new work on an old guy . . . last page . .

On 2009-08-14 23:24, woofmutt wrote:
"using a game piece is a little cheap if you ask me."

You callin' my mom cheap?

at the time it was quite expensive for me.

little more progress on this guy. should go into a mold tonight.

trying to figure out how to give it the proper texture. any suggestions?

mahalo!

final cave tiki wax piece:

bueller . . . ? ? ?

darn, consigned to the bilge again . . . .

Perry, the Sufferin' Bastard decanters look like a stone type finish- maybe texture by pressing a piece of sandpaper. Both sculpts look good, very clean. I just realized that one of the advantages of lost wax casting is that you don't have to worry about undercuts :)

yeah, you don't have to worry about them too much . . . until cleanup. investment is one of the hardest materials to remove from metal.

here's the semi-final bastard. just need to finish up the back and put a hole somewhere. probably sideways through the head or hidden on the back. i don't really want to solder jump rings onto it.

this gives some scale . . .

ask me how you can help change the world!

[ Edited by: pdrake 2009-08-19 20:57 ]

Very nice, what did you end up using for texture? Smaller than I imagined, nicely detailed for that size.

army of cave tikis . . .

On 2009-08-19 21:33, MadDogMike wrote:
Very nice, what did you end up using for texture? Smaller than I imagined, nicely detailed for that size.

ancient chinese secret . . .

Great work Perry, I didn't realize how small the bastard was.

thanks heath.

it's gotta fit inside the mold form. :wink:

does anyone have any interest in purchasing this as a pendant? i'm thinking of making it in white and red bronze and silver. i've also been thinking about having some powder coated in a matte black.

i'm going to start casting these next week in bronze and silver. finally!

Perry, hadn't seen you in a while! Texturing came out perfect on that SB.

here's the lonely cave tiki in bronze. hopefully i can get a good pic tomorrow for the marketplace. i'm just finishing the suffering bastard, will post pics soon.

sterling suffering bastard . . . .

Perry, looks like that new equipment is workin' out for you. The Sufferin' Bastard texture translated well from wax master to cast sterling, very nice!

thanks mike, any suggestions on a design people will like?

back side. this will be cast in sterling silver.

orongo pendant. making the master cast tomorrow.

Perry, the monkey is looking very "Moai-ish" :D I hadn't seen the picture of the back, nice.

I think the birds are awesome! (and thanks for the quarter for reference, that really helps people get a visual for the size)

thanks, mike. you're one of the reasons i keep doing stuff.

yeah, the quarter. people don't realize how small some of my stuff is. i don't think they realize how hard it is to carve, as well. wax can be just as hard as bone or jade on some levels. it's more frustrating on others. the thin parts seem to break more often that the other materials. they're easier to repair, but it can get frustrating.

Can't wait to see the Barrel O' Monkeys monkey finished! You can do them in different metals and we could buy them all and link them together for a multi-layered fun pendent! You do REALLY nice work.

thank you.

little bit of sanding and fill work, then a nice polish.

That was quick!

yes, as quick as a 6 hour dewax and an 8 hour burnout can be. now there's only about an hour and a half of finish work and 24 hours of mold making, then the wax masters, then the investing of them, then the whole process starts over again. yay for unemployment!!!

i forgot to mention how easy metal is to carve. it's like butter. lucky i have lots of soft brushes to swirl it around.

On 2009-10-31 23:56, pdrake wrote:
i forgot to mention how easy metal is to carve. it's like butter. lucky i have lots of soft brushes to swirl it around.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Perry, I have an appreciation for metal casters, they have the skills of a sculpturer and mold maker, and the balls of a brass monkey! To heat metal to 2000+ degrees and then pour it into a machine that spins it 'round 'n 'round at high speeds is just plain CRAZY :o

I did one, and only one attempt at metal casting 20 years ago - a pewter snake head swallowing an onyx egg. Heating the pewter to 600 degrees and playing with it was definitely an adrenaline rush, I can't imagine 2000 degrees. It's not much, but here it is :)

this will have jump rings on top of the bird's heads.

puppy hair not included.

ask me how you can help change the world!

[ Edited by: pdrake 2009-11-04 20:16 ]

swwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeet!!!

thanks, toe!

now for the casting . . . .

first time a had a mold work on the first molding. good thing because the mold material isn't cheep.

(get it? birds? cheep?)

ask me how you can help change the world!

[ Edited by: pdrake 2009-11-08 19:32 ]

coming out nice . . .

sorry about the non-tiki pieces. just ignore them.

i know there are a few other metal people here. i'm a little lost as i'm learning all this on my own. i have a question for anyone with an inkling of knowledge to help me. (well, two questions.)

what's the best way to solder jump rings onto bronze?

how can i stop the crystallization of the metal during the casting?

mahalo!

never mind, solved my problem.

i know these aren't exactly tiki, but . . .

starfish!

these were easy and they're cute and i thought people would like them. i had to experiment with some casting techniques anyway.

i have some cool tiki stuff in the works, though.

mahalo!

tiny bob . . . these will be earrings, that's why the back is hollowed out. they'll be quite lite.

nice bobs!

You are doing wonderful things with your metal castings! Looking forward to seeing all your final works. Is that a Shazam! or TCB lightning bolt? :wink:

thanks, zero, tikimango. haha, that's a shazaam logo. it will get a yellow enamel in the middle. i'm working on a line of superhero logos.

i'm still learning with metal. it's a tough medium to tackle.

TCB!

just in case anyone is interested in some of the steps involved . . .

this is step one and then step 9.

there's couple more steps, but they're not as time consuming. just stinky.

here is bob in most of his glory. i don't have the talent to take a nice picture at night. the sun, at least under my awning, has a nice diffusing light, i'll get to it tomorrow. the clip ons are all i had around the house tonight. i'm waiting for a shipment of findings from some chinese guy. stuff's always cheaper from asia.

i'm pretty happy with this little piece. i put the nickle there to give it some scale. it is pretty little.

Classic icon and well executed. Nice detail for that small of a size

GO! PERRY GO! :D

That is really impressive!! Bob cuff links would be cool too!!

hey, thanks you guys. appreciate the encouragement.

digi, i could probably make a pair into cufflinks if you'd like. just have cast them without the hole on top and solder on the findings. easy peezy!

new sculpt of taiaha. had to make some design concessions due to size and eyesight.

almost done.

think this is it. time to mold.

what do you think?

I think it's killer! I suspect you are outsourcing your work to tiny little pygmies who carve with tiny little hand adzes :lol:

Good luck with the next steps.