
Your voice and narrative is smooth, the editing is great, and your work and imagination really amazing to see the almost ex-ray negative of a spiral 🐚 🐚🐚 shell
Nice job. I'd be inclined to make the metal into more of a shell by hollowing out the entry with a burr and then polish the surface to a more smooth texture more like the pewter one. It would be awesome if the copper & brass could have a mirror finish.
You made a pewter, a copper and a brass steinkern. What metal was the fourth one that you made? Have you ever considered melting some silver dimes (pre-1965), to make a sterling silver steinkern.
If you have a vacuum chamber maybe try putting metal with a melting point below the flashpoint of wood (300°C) melt it on a hotplate then put wood in it shaped however you want. It might absorb the metal
I think you should try to use epoxy/wax/pla/etc for the initial pour, and then create a mold from the epoxy, and then pour copper, to see if you can create a smooth a finish as the pewter. Looks great.
You could make some very fancy looking ray gun props with this technique by the looks of it I think. Turn the non-shell bit of metal into a handle, and possibly put some small lights inside the spiral sections that you can toggle with a button. Would probably require a lot of extra planning though.
It is a winderful idea to fill that shells. Did you try other, bigger, seashells too? I got some @Home and a lot of Lead. If i have time i'll take a shot of that work and load it on my channel.
Cool video. Since the aluminum had a smoother finish, I think people would be interested in buying them, if you have time to make a few. They would make interesting gifts for your friends. A stronger acid to clean the shells off seems like a good idea. Muriatic acid for swimming pools is supposed to be safe to clean aluminum IF it's diluted properly. Phosphoric acid as found in cola drinks might work, but don't use Naval Jelly. It's made for ferrous metals only. They make phosphoric acid cleaner for concrete and tile that may do the trick, but I'm not sure. Grinding away part of the shell would help too. It would be thinner, and I believe more porous, once you get below the surface.
Very cool! Glad to have watched this video to see how dangerous molten metal can be. I'm getting my furnace tomorrow and got all my safety gear and fire bricks ready and extinguisher. But outdoors and not in my shop is where to do it I see. So it looks like I will be making me a small area outdoors and not at my soldering station I thought would be enough.
It’s a lot of fun but yes it’s very dangerous. I like to keep a big bucket of water near by just in case I have to submerge my hands or feet if I spill metal on them. Not that it’ll help much but it can’t hurt. Good luck!
I bet with that vinger soaking you could get to a point where the shell is flush with the cast and you could polish them both up I bet that would look pretty good.
A part of me hurts seeing beautiful shells being destroyed but then again you get something beautiful out of it but it debatable if it’s more beautiful than the original shell
I think seeing this with zinc, or lead if you can get your hands on some, would also look cool! Thank you for consistently providing interesting content :)
If you're interested in any of the tools or equipment I use and you want to help support the channel then don't forget to check out some of the affiliate links in the video description. Thank you for the support!
Fun fact: Most gastropod shells spiral in the same direction, the direction of your shells (called dextral). But a genetic mutation causes a small amount of shells to spiral in the reverse direction (sinistral).
There are some species whose shells are sinistral, and the rare mutation makes them dextral.
Thank you kind stranger.
I believe some foraminifera shells 'spirel' left or right depending on temperature.
Gee! And I thought that if it was made north of the equator it spiraled right and south of the equator it spiraled to the left! 😂 😁👍 😉
These are just left handed and right handed creatures :).
Does anyone really think these creatures figured out how to construct the shells by themselves?
depends how you describe mutation, I always thought it's same as humans being left or right handed. It's like saying that everyone who is left handed is a mutant? I'm both .. I use mouse with right hand and write with right hand, but when i eat with fork and knife, i hold fork in right hand. I also do martial arts and I prefer my left foot and right hand for primary punches and kicks. So I'm a semi-mutant?
The fact that the shells held up is a testament to what a good evolutionary adaptation they are.
It's interesting how good the pewter came out compared to the others. I wonder if you could use your normal lost pla casting style and make one out of Brass in a "Lost Pewter"
a Surprisingly smart idea
Or fill with wax and dissolve the shell in a stronger acid.
What a great idea.
Honestly, you can cast pewter out of silicone molds and get far better surface finish. If you're willing to make a mold, may as well make one you can reuse.
or cast wax in the shell dissolve the shell with an acid and make a plaster mold out of the wax model. Then you can cast it at higher temperatures with a better finish.
very nice work they all look great. I like the fact that you are the only one on you tube that fully protects himself with all the proper safety gear. It doesnt inpress any one when you burn yourself.
What's truly amazing is how living creatures create these beautiful shell spirals. Nature never ceases to amaze.
Only to have some human destroy it for his own vanity...
@@lindadelorme5117 ;Your communist puppet masters have trained you well. They must be so proud.
Sea shells are made of calcium Carbonate (CaCO3). Above 840C calcium carbonate decomposes into CO2 gas (which was causing the bubbling and splattering) and Calcium Oxide (CaO aka Lime).
Copper is my favorite. It's such a beautiful, firey color. Even it's rust is pretty.
Nature produces pleasing shapes. Very pretty castings!
The problem with the bubbling is the carbon dioxide release of the shells. Would be interesting, if you would get smoother results, if you would heat the shells above 1000°C beforehand, and then put it inside the oil sand. On the other hand the baked shells would get very brittle and absorb moisture and decompose. Perhaps with a shorter heating period you could still reduce the CO2 content.
It's also lingering moisture, steam explosions are common if you don't get the mould hot enough before pouring.
I wondered if it would have been better if the vent hole had been connected to atmosphere rather than just stopping in the sand.
Considering what it turned into after the pour, I'm not sure it would hold up to the abuse after heating. In fact, maybe the single-use nature of this method helped maintain the shape. Would be an interesting experiment though
@@skeetsmcgrew3282 Could use a hot gas jet like a small propane blow torch at the enttrance to the mould, it doesn't need to get as hot as the metal is, it just needs to evaporate any moisture in the mould. That shouldn't be hot enough to really damage the shell at all as it literally takes a few seconds to do. It's just a safety thing as moulten metal spurting everywhere is generally a really bad thing. I do see your point though and agree it would require a little test shot first to see the effect.
@@RogueWraith909 oh yeah for sure, but the OP was talking about the chemical release of CO2 when heating a shell. Its actually something done on purpose to create slaked lime. My concern was that by attempting to remove much of the CO2, you would turn the shell into dust.
It would be labor intensive, but you could do a double lost mould method to accomplish a similar goal. Fill the shell with a low-melting temp resin, allow it to harden, dissolve the shell in acid, coat the remaining resin in essentially plaster (theres a kind for forging), melt out the plastic, burn off the remainder, clean out the mould with water, and then fill that with molten metal. So yeah, a ton of work lol
The wackiness of the idea caught my attention but how it turned out was a pleasant surprise. Loved it!
The rough texture/finish on the copper and bronze ones actually looks really neat!
I loved the first time you did this and I love it again. You always think about unique ways metal can be used. I'm always excited to watch!
Those shells turned to quicklime!
There are the undeniable moments when ART imitates LIFE,....and HERE are the moments when it INTERACTS
(Wow That shit came out of my head)
This brings me back fond memories of metal work class in high school. I loved that class.
Fantastic work! I wasn't expecting the different temperatures to affect the surface finish so drastically. If you're not sick of making shells, do you think you'd ever try making one with bismuth? It has a pretty low temp too I think
The fact that you describe what your doing without carrying on is a real blessing, nice video
Excellent result in solidifying the perfection of nature.
Awesome video. I loved that you shined up the copper and bronze and kept the pitting marks. They look really amazing with the casting marks.
The Pewter one is my favorite. They all came out awesome.
Having worked at an investment foundry, try the following for copper & bronze:
1. Cut the pointed end off to provide a small vent open to the atmosphere out of the box.
2. Pour with pointed end up using a sprue to feed the large end from the bottom upward
3. Use a metal box in lieu of plywood & bake the box, shell & sand to 4-500°F before pour
When I look at the shells it takes a second to wrap my mind around the fact that you're not making a cast of a shell using a mold. You're using the shell as the mold, so it like an anti-shell or something. cool.
🐚 looks great!
They all came out great!
Bismuth might be a good one to try for something like this?
Now that's creative idea.
I loved the idea of the video and I was shocked to find out how well the shell held up
Super video. I'm impressed with how they came out. Thanks for sharing
Nature is the greatest art. More specifically the golden ratio.
absolutely no idea why youtube recommended me this, but it was something I never expected to see, totally random thing to do, but looks cool. It's something I'd like to have on my desk or hanging somewhere. I actually have epic idea, why don't you put LEDs inside the spiral and then fill it with some transparent acrylic .. it should look insanely cool.
the finished casts are beautiful!
Very Nice work
Thanks
You are awesome! I appreciate you and the art you produce.
You should try and make a deer antler out of metal
Relief vent holes from the bottom will give a place for the metal to escape. Cool video 🗽
Isnt it amazing how strong shells are? Nature can be fascinating!
Ohh OK, so I felt like I was having deja vú then I was convinced I'd seen that thumbnail before and I clicked to see why you would re-upload that video again. Then you start out immediately with "you guys asked for all these different metals" lol.
I watched this in preparation to do the same thing. Good thing I found out about the splattering before I did it!
1st time viewer... Really interesting casting project, wicked nice results! Im inspired! & subscribed!
Found this by lucky accident ?!
Fascinating, and I shall watch more.
Thank you, these are beautiful
Nice! I saw a snail once back in Burma, it was very fascinating and I felt honored. Well done and keep up the great work!
These metallic shells you created are fine examples of the Fibonacci Spiral!!!!!!
I really like the pewter one.
You picked a better shell than I did. Everyone says mine looked like 💩. Looks like pewter is the way to go. I wonder how bismuth would work as well.
S-hell yeah! Looks great
When the Calcium Carbonate was heated above 1544°C it converted to quick lime, which upon contact with water converts to slaked lime, which is used in mortar compounds, whitewashing and Nixtamalization(how corn and sorghum have their pericarp removed before food preparation)
Very nice.
Splashes like my timber pours.
Hope to try casting metal into a Conch shell this summer.
Wondering if sanding the tip down until the opening shows, would be better than drilling?
Metal splashing around when you aren't expecting it can be a scary thing. I appreciate that you use good PPE and have your body covered with leather and a face shield. I do something similar. It would only take one drop of molten copper to get some nasty burns!
Welcome back! Good to see another video from you. These all turned out so good!
Lol makes me wanna build a forge and find some shells myself 😂
You know, as a native spanish speaker, I'm fascinated by the names of metals. For starters, I had no idea that "pewter" was a metal. Since I only knew that word from Pokemon, and the Pewter City Gym is a rock-type gym, I figured pewter was some kind of rock. On top of this, a bunch of metals in english, have no actual word in spanish. Google translate tells me pewter is "estaño", but "estaño" is the word we use for soldering wire. And according to the wikipedia page, there are many compositions for soldering wires, none of which are pewter. It's so weird. Another one I realized the other day, is that to us brass and bronze are synonyms basically. This is fascinating to me lol.
The next time you pour pewter, how's this for an idea-cast it into the shape of a TRILOBITE! (you can melt down the seashell shape to make one)
A golden shell would be gorgeous. Expensive, but gorgeous.
The pewter ones would make really cool candle holders though they'd need a stand. Like little sconces
Absolutely beautiful
Awesome attempt. Would have liked to seen full surface features of the metals to the shell smoothness. Proper sanding, polishing, and buffing would make some absolutely one-of-a-kind sales product.
Very interesting video…..and, of course, I just love that you use a brass reloading sonic cleaner. One suggestion: belt sander
How expensive is it to start metal casting from scratch?
If you build your own melter it'll take about $2k-$3k (still cheaper than buying ready to use melter wich cost about $5k last time i check on e bay and amazon) don't forget the propane cost too and some tools that you might need like a big metal spoon for removing the slag and skin....if you're asking about the bondo (casting sand) price i found it really cheap at ebay $100 for 30-40 pound of it,Don't know if it still on sale or not
Edit:the kiln is for big melt (15-20kilos)
Noneya Bidness. lol, you asked for it, you got it.
You can buy a Devil Forge for 300-400 US. I have one in both sizes and have found them fine to use. You also need some PPE like a respirator, welding gloves, and an apron to keep yourself safe. Then you need metal to melt. I got my casting sand from a local foundry for a $1 a kilo or around 2 pounds in weight. Petrobond (casting sand) is like it's gold plated where I live. Depending how you do it you should have change from $1000 US. I made a lot of tools myself and I'm probably out 600 USD. This video will give you an idea of where to start th-cam.com/video/nyp0GiE5FTQ/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=bigstackDCasting
@@andyf1235 yeah the other dudes estimate is absurd, clearly talking out of his ass lol. 600-1000 is a very realistic estimate
Damn...entry into this hobby isn't cheap.
Pretty awesome looking. Thank you for sharing.
Your voice and narrative is smooth, the editing is great, and your work and imagination really amazing to see the almost ex-ray negative of a spiral 🐚 🐚🐚 shell
Would you get a better finish if you put the metal filled shells back in to the forge?
Nice job. I'd be inclined to make the metal into more of a shell by hollowing out the entry with a burr and then polish the surface to a more smooth texture more like the pewter one. It would be awesome if the copper & brass could have a mirror finish.
Is there a way to make a mould from the pewter shell, maybe in ceramic, and then cast copper or bronze into that?
You made a pewter, a copper and a brass steinkern. What metal was the fourth one that you made? Have you ever considered melting some silver dimes (pre-1965), to make a sterling silver steinkern.
Where did you get that crucible?
I think one could make a really amazing torch-style light fixture out of those metal snails.
With the copper, the shell turned to quick lime. When you put it in water, it slaked. Pretty cool.
cool idea I tried pouring into a termite nest that is real cool also
Nice snail shells
Fascinating! Thanx- I enjoyed this video greatly.
Wow very cool thank you so much for this interesting video
Very Nice, They really did turn out fantastic. I just found a coupe of these shells, I may give it a try too one day
Awesome video!
Maybe try glass of various colors and see if you can even mix them prior to pouring to get swirling patterns in the result.
that's so cool. That used to be a soft creature, and now it's metal.
If you have a vacuum chamber maybe try putting metal with a melting point below the flashpoint of wood (300°C) melt it on a hotplate then put wood in it shaped however you want. It might absorb the metal
I think you should try to use epoxy/wax/pla/etc for the initial pour, and then create a mold from the epoxy, and then pour copper, to see if you can create a smooth a finish as the pewter. Looks great.
You could make some very fancy looking ray gun props with this technique by the looks of it I think.
Turn the non-shell bit of metal into a handle, and possibly put some small lights inside the spiral sections that you can toggle with a button.
Would probably require a lot of extra planning though.
Looks amazing. Great work.
8:25 Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Could you possibly put a link to where you purchased that purple buffing wheel. Thank you
It is a winderful idea to fill that shells. Did you try other, bigger, seashells too? I got some @Home and a lot of Lead. If i have time i'll take a shot of that work and load it on my channel.
Cool video. Since the aluminum had a smoother finish, I think people would be interested in buying them, if you have time to make a few. They would make interesting gifts for your friends. A stronger acid to clean the shells off seems like a good idea. Muriatic acid for swimming pools is supposed to be safe to clean aluminum IF it's diluted properly. Phosphoric acid as found in cola drinks might work, but don't use Naval Jelly. It's made for ferrous metals only. They make phosphoric acid cleaner for concrete and tile that may do the trick, but I'm not sure. Grinding away part of the shell would help too. It would be thinner, and I believe more porous, once you get below the surface.
Very cool! Glad to have watched this video to see how dangerous molten metal can be. I'm getting my furnace tomorrow and got all my safety gear and fire bricks ready and extinguisher. But outdoors and not in my shop is where to do it I see. So it looks like I will be making me a small area outdoors and not at my soldering station I thought would be enough.
It’s a lot of fun but yes it’s very dangerous. I like to keep a big bucket of water near by just in case I have to submerge my hands or feet if I spill metal on them. Not that it’ll help much but it can’t hurt. Good luck!
Amazing!
Absolutely brilliant stuff! I really need to get back into casting.... sometimes life just gets in the way 😅👍
I could see some custom knifemaker making something like this into a handle/grip for a cool, fantasy-style, fixed blade. :)
I bet with that vinger soaking you could get to a point where the shell is flush with the cast and you could polish them both up I bet that would look pretty good.
Awesome!!
They look like they would make really cool novelty spear heads, I could easily imagine them being used by merpeople in some fantasy series
A part of me hurts seeing beautiful shells being destroyed but then again you get something beautiful out of it but it debatable if it’s more beautiful than the original shell
So beautiful. Great work👍🏼
Very nice. I hope you mounted them in a frame.
Once you use, the sand, can you filter it and use it again?
Those would make awesome central pendants for a wind chime. Big money chatchkes for beach houses. 😎
I wonder, if you sharpened the edges of the spiral, could these be used a a kind of drill? It may very well work like a step drill!
Mycket fin och mycket fin idee🙏🙏🙏👏👏👏
Honestly, I'm still more impressed by the mollusk that made the shell in the first place.
I think seeing this with zinc, or lead if you can get your hands on some, would also look cool! Thank you for consistently providing interesting content :)
Amazing how high of a temperature those shells will take.
Great job!