I’m interested in making a bronze cast of a plaster form. Size is approx 3*3 *3 inches. Cylindrical in shape. Does the space have the capabilities to make mold/ cast this? I think making a clay form wouldn’t be the difficult part. The melting bronze would be harder. Any ideas appreciated also!! Thanks.
unless it just has to be solid brass you should also consider a cold brass casting (20% resin 80% powdered brass). plenty of info on youtube plus @maxk68 has taught it in the past.
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First, we use a lost wax investment casting process, so you’d need a wax master (or 3D printed wax master) that can be melted out in our standard casting kiln, using our standard Ultravest “plaster”. In theory you could make a silicone/rubber mold of your plaster form and then make a wax master from that, but that size is beyond what we can mold in Jewelry. I’m sure that’s a hurdle you could overcome however.
Is it a hollow form, or is it solid? Have you calculated the mass? If it’s a solid form I think it’s going to weigh about 6-1/2 pounds (2800 grams) which is well above the capability of our jewelry shop.
(Not to mention that you’d need about $150 of bronze casting grain for each attempt that you make).
- Our J2R caster doesn’t list bronze capacity for the crucible, but it lists silver as 700 grams.
- The J2R uses flasks 4" dia and 9" tall, so it’s just barely within the theoretical envelope. You need at least 1/2" (and preferably more) of plaster between the master and the flask on each side.
If you make your item hollow (i.e., open on the bottom), with a notional wall thickness of 0.1", that would reduce it to about 1 lb, plus probably another pound for the sprue/gates/tree - so that might possibly be within the capacity of our casting machine.
For a special item like that, it will probably eat up a crucible and rod for the one casting so you would have to plan an extra cost to replace those consumables (probably about $70 each time you cast). This would be at the discretion of the committee chair.
To reiterate though, if your part is largely solid - there’s no way that’s within our capabilities. Sorry, but you’re better off looking for a commercial casting house.
Having spent the greater part of the past year trying to successfully cast some bronze parts, I will warn you that there is a significant learning curve and you should not expect to be successful on the first attempt.
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@fedakkee recommends this foundry and says what you need is well within their capabilities:
A&B Foundry
On Old Denton Road between Walnut and Royal
Owner’s name is Ernest.
You guys have given me a lot to chew on. Thx…
It is2 solid pieces, about the size of a inner cardboard toilet paper roll. Size is 34 mm diameter length 105 mm for each cylinder. Let me do math and get back to you guys.
TY for this lead on A&B Foundry!
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Thanks for that!