Today is the day!!! I will cast a mouthpiece made of bronze. The mold is currently in the burnout oven and should be done in 2-3 hours. I will start to melt the bronze in the melting pot about 30 minutes before the burnout cycle is done. This will ensure that the mold is still hot when I pour the bronze.
I am a little scared of the superhot metal (> 1000° celcius) … so hold your thumb!
Meanwhile I have watched a lot of videos about jewelry making. I am getting more and more interested in casting some rings and set stones. BUT first my dream flute!
It’s the next day and I am still alive!
The filled mold has been sitting in a water bath since last afternoon to soften the investment to scrape it off in the next step. I am excited to see how it looks but I feel that the bronze was not hot enough when I poured it. It was at 1000° and looked ok but next time I will add a 100° to allow it to slightly cool off when I get it out of the melting pot and move it a few seconds. It also loses some temperature during pouring. It might have worked but since my model has very delicate structures (thin walls) the metal should be very liquid during casting. I will post a picture of my current attempt, even if it is messed up. This is all about learning!
It feels a lot like opening an “Übrraschungsei” when I was a kid … I guess I am still a kid, just with different “Überraschungs-eggs”.
What a surprise! It worked out very well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In the picture you can see the model right after getting rid of the investment (which took quite some time). I am very happy with the result and the only thing that I have learnt is that one channel from the sprue is enough and will make post-processing much easier that multiple metal channels to get rid off. I don’t know if the color pattern looks good or if any professional can see some flaws!? Anyway I am happy.
Sometimes it feels good not to have to learn too much 😉
I will not saw off the pieces because it wouldn’t be worth the effort but I will polish it just for the fun/looks of it.
