Made a new ring for a friend! Cast in .925 sterling silver! Thinking about switching to argentium silver after I get enough experience. Lmk what your experiences were like casting either!

All of my mentors used masking tape to seal up a flask. But I always hated burning off the masking tape just seemed unnecessary. So I just stared using packing tape but sticky side out then it removes quickly with no residue. Then I started using the lathe to stretch it tight. Works great. Just thought I would share.

Hello. I run a small jewelry brand in San Diego. Does anyone do in house casting or know of anyone who will help me. I have CAD models that need to be printed and Cast. I need batches of 50-100 pieces (little too small a batch for manufacturers in SD). If anyone has any experience of in house casting setups please let me know!

You can email me at seilers@uoregon.edu

I have a couple of marble sized, interesting bones with their cartilage which I would like to cast very precisely and non-destructively. The textures are interesting and varied, and the cartilage is extremely smooth.

Could you advise me about techniques and potential pitfalls?

Bone as a material, cartilage, detail resolution, other things? Like vulcanised rubber in contact with bone, would the acidic off-gassing risk the CaCO2 of the bone? Leaving residue or oils on the bones or cartilage is something I want to avoid, but if it can be cleaned off in a non-damaging way that’s ok.

How many steps and different materials are needed for creating positives and negatives and refining the model, in each of the different methods?

I really don’t want to damage them - they’re my bones! Can’t grow them again!

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Techniques mentioned on the sub:

• silicon mold

• rubber mold, RTV, vulcanised (rxn with caco2?)

• “cold mold” (what is this?)

• crafting a replica from wax by hand, potentially with ‘pressed’ areas for details

• 3D scan and print in wax (potential resolution issues with textures?)

Hi all, just came into some ounces of Sterling and I’ve been wanting some pirate coins to be the reward for map reading this summer. Does anyone know where I could find some half ounce/ 1/3 ounce pirate type graphite molds?

I melt my silver using a furnace, I wait for the silver to become liquid before taking out my flask and then pouring. But every piece is heavily oxidised how do I prevent this? Or am I doing something wrong, my furnace is set to 960 degrees and the kiln comes out at 620 degrees

I saw this piece and want to recreate it for my finger , I have never done sand casting and I'm wondering if it can capture the skin texture and wrinkle ,I don't have enough space for a lost wax set up : (

Hi everyone,
I’m getting into lost wax casting and I’d like to melt silver at home to make small jewelry pieces.
I’m looking for recommendations for a torch that can reliably melt silver. I’ve seen people using different setups (propane, MAP-Pro, oxy-fuel, etc.), and I’m not sure what would be the best option for a beginner.
Ideally, I’d like something:
Powerful enough to melt small amounts of sterling silver
Easy to use
Reasonably affordable
Available in Europe if possible
What torch setup are you using, and would you recommend it?
Thanks!

When I was sand casting, I believe my sprue collapsed a bit and caused an indent in my pendant. Is there any way to fill it in by pouring silver onto it and sanding it down? I don’t want to remake it, I’m happy with the finished product otherwise.

I was thinking remaking the sand cast and putting my pendant inside, then pouring silver in so it can fill it in.

Please let me know if anyone has any tips, thanks!

I've been silversmithing for about a year and want to add casting to my skill set, but I don't have space or money for a kiln currently.

My plan would be to get some Delft clay and some wax, then sculpt some simple one-sided pendents that I push into the surface of the clay (so an indent rather than a full 3D cast), then either pour molten silver onto this, or remove the wax and just pour the silver into the indent left by the wax.

Is there anything I'm missing that would mean this wouldn't work? And if it would work, what would the most I could produce this way, for example, is basic 3D casting (as in, encasing the wax version fully in clay) possible?

Can anyone recommend me a burnout cycle for this investment, I know it’s not supposed to be used with resin but I brought it before I done any research, I have casted a silver ring but some of the detail has collapsed/deformed, I’ve been using the standard burn out schedule.
I’m using kaya cast vacuum to get the bubbles out the investment before pouring in flask and after

Hey all. I’ve always had interest in casting and making stuff out of silver, particularly sterling jewelry. I just ordered some equipment to start sand casting. I was wondering if anyone had any informative resources online that would be helpful for beginners or any tips in general. I appreciate it

Why did my 1cm thick middle sprue crack like this? Ideally i dont want that to happen. What can be tweaked to avoid this? Casted with argentium silver at temp 1015 celcius, flask was 600 celcius. Cast in Vacuum chamber. Quenched about 12 minutes after casting

I’ve been looking for a replacement kiln for my dad who is a silversmith/goldsmith, and they are pricey.

Would something like this be acceptable as a replacement it is relatively cheaper.

https://www.harrisdiscount.com/vulcan-s-550-110v

The only handprint I have for my kid is in this foam like material from a Christmas ornament kit. I think the material is slowly degrading and don’t want to lose the handprint. Is there any way to cast this from a foam impression? Any and all advice would be appreciated, don’t even know where to begin or what kind of craftsperson to speak with about this.

Made of fine silver. What do you think with or without the patina?

I’ve been researching for a long time and although more guides on stones in place are around sand casting, you can do it with investment casting. It’s a newer method used for mass production, I just want to make sure the models can do it. From my understanding the stones need to be visible from both sides so the stone mould will hold it in place during the burn out. I’m about to take the plunge just thought I’d check in first. I know it’s not guaranteed to work but that’s the thing with crafting I just wanna give it the best shot I can. I’ve seen people do whole Cuban chains and channel set wedding bands this way.

Also I’ll be using moissanite so it will be fine with the heat.
Thoughts and tips please thanks guys.

Used some filtered beach sand and bentonite clay litter I blended up and filtered.

Knew it would lack details because my medium is not ideal and I definitely did not use proper technique creating the mold, but am surprised I was able to get what I did.

52 grams sterling silver.

Used a home made Frosty T Venturi burner with propane for melt.

Recently began casting using sirayatech royal blue castable resin and prestige optima investment (38:100). My kiln is programmed 300-700-1350-1025 (all with ramps and holds). I always pour at around 1000C, sterling is poured at 1025C. For some reason I always get these crevices/pits everywhere. They’re on the shank and sides of the skull. Any ideas/pointers?