Ramblin' Dan's Workshop

I created a couple of new wax model masters and I am ready to try doing two castings this time. I figure I should use the energy from the kiln to bake two flasks at the same time. You can see I made three models that I have sprued but I don't presently have enough silver to do all three casts at one time. I am sure they would all fit the kiln.

I have enough silver  to do all three, but I need to recover the scrap sprue trees from the first two casts. I have 5 more ounces ordered. The first price break is at 5 ounces.

The weight of the wax including sprues is 4.7 grams. That will require 53.6 grams of silver to cast it. (There is a formula) So that is about 1.72 ounces (troy), about $38 at todays silver cost.	Of course some weight and value will be removed and recovered when the casting trees are removed. The real value of the piece is intrinsic rather than just the cost of the silver.
This piece is very light. Less than a gram total.	There is probably as much wax in the sprue as there is in the piece.
This one is only 3.1 grams total. I have these last two pieces invested as I write this and will be casting them tomorrow.	This is the same pattern as the green Celtic cross I tried casting in my first attempt. This is the "do over".

If you look at the previous attempt (my first home cast) you see I have changed how I mount these pieces. I am using a much steeper angle for the part and the bottom (top when casting) sprues are much shorter. I am attempting to make sure the melting wax drains properly and that the silver can get in via the shortest path. I hope I have learned my lesson.

My instructors were always enthused when a cast came out perfect as this process is as much an art as it is science. Following the rules is absolutely required but there is never a guarantee of a perfect cast.

I will add to this after the casting process.

The cookies are in the oven. About half way to baking temperature.	Yeah-boy! This one worked great. This is what it looks like fresh out of the pickle. The other part was a flop. Um... another learning experience.
I have already started the next carving. This is a Celtic Triskele, a symbol for family. I am staying with the K.I.S.S. school of design one more time...	Both are just at first pass clean up. Lots of detail work left. At least the sprue is off the casting.
Carving done. Ready for spruing, then getting lost.	Silver always looks better in my hand than in these pictures.

This last section will be the last in these updates. I will of course be publishing a lot more casting activities. I'll start another article after I have cast the Texas Lone Star and the Triskele.

The Triskele is ready for investment. Note I enlarged the loop. I was afraid the small size wouldn't cast well.	If the loop doesn't fill I can file it off and solder one on.
I added another two sprues to the Texas Lone Star	I feel more secure. Now there are five paths to the star.