New progress on the Morko ......now W/ SUCCSESS ! and NEW wax

[dan610324]

that potters kiln is perfect for the wax burnout

it would probably be capable of approximately 1300 degrees celsius
so you could also use it for melting bronze

[Victor3]

 Can I get dibbs on the one in front? I like the pony tail and eagle flying out of the socket.

[carronader]

eagle,,,,,,,,smeagle.........looks more like a deer hind

[RocklockI]

Go buy flask material today , Mike ,Tracy and I are going shopping .

Gary

If i was doing this over and IF I found a second Kiln I'd be temped to use it instead of the real furnace to melt Bronze . Cleaner ,quitier , But if you like the roar of a furnace ......

[Cannoneer]

this is probably more interesting for me guys then it is for you

it havent been easy to achive this , sometimes Ive forgot to tell gary some tiny details that Ive taken for granted    but it have just been so tiny details , but extremely important details sometimes

so he had an hell sometimes during the past 8 months or so because he had such an sloppy teacher 

I have no idea how many e-mails it is now , but gary have saved them all .
if I would guess it could be approximately 600 - 800 e-mails or so

this thing with the air bubbles or what it was on the first mörkö waxes I still dont have a clue about
I have never had any similar problems

one hughe problem with me and gary on 2 different continents is that I dont know nothing about american brands
and of course its difficult for me to describe details in english sometimes

gary had a lot of troubbles to come this far , and there will be more of them
I can only teach the basics , the rest must come by experiance

when it comes to choose between a lathe or build up an small home foundry I would say you dont need to choose , you will need the lathe also 
now  gary got 2 real good friends and doesnt need to buy any lathe yet

Thanks for the post, Dan. After reading George's recommendations for alterations that would be needed on my garage to make it safe to cast in, I don't think I'll be using it as a foundry any time soon. I also had this thought: You remember the Cannonmn video of a small bronze & iron foundry located in Ohio, that cast cannons; well I've been wondering what they would charge just to pour the bronze, if I had everthing ready to go, (mould, cask, etc.) and shipped it to them. I think I'm going to give the owner another call and hear what he has to say.

[dan610324]

they used sand molds
so they probably dont have equipment for lost wax casting
directly after the burnout you should pour in a hot mold

[Cat Whisperer]

My mother taught me looong ago, there's no back strong enough to support a weak mind.

[Cannoneer]

they used sand molds
so they probably dont have equipment for lost wax casting
directly after the burnout you should pour in a hot mold

Your right Dan, I didn't even stop to think about that, they showed the wood patterns, and the type of sand they used in the flasks. I also didn't know that in the lost wax process the bronze had to be poured into a hot mold. I'll find out if they do any lost wax casting when I call.

[GGaskill]

I doubt the mould would survive shipping unless it were made with one of the hardening processes.  An ordinary green sand (or even Petrobond) mould would likely be a box with a pile of sand in it if it had to travel very far in other than the makers hands.

[Cannoneer]

George,
I've seen video of bronze sculpture being cast using the lost wax method where the material used to make the mold was some type of clay that had to be hammered off once the bronze cooled. That stuff looked tough enough to survive shipping.

[GGaskill]

A fired investment would probably be OK with shipping but not a green sand mould.

[BoomLover]

I know that when casting jewelry using the lost wax method, your investment which holds your wax before burnout is quite solid, and can withstand transport after it has set up. It is almost like plaster of paris, so after setting up overnight, will stand a bit of abuse with no damage to the wax or flask. Multiply that by several times, such as Gary's items, and I think something like that should have no trouble. Just an opinion, after many years of making jewelery as a hobby. BoomLover

[dan610324]

Boom J

what you are talking about is the ceramic shell method
its a thin strong ceramic mold , but that one should also be used hot
the disadvantage is that you need pneumatic tools to remove the ceramic and last it must be sandblasted to remove the last small remainings

the investment is so very good as you just need to throw it in a bucket with water after the casting is solidified and maybe brush it a little with a tooth brush

most investments is basicly just plaster of paris with some other chemicals added to give it the wished characteristics

very old investment  contained asbestos, but it doesnt now

[RocklockI]

Just send them the wax positive . Let them do all the investing . You can chase the bronze when its done.
Gary

[dan610324]

please gary I told you a million times ,  or at least 3 , with this time 
its better putting 2 extra hours on the wax then 10 hours on the bronze   
its enough to do on the bronze as it is if you want an high polish surface 

[RocklockI]

at least 3.21280 million times ....Dan , but who's counting ?

i did not say send the foundery a crap wax positive . cause as always you are correct .

#2 morko S/B finished today ? I bought some flask material . Also MT showed me a sweet metal scrapyard today .

Like a kid in a candy store !

Sweet old school with dogs (very well behaved!) and two 55 gal. drums two feet deep in coals of pallet wood . Darn it did feel good , ...something as old as mankind just kinda huddling around a fire .

Huge flats of copper were for sale . 3/4" thick and 2 feet by 8" !!!!!! Big . BUT the owner said he just couldnt verifiy what the actual copper content was .

Gary

AND some flask metal for morko

[dan610324]

what had the copper pieces been used as ??
if it is pieces from an transformator you could be 99% sure that it is pure copper

remember to have a few sauceages in your pocket the next time you visit that scrapyard again
its always nice to be a good friend with the dogs 

[Cannoneer]

Boom J

what you are talking about is the ceramic shell method
its a thin strong ceramic mold , but that one should also be used hot
the disadvantage is that you need pneumatic tools to remove the ceramic and last it must be sandblasted to remove the last small remainings

the investment is so very good as you just need to throw it in a bucket with water after the casting is solidified and maybe brush it a little with a tooth brush

most investments is basicly just plaster of paris with some other chemicals added to give it the wished characteristics

very old investment  contained asbestos, but it doesnt now

Just send them the wax positive . Let them do all the investing . You can chase the bronze when its done.
Gary

OK, I'm going to give the guy a call this week, so just two more questions to ask, so the man doesn't take me for a complete novice (although he'd be right).
Dan, the material that's like plaster of paris; would this mold be durable enough to ship to the foundry if I burned out the wax positive myself, or is this an irrelevant question, because the mold cannot be reheated again to be used for the bronze pour?

[dan610324]

just dont understand why you should do the burnout as they anyway need to heat it before the pour
ok should be just because you want to save the wax and use it again
if thats the reason I should just heat it to slightly over the wax melting temp and let the foundry do the burnout
but if its sent with the wax still in it I guess that the wax helps to keep the investment in one piece
just guesses as I have no experiance of any such things as sending molds

[RocklockI]

Abit of news to report . I now have three morkos ready for investment .

And the flask to invest them in .

[carronader]

Good Luck !

[Cannoneer]

just dont understand why you should do the burnout as they anyway need to heat it before the pour
ok should be just because you want to save the wax and use it again
if thats the reason I should just heat it to slightly over the wax melting temp and let the foundry do the burnout
but if its sent with the wax still in it I guess that the wax helps to keep the investment in one piece
just guesses as I have no experiance of any such things as sending molds

I'll send you a PM, Dan.

[RocklockI]

Good news ! I made a flask that will work !!!!
4 morks at one time .

As soon as I get a break in the weather ,they will be a 'done deal' .





Gary

[BoomLover]

Will you recess them in the flask so there will be room for a good sprue and button?

[RocklockI]

The pouring bell will be added b4 investing . I will weld on a wax cylinder(candle) to each 3" long or so .

Gary

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Did the hook break off of one of the wax positives (the one closest to the head of the model)?

[RocklockI]

Good eye it's no big deal to weld it up later dont worry  yours will be fine .

Gary

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Good eye it's no big deal to weld it up later dont worry  yours will be fine .

Gary

After my day, I really like the sound of that! 

[carronader]

Gulf, you iz like like a Dad in the Labour ward............

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

[pacing]... [pacing]... [pacing]...

Um... Doc Rocklock?!?...How's the wee one coming along?...

Oh?  The mother mold is in fine shape?

Yeah, I thought she would be...

Just a little longer then?...

Thanks Doc!