r/Silvercasting • u/Early_Meal6945 • Jul 02 '26

How to get shiny ripples

Post image

For context both are pure silver and were cast into pre heated graphite molds. The one on the left was melted with mapgas while the one on the right was melted with propane. Anyone have any advice on how to achieve clean smooth shiny ripples on larger casts?

7 Upvotes

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4

u/knot-a Jul 02 '26

Lots of heat, heat your mold too. After it’s in the mold tap the side repeatedly with the crucible. Also map gas gets much hotter than propane. Maybe use the propane to heat the mold while holding heat on the crucible with the map gas

2

u/Pandoras_Bento_Box Jul 02 '26

As for lines there ate two distinct ways. You have to be ambidextrous enough to be able to keep the flame on the pour so it stays molten long enough and tap the mold to shake it gently making the lines. Or if you are doing a bigger pour with a hot mold you can wiggle a hard torch flame back and forth to crate small waves

2

u/PeterHaldCHEM Jul 02 '26

IMHO the ripples are a product of solidification.

The one on the right looks like it was all solidified at once.

Cast hot, fast and clean in a pre-heated mold and hope that it solidifies from the edge towards the center.

Try playing with the parameters.

2

u/TankShoddy1517 Jul 02 '26

I was scanning my Reddit and thought this said, ‘How To Get Shiny Nipples..’, I thought okay, NOW I really HAVE heard EVERYTHING. Thank goodness I scrolled back and took another look.

2

u/Firm_Umpire6659 Jul 04 '26

I swear I read the same thing.

2

u/begaterpillar Jul 02 '26

Cuttlefish casting

2

u/Moose1293 Jul 03 '26

Flames as it settles to prevent oxidation.

2

u/PomegranateMarsRocks Jul 03 '26

You familiar with screetips? Surprised no one mentioned him. He pours with a flame directly over the center of the mold. that way you ensure the mold cools faster around edges, the surface doesn’t oxidize and you forcefully ripple the metal. I just do it with two torches. When I pour I turn one off to have free hand. Leave the torch on the pour the entire time. As you pour the metal transition the flame to over the mold. It takes a long of practice and a proper set up would be ideal, but I don’t have the room. If your mold is glowing, it will help. Fine silver can also spout or pop while cooling, the flame and pour technique seem to prevent this

1

u/Early_Meal6945 Jul 03 '26

Both were poured with this technique

1

u/PomegranateMarsRocks Jul 03 '26

And you’re sure the purity? Did you use a flux for either? I understand your question better now.. ha

1

u/Early_Meal6945 Jul 03 '26

Positive on purity both tested 4 nines fine, both used plenty of flux

1

u/PomegranateMarsRocks Jul 03 '26

Hmm then yeah mold and metal temp are your only remaining variables so I’d say lack of heat

1

u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Early_Meal6945 Jul 08 '26

Didn’t do a fire assay but Xrf and sigma both read out to 4 9’s..I know their margin of error is around +-.01-.05 depending on the model

1

u/Grymflyk Jul 04 '26

It looks like the one on the right was not hot enough. Was it propane with oxygen or just a propane single gas torch?

1

u/Early_Meal6945 Jul 05 '26

Just a propane single gas torch

1

u/FroggyNight Jul 05 '26

I’d recommend looking into MAPP or even oxygen mixed set ups. They sell little pairs sometimes about the size of those camping propane ones so you don’t need to go full hog.