Bronze Casting Manual
Cast your own small bronze.  
A complete tutorial taking you step by step through an easily achievable casting project for professional sculptors and hobbyists

The method described in this manual is called the thin ceramic shell, lost wax technique. There are many other methods to make a bronze figurine but the lost wax, thin ceramic shell method is the easiest way for the home founder to make a small sculpture to a high degree of quality at little cost and with easily found tools and materials.

This is the same method implemented by professional art foundries. We have simply scaled it down and adapted some aspects of the process to make it easy for anyone to complete successfully in a few days without any heavy equipment.

This manual is not attempting to delve into details of all the principles and all aspects of the bronze casting technology. We will rather focus on a simple yet rewarding project that will allow the novice to cast a small piece safely, quickly, cheaply and to a high degree of quality. More advanced casting techniques are discussed in the second part of the book.

What does the manual cover?
The tutorial takes you through all the steps necessary to make a small, fist size bronze sculpture, from making the original sculpture in wax to finishing the final bronze reproduction.

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 the bronze before applying a simple patina. Here is the table of contents.

The entire process is documented in color photogarphs.

What tools and materials are needed?
Most of the tools and materials you will need are fairly easy to find, you may even have them already. However you will also need some more specialised materials that are more difficult to source:

• Bronze metal. You will need about 3kg of silicone bronze. This is generally sold in ingots by metal merchants.
• Calcined kaolin, or fused silica flour and stucco sand. A refractory material that is the basis of the ceramic shell.
• Zircon sand. Zircon is a naturally occurring refractory mineral. It is used as stucco for the first layer of the ceramic shell.
• Colloidal silica. This is a water based binder to be mixed with the refractory material. Ludox SM Colloidal Silica is the most commonly found.
• Wax. Used to make a wax pattern of the sculpture. In our case we will make the original sculpture in wax.
• Ceramic blanket. A refractory fibre blanket used to construct a temporary furnace.
• A LPG Gas torch. This is used a source of heat to melt the metal. You only need the same gas cylinder as to fuel your BBQ. You can borrow or rent the torch for one day.

To make it easy to find these tools and materials, an appendix lists a large number of places where such tools and materials can be purchased in different countries around the world. (UK, US, Canada, ZA, OZ, NZ, France, Ireland and more...) This will save you much time and effort and will allow you to quickly gather all necessary materials and equipment.

 

“Very complete coverage. I think a person with reasonable skills could definitely accomplish the cast by following the instructions.” David Robertson, Artist Blacksmith

 

“You have done a fine job. The pictures are clear and informative. Every subject is well organized and easy to find. I like the way you have fully covered all the processes and show how to make everything required. Good How-To. My compliments.” Paul

 

"Your guide is wonderful. It has answered alot of questions that I had. Thanks!" Ben Larson

How much time is needed?
The project will span over 5 days but it does not have to be 5 consecutive days. You could work one day a week over a 5 week period if you prefer. The project consists of the following steps:

• Sculpting. You will first be making a small sculpture in wax. It is essential that it is made in wax. Please do not start making a piece in clay or other molding material.

• “Sprueing” The wax figurine will then be prepared for the mold. You will continue to learn the basics of wax working.

• “Shelling-up” The wax will then be encased in a ceramic mold, called shell, which is painted in its liquid form in several layers over the wax and then left to dry

•  “De-waxing” Once the shell is dry, you will use a gas torch to melt the wax out of the shell. This is called “de-waxing” or “burning out”. You now have an empty negative of your original shape - a ceramic mold.

• Melting and pouring. A simple temporary furnace needs to be built and metal melted inside a crucible before it is poured in the empty shell. This is the most exciting part of the process. Do not be intimidated, our method is both safe and easy.

• “Knocking-off” and “Chasing” Once the metal has cooled and solidified, the shell can be knocked off to free the newborn bronze sculpture.  It now needs to be cleaned and any imperfections smoothed out. This process is called “chasing”.

• Patina. Finally, the new sculpture must be given a surface finish. This is known as patina. Bronze will naturally oxidize and acquire deep and rich colors known as “Patina”. This is a very slow process that can be considerably accelerated. The manual will demonstrate the most common patina techniques.

 

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, use more advanced casting techniques and how to set up your own small scale art foundry.

 

“I found your instructions and video very clear indeed. The whole project was successful - much better than I expected for a first attempt. This was due to the excellence of your manual.” Roger B, New Zealand

Technical Support.
Customers are warmly invited to contact me on info@bodyscape.net.nz with further questions, request for clarification, comments and feedback.  I would encourage you to join our  bronze casting discussion board where other members can benefit and contribute to technical bronze casting questions and share their experience in a open forum format....

About the author
A New Zealander since 1987, French born Olivier Duhamel lives on Waiheke Island near Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Marie-France and their 3 children.
He is a sculptor specialising in the female human form and makes delicately crafted small bronze figurines.
After having been introduced to the fine art of metal casting by sculptor and founder David Reid, Olivier has set up his small home foundry and has since cast over 500 pieces using basic tools and ingredients. He takes pride in the quality of his castings.
Olivier Duhamel’ s creations do not convey any particular message, do not attempt any conceptual or symbolist exploration, nor do they search to be innovative at all cost. They are rather trying to simply capture the beauty and sensuality of his subject of study.
His bronze works are sold in art galleries across New Zealand and also in Australia, China, France and Belgium.

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