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Table of Contents
The manual will introduce you to the basics of wax working, sprueing a
wax model, mixing and applying a ceramic slurry, making your own
crucible and making an efficient yet affordable furnace, melting and
pouring the metal and finally chasing, fettling the bronze before
applying a simple patina. Here is the table of content:
Introduction.
About bronze casting. What
is casting? A bit of history, What is bronze? What is the ceramic shell
lost wax technique?
Tools, materials and equipment.
Space. Time. Weather.
Project overview First day -
Sculpting, Second day - “Sprueing”, Second and Third day -
“Shelling-up”, Fourth day - “De-waxing”, Fourth day - Melting and
pouring, Fifth day - “Knocking-off” and “Chasing” Fifth day – Patina.
Process overview.
Before starting.
Making a wax sculpture Tools
and Materials. Preparing your wax into sheets for easy modelling.
Modelling a small torso. Is it ready for the next step? Signature.
Making the wax medallion
Sprueing Tools and
materials. Making a pouring cup Cleaning the wax pot. Making wax sprues.
(gates and vents.) Important design considerations. Assembling. Making a
wax crucible How big of a crucible do you need? How much metal will you
need to melt?
Constructing the ceramic shell.
Overview Materials Pre coat First coat Second, third
fourth and fifth coats Special consideration for the crucible
Dewaxing. Tools and
Materials What can go wrong?
Reinforcing the shell.
Tools and Materials. Preparation. Fixing any small
fractures. Reinforcing with fibreglass strands. Reinforcing with
fibreglass Mesh. Other considerations.
Constructing the furnace
Tools and materials Important considerations Baking,
melting and pouring. Tools and materials. Preparation
Baking the shell.
Why put the shell into a bucket of sand?
Melting the metal
Tuning the furnace. Evaluating metal temperature. Pouring the metal What
could go wrong? Knocking off . Defects.
Chasing and fettling.
Tools and Material Cutting off the sprue. Closing small holes. Closing
large holes. Removing fins and flashing. Filling larger holes and
fissures. Final cleaning.
Patina Tools and
materials. A simple patina. Liver of Sulphur.
Ferric Nitrate. Cupric Nitrate. General advice for Patina. Sealing
Taking it further.
Casting more than one piece at a time. Casting larger
pieces. Making a steel handle for large shells. Hollow casting
principles. Making a hollow wax. Casting an edition. Advanced feeding
system design. Venting.
Appendix A – Index of tools and materials
Special tools and materials. Other material. Other tools.
Safety equipment. Additional equipment for the home foundry.
Appendix B – Check list.
Appendix C – Art foundries.
Appendix D - Foundry supply.
About the author.
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Terms and
conditions
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The
tutorial will not have you establishing a complete backyard foundry.
The furnace is a temporary, fold away furnace and most tools and
equipment can be found in DIY enthusiast’s workshops or garden
sheds. |
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What can be cast in bronze?
Although the manual uses a female torso as an example, the same
techniques have been used to cast many other small objects such as
medallions, plaques, signs, door knockers, hubcaps, doorknobs,
bookends, urns, belt buckles, bells, grave markers, crucifixes,
crosses, Buddha’s, skulls.
Boat builders can make classic boat
parts and chandlery.
Parts can be cast for furniture restoration like antique bathtub
legs and claw legs as well as replicas of all kinds of toys and
antiques.
Sword blacksmith are making sheaths, pommels and knife hilts and
handles. Baby hands and
feet are also a very popular casting project (read our
Body Casting Manual to learn how
to mold baby’s hands before casting them in metal.) |
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Even though this is a fairly safe
process, there is always some risk involved in working with power
tools, flames, gas cylinders and molten metal. Necessary health and
safety precautions will be clearly labelled throughout the manual. |
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After having completed this simple
project, you will be familiar with the basic principle of bronze
casting and the manual gives some further advice and guidance on how
to take it further and how to set up your own small scale art
foundry. |
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We endeavour to keep the project’s
cost to a minimum. |
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All measurements are expressed in
both metric and US customary units. Pricing indications are
expressed in US dollars. |
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