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

been working on getting the casting up and running. lot's of equipment, supplies, time and talent involved. i'm lucky to have a good friend who's into it with me. we've been learning a lot, especially since all of it is from just reading books and the internet. oh, there's that whole "trial and error" thing, too. things are starting to come together,though.

i don't know what made me decide to add about 10 lengthy steps to my carving process. oh, well. i started with a couple that i already had poured moulds for. i'm using lost wax mostly with a little sand casting thrown in just for fun.

hope everyone is doing great!

mahalo!

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ask me how you can help change the world!

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That is so cool! Gold? I tried my hand at lost wax casting several years ago and had a great time. But it was pewter and I melted it in the BBQ! I'm thinkin' you can't do that with gold :lol:

Flame on man!

That gold moai looks great! Have fun casting, I haven't done any in a long time and I sure miss it. Looks like you're doing steam not centrifuge, right?
Remember not to pick up that flash with your hands! LOL! (no really, I saw someone do that once, YOUCH! Can you say 3rd degree burns?)

You might want to pick up some books by Tim McCreight.
His books can be quite helpful for beginners .

Scott

thanks a lot, scott. i really appreciate your input and i'd really like to pick your mind more. i'd like to come down and spend some time with you guys, too.

here's the first pieces of silver i was able to save. it was my first silver pour and there were a total of 10 in the flask. 2 made it and luckily they made a pair. what do you think?

[ Edited by: pdrake 2009-05-31 23:12 ]

here's a better picture. i'm going to pour more of these today. unless it rains. rain and molten metal don't mix well.

that looks great!
How does the lost wax process work?
I've heard of it but dont really know the procedure.

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aka "Steve"

[ Edited by: Mambo 2009-06-01 17:51 ]

On 2009-06-01 17:50, Mambo wrote:
that looks great!
How does the lost wax process work?
I've heard of it but dont really know the procedure.

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aka "Steve"

[ Edited by: Mambo 2009-06-01 17:51 ]

haha, that's a loaded question. the basic steps are this:

make an original

make a mold of that

make wax copies in that mold

mold those copies into a molding compound

burn out the wax leaving an empty space that is the opposite of the original (thus the name "lost wax")

pour in molten metal

pull out metal pieces that look like the original

bang, done!

there's a lot of great videos of the whole process on youtube. i've learned a lot from them.

Gold moai is VERY cool! P - always trying new stuff and succeeding at it! Lookin' real good!

thank you so much 'nesiac. here are the first 2 sterling moai out of the shop. it's amazing how much work metal takes. i need to get some tunes in my new workshop. the ceiling fan sounds like bears humping.

these are going on sale tomorrow. there will be 10 in the edition. even silver is getting expensive these days. these were made from recycled sterling spoons. i bought them at a local coin/metal dealer. hah, new life for old stuff. that's a beauty.

they are as shiny as a new penny. well, actually, they're a little shinier than that. they're as shiny as a new born star!

WOW Perry, So glad I found this thread, you know I hardly Ever visit the "Other" side. Nice stuff you're doing Love the gold Moai.
Cheers

Nice! Nice! Nice!

I've been hearing some talk recently like "How come nobody crafts tiki earrings?"

Well here they go and the low edition numbers - should have them clamoring for purchases. Thanks for sharing.

Those earrings really are unique. Beautiful work on those! That's a true art....

wowowow! thanks, sam! here's a pic of the original pieces. i gave them to a good friend that lives in seattle.

i'm still carving bone and jade for originals. i have a pendant piece in the works that matches these. i've already promised it to her, but i'm going to make silver pieces of that as well.

That bone stuff is beautiful too. It's way beyond me how you guys do that!

I dug the bone ones way back whenever and like the silver versions as well.* I like to see work which is Tiki in style but isn't yet another tiki.**

From your Marketplace thread...

I really liked these pendants quite a bit. In each one the brow and mouth seem light, the expression almost quizzical. A good balance with the solid, blunt weight of the face and the texture.

You've created strong, primitive looking pieces that aren't crude. It's something a lot of folks attempting the primitive never fully grasp.

*But I have no intention of piercing my ears.

**Calm down kittens, I'm not kockin'. Pert near all the Tiki stuff I make is just tikis.

thank you ver much, woofmutt.

i'm having a really hard time photographing the bronze stuff. i put a patina on it and tumbled it for a few hours and this is the result.

That patination adds a LOT to the look of the pieces - a bit like the difference between greenware and glazed pottery, the shadows in the recess really help to read the design. Sweet pieces Perry!

thanks a lot, paipo. i have some really cool stuff in the molds right now.

thought i'd try my hand at clay, too.

well, it's getting a little smoother. i've never used clay before. well, i have used sculpey for really small stuff. i've never used plasticine.

[ Edited by: pdrake 2009-06-09 18:56 ]

what!???

now he's got ears. molding up comes tomorrow, then a res-culpt in wax.

i'd still like to get it smoother.

oops, forgot i had a magic smoothing tool under my bed. worked okay.

Whoa! We've been busy tonight! Look at you go!

Looks like your answering all your own questions there just fine Perry - good job. If you have to finish tonight...look around the house - wood and metal spoons and knifes...rubber of some kind. a little mineral spirits on your finger if needed - rub.

Keep burning that midnight oil - your on a roll!

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[ Edited by: Babalu 2009-06-09 22:48 ]

heh, thanks, babs. i'm done for the night. i used goof off to smooth it out. the rest of the smoothing will come with the wax. it's actually kind of small. only about 3 1/2" tall. going to save the inside of the mouth for wax. gotta watch those undercuts.

hey Perry-
Lookin' good so far! This works for me if it's a firm plasticine: Use progressive grits of wet/dry sandpaper. Start with 150 or 120. Sand lightly in a cross hatch or circular pattern when the plasticine is cool. It will ball up as you sand then you can brush it away. Just use small pieces of sandpaper because the clay gets trapped on the paper and you'll have to chuck it.

You can also side-stroke with a file (I use rifflers and needle files) in a cross hatching pattern. Just keep a wire brush handy to keep the file teeth clean.

You can finish it with a wire loop tool or like Baba said with mineral spirits. But Zippo lighter fluid works well too. Just use it sparingly on a lint-free rag or you'll gum up all your hard work. AND No smoking!!! POOOOF!!!

Plasticine will also take a coat of Crystal Clear very well. I do this to avoid sulphur contamination that occurs with some silicones, but it also creates a really nice finish.

Tear it up!!!

:)

PDrake, that sculpt is lookin' awesome!

While we have the experts in this thread, maybe someone can help me understand about silicone masters and such. Do you make a silicon master only when you plan to make several molds? Like a commercial run of several hundred? If you plan to make only one mold for less than 50 pulls, you just make your plaster mold from your plasticine original, right?

On 2009-06-10 10:38, MadDogMike wrote:
PDrake, that sculpt is lookin' awesome!

While we have the experts in this thread, maybe someone can help me understand about silicone masters and such. Do you make a silicon master only when you plan to make several molds? Like a commercial run of several hundred? If you plan to make only one mold for less than 50 pulls, you just make your plaster mold from your plasticine original, right?

Let me know if I'm hijacking here Perry and I'll shut up. :)

A rubber master (silicone or urethane) can be used to make just one mold if you want. And just to clarify, a rubber master is a duplicate of your original model, not a mold.
It's good for multiple molds.
Especially if your original model has some slight undercuts that you think might cause problems when pulling out your clay casting.

Otherwise you can make a plaster mold directly from your plasticine original. Just give it a clear coat first. Those oils leach into the plaster and inhibit the clay slip from drying.

no hijack at all. i was hoping someone else would pipe in. i think he meant specific for mug making. i'm not making a mug. i'm going to make a wax original from a silicone mold. wax doesn't come out of plaster too well. then i'll carve the detail. the plasticine doesn't hold the sharp, crisp lines i want. then i'll make a master silicone mold to make wax masters for my casting process.

a little different than mug making. i'll probably still make a urethane master in case anything happens to the mold.

Thanks guys!

Holy cow Perry! That's a lot of steps, I'm nowhere near patient enough for that, I want results NOW! :lol:

well, i found enough birfday candles to melt down. finally have a hunk of wax that's nice enough to clean up and add all the detail to.

sorry it's a little blurry, nothing really pretty to see yet anyway.

So Perry, what's the plan for this wicked sculpt? Ceramic pendant? It's too small for a mug and WAAAAAY too big to cast in gold :D

that would be the million dollar question. ;-D

he's gettin' there. i think he might be a little sleepy. well, no rest for the weary, i say! he's got more work to do tonight to get in shape!!

blue wax be damned!! the color in this photo is pretty close to real life.

well, he's off to bed now.

well, time to put him to bed for tonight.

i think he used to carry hobbits around the forest.

here he is in two states. mike, this is why i make a wax piece to carve. i don't work as well in clay. it may be different for some people, but this is the best way for me. one of the most valuable tools i've acquired as an artist, i think, is patience.

it's the one thing i have in common with doctors. (ba dum dum)

On 2009-06-12 22:11, pdrake wrote:
one of the most valuable tools i've acquired as an artist, i think, is patience.

I think that's one of the reasons I'll never be an artist :)

Looks great! So now you can make multiple wax casts but you have to hand detail every one? Or will you now make a mold from the detailed wax cast? Could you skip the clay and sculpt in wax to begin with?

Keep up the great work Perry, I'm anxious to see what the final product is.

Dang, that's on it's way to bein' somethin' else. Super cool

So now you can make multiple wax casts but you have to hand detail every one? Or will you now make a mold from the detailed wax cast? Could you skip the clay and sculpt in wax to begin with?

the final sculpt will go back into silicone to make a mold. i'll pull one resin piece out and then make wax casting pieces. you can sculpt right into the wax, in fact, a lot of people do that. i find it easier to do the big stuff in clay. the tooling wax can be brittle.

thanks, woofmutt.

well, while the wooden head guy rests until tomorrow, thought i'd make some other junk.

here's some new earrings i'm making. easter island theme.

Hey Perry, people aren't going to fall for that again :lol:

April Fools 2009

haha, that's pretty funny. i was going to brag about my dime carving skills, but you got me beat mike. :D

here is a little orongo next to resin wood head.

that's the silver piece, already polished, then put into a patina solution. then . . . i get to polish again! yay!

here's the orongo with a final polish. you can't see the patina, though. now only about 6 more of these guys to do.

Pdrake, cool watching your casting process.
All of your little carved treasures are great.

PDrake, you actually do have something to brag about. Looks great!

der . . . .

wowowowowow, smoke if you got 'um'

listen hodaddies and any other hot rodders out there. i'm up for making whatever you want to tool around in.

these babies are thick and ready!!! ready to shift you into the next life! any make and model!

hehehe . . . this is what i made from that woody wax thing. i'm making aluminum ones tomorrow. hell, i could make these out of diamonds and they'd still take as much work. it's all in the clean up. this one still has some clean up to do. just thought i'd share it.

Smokin' is right!

Is this one pewter? Just drill & tap and you've got an awesome shifter, right? Speaking of tap, it would make a great beer tap handle for your bar.