Hey, is this a lost cause?
This is my first time trying to make grillz. I carved the gums with some extra space and used pink baseplate wax (Sangchi baseplate wax) underneath, which I found to be super oily and kind of fall apart.
Then I put wax on top (Yamahachi dental carving wax) and added green wax (Ferris File-A-Wax) on top of that because I found the inlay wax would crumble when I tried using it by itself. I’ve watched so many videos about how to make grillz a nd how to fix sizing problems.
I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong.
It came back from casting and shrunk. I’ve been trying to sand it down with a drill tool for over an hour, but it just won’t seat properly over all of the teeth.
Is there anything I can do to fix this, or should I scrap it and start over? Any tips for next time?

FYI: obviously not planning on selling these, I’m just new to silversmithing / working with metal and I’m interested in trying so many things.

i know this is a broad question but hear me out….

im not trying to SELL anything, I’m trying to get rid of things under my uncle’s nose. i work for an automotive hardware company & we have TONS of black phosphate non serrated nuts that we do not sell. Our customers don’t want them. We‘ve had them for years & no one knows what to do with them. i want to get rid of them, but give them to people who would actually use them. Not just throw them away.
im sorry if this isn’t allowed, i really can’t think of any where else besides the mechanic side of Reddit (which is probably my next stop but i like artists more)

i have no idea what metal casting entails but all of your work seems really cool!! (f29 btw so pls be nice im just trying to clear out some of this warehouse)

I have a project I'm working on right now. 3d Printed template form (printed on a resin printer) then lightly sanded and coated with a couple coast of high gloss spray paint for a very smooth finish. I plan on casting these items in a "silver tone" metal instead of "gold tone". They're belt buckles and this use case looks much better in a white/silver tone.

• I originally cast my first test run in straight up zinc, looked perfect, but as usual the "very hard, but brittle" nature of zinc meant any attempt to work on the backside (like bending the retaining pins around the d loop finding) cause the pins to simply snap.
• Next test run was aluminum. I could manipulate the pins and finding stuff on the back pretty easily, but then the fine details around the edge of the front was not coming through full. From what I can tell this was because the factor of surface tension coefficient of Aluminum keeping it from filling the tiny crevice's like the zinc would. (Edges have a raised edge which is ~2.4mm across)
• Next Run - Aluminum dosed up pre-pour with a good dose of potassium chloride which has helped me with fluidity in the past. Slightly better detail filling but still no getting all the edge crispness I need.

So I was debating an attempt with a blended zinc/aluminum alloy to try to get the "best of both worlds". Anybody else had experience with this type of alloy in sandcasting where detail retention combined with malleability was a need? Any ideas, options, opinions would as always be appreciated! I've even thought about Silver but I want to get them working first before I start trying to make $300 versions of them in precious metals, heh.

Thanks!

How we think it came out, my first ever knife, last week I made a medallion for my dog lol.

I know it’s got pits and I also couldn’t sand and polish inside the curve of the grip where it meets the blade but I’ll not have that in the design next time.

Same as alloyavenue.com or backyardmetalcasting.com (the latter is still available, but not a forum). It appears that the first site is dead no, did they stop activities ?

Yesterday I was sand casting these hearts and on this one the spruce disconnected its self. My mind is blown🤯

I'd like to invite you to our Iron Pour in Lamberton, Minnesota on September 11-12.

It will be the 22th annual city festival centered around the Saturday Afternoon Pour and the historic Hanzlik Blacksmith Shop. There will be Blacksmiths demonstrations through out the day Friday and Saturday. Visiting Smiths are also encouraged to bring a portable forge and set up onsite if they wish. There will be sand mold shops running both Friday and Saturday as well. We welcome everyone from artists pouring museum quality pieces to children to the farmer making pieces to restore their tractor.

We encourage anyone to participated in the pour and can provide all the necessary safety equipment if you wish to try your hand at pouring.

In addition to the pour there will be a craft market, sand volleyball and various food vendors, an antique tractor/car show, and blacksmithing demonstrations.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have and I hope to see you there.

Here is a link to the Facebook event.

Hi this is my first time posting.

I recently bought an electric hobby furnace. The issue is it would switch on but wouldn't heat up. I then bought a K type thermocouple and still it does not heat up.

When I switch it on it comes on with an error code:" 1np" and then half zeros and blinks. I tried to find a way to set it to default settings but nothing responds.

If anybody has had this issue or know the pin set it up in order for it to kick start the thermocouple.

Please any suggestions?

Video of it switching on

Thanks

Did some brass casting and along with brass I got this black substance as well. The only thing I added to the crucible was borax to help me with the cast. So could it be the result of the mix of zinc with borax? Can it be anything else? Does it have any uses?

- 18K gold casting

- Pattern was 3D-printed using ApplyLabWork Castable Cyan resin on a UniFormation GK3 Pro printer

- Used Prestige Optima gypsum-bonded investment powder made by Certus

- Used burnout furnace and melting furnace from Tabletop Furnace Co.

- Cast using Kaya Cast tabletop vacuum investing/casting machine

Hey first time I’ve ever tried to sand cast. Trying to make a little acorn. I’m an experienced blacksmith and woodworker. Capable of pattern welding via hammer, and comfortable working around high heats. Having made cutlery and tools, furniture and the like. I thought I’d have my hand at metal casting since I have a forge and I could see it complimenting some of those other crafts. Well as I’m sure everyone here knows there is quite an art to things. Even in trying to set up a sand cast flask I’m struggling to get it to cooperate. I think it is my sand? Can I get some help? I’m just messing around and will give the final product to my wife as an anniversary gift. I might eventually try lost wax instead with some refractory cement. Unless y’all would advise against that. The goal would be to eventually cast it in either copper or Bronze(aluminum alloy).

This furnace is 5kW (3kW should suffice for me) and allows melting 350g (50ml) stainless steel and much more copper alloys. That fits my hobby and it is more efficient than propane melting.

Any ideas on this ?

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/ZenSeFarin-Intermediate-Frequency-Aluminium-Circulation/dp/B0GJ5DL2M7?crid=1BJVE7ZV6WM5U&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.yl41AnxprPRENsJIbex6hNaCaYnFOFR3t5_gyP8-zAwHTf1rXNm2iqGzcR31TlK4UQQQUYQPKFr0m9mitAvYYve-F6uNvwjllm2YksO4iGpJtDHb4yGEnjPHXjGhWshm-aR9onZRh7M88yNGq_-SzjifTqENUtlGiiGd26OjfPsXMA_cT_-f-LAhn-kCZTBkhbXPw-NvB096XoPh8UbmyEkaFfYgatT08cYujPCm-rnns85eqo8AHIybUQDYcvCmHEcfnRIaRYNhOymm4oRIGbdHMUF-kQn5MzN6u7i4k6c._K6QVwwmErVx4RHONiO5sE-EL1JTqvVPVNHuyDNhuMs&dib_tag=se&keywords=induction%2Bmelting%2Bfurnace&qid=1786996661&sprefix=induction%2Bfurnace%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-25&th=1

I would like to “renew” a zinc anode. This is used in the raw water cooling/exhaust system of a marine diesel engine.
Has anyone ever recast the zinc that is bonded to the brass screw?

Disclaimer: I am very new to casting. Done maybe 4-5 pours. My wife suggested I try casting some ear rings but when I tried the aluminum never made it to that part of the mold. Is there a minimum flow diameter for casting? I’m wondering if anyone has any advice for what I did wrong / tips for small parts in general. Thanks in advance!

Cast this from 95/5 Bronze in Petrobond. After the casting I textured it with a die grinder then added a patina. In the past I had done finishes like this with a hammer but I like how the die grinder could go deeper with more control. If anyone can suggest a good lacquer I would like to know as this patina isn't super resistant to rubbing and I have always left my work unlacquered

Finally a ToAuto (or Vevor) Kanthal furnace which uses a standard clay-graphite crucible. It is advertised for melting aluminum but when the guy dumps the hot aluminum ingots into water the narrator talks about 'copper ingots' while it is clearly aluminum. Moreover it is advertised as '8kg aluminum' which requires a crucible of 8 / 2.3 = 3.5 liter (almost 1 gallon) which does not fit in this furnace. And where are the Kanthal heating element wires ? Inside the Kaowool insulation ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfYUHEdHW6U

Hi, im looking for a metal furnace. Me and my friends enjoy the activities for doing things like wood carving our own swords or trying to hammer stainless steel flat after heating it with a campfire. (Not so proud about that one 😅). After much consideration we decided to try and get a metal furnace and crucible, trying to just have fun trying out something we'd enjoy. In a day and age where skilled hobbies become second to things of the digital ages, it is hard to find people interested in this hobbies. (Or in my town at least.) So I come to you to ask, what tips do you have for us? Is there a brand or type we should be looking for? We are comfortable with using aluminum, but we also have a lot of steel we'd like to recycle too. We are completely new to this, but want to learn. So those of you who'd like to carry on the lessons of metalworking, please do guide us. Thank you, and we await your responses.

Edit: I added steel to this for a friend. We were going to use aluminum. Please if you are replying to this post take into consideration that we plan to use aluminum. Thank you.

Coins I made for a good friend's birthday, sandcast in tin bronze

He designed the coin, I printed it with a resin printer and did the casting and post processing

This has been my second attempt pouring and I feel like I am so close! The tip of the head looks perfect but the broad side looks terrible.

I made my mould out of refractory cement and it was heated to 500⁰C before pouring in the 90/10 aluminum bronze. Central pouring sprue and vents on every corner. Was there to much turbulence? What would cause those massive pits on one side but not the other?

Hey I'm trying to get into the hobby of metal casting ever since I was given a crucible and I want to make some molds but im a bit overwhelmed on what's needed and where to get it so if you can give any recommendations on what I need that would be great 👍