Day 41 Casting into Silver

Again today I am in the midst of a project, so I will bring you along on my journey, and today we will be casting some pieces into silver. We left off yesterday just after I invested 2 flasks, so let’s put them in the oven and burn out the wax. I have a Neycraft Oven that I have added a digital programmer to. There are many different burnout schedules, so you will have to do some research and pick one that works best for your situation.

After the wax is burned out of the Flask, it is time to melt the silver so we can pour it into the cavity left from the eliminated wax. I have a programmable Electric Melting Furnace that I use to melt the silver. I set the temperature and when it preheats to the selected temp, I add the silver. The temp will drop down a bit, but when it climbs back up to the programmed temp, I grab the correct flask out of the oven, turn on the Vacuum Assisted Casting Machine, stir the melted metal with a Quartz Stirring Rod, and pour “quickly” into the cavity in the flask.

I let the flask sit under vacuum for a couple of minutes, pull it off the machine, and place it on a flat cinder block until it is ready to quench in a bucket of water. After approx 5-10 minutes, I turn the lights out and make sure the metal is not glowing at all before I place in water. I hold the flask under water the whole time, moving it around, and I am wearing a protective dust mask to protect me from the investment that can be carried in the steam. Like I mentioned in yesterdays entry, investment contains silica and breathing this can cause SILICOSIS and is very dangerous. Please protect yourself from this preventable disease! By the time you realize you have it…… IT IS TOO LATE!

Clean off the casted silver trees, soak in pickle, I use Sparex. Clip, Grind, Polish, and Enjoy!

Again thanks for stopping by and making this JewelryMonk project a smashing success. I have said this before, the topics I touch on are not for everyone, but they are for someone…. everyday! Keep coming back and join me on this Jewelry-Journey.

Now go out there and Dazzle someone with your talent.

Doug