I am pleased to announce that we now have the ability to do lost wax casting in the Jewelry department! It has been a slow process, but I believe we are ready to roll it out. This process can be valuable for crafting jewelry and other small objects you wish to create or replicate. Here is how the jewelry committee has collectively agreed to manage the process.
Training will be required for casting. Wax injections, investment, furnace burnouts, melting, and the vacuum table all require instruction. A series of casting classes will be scheduled, by one or more instructors. Equipment will be segregated to work only in bronze, silver, and gold.
JSM Orientation will be the prerequisite to lost wax casting.
It is suggested that the classes are taken in this order…
- Mold making & wax working
- Spruing, investing, & burnout
- Melting, casting & quenching
(Classes 2 & 3 must be taken consecutively) - Casting clean up, high-speed polishing & tumbling
Once members are proficient with the DMS casting system and want to cast independently, we hope to offer periodically scheduled “Open Casting” AKA burnout runs in the furnace. We have a small furnace and the burnouts take a long time, so we think this will help keep things efficient and organized.
There will be fees associated with casting. Instructors in a class will be providing material and will have an applicable kit fee, in addition to the class fee. The department itself will not be keeping an inventory of material such as bronze or silver on-hand. Open casting will have a flask fee; $5 for small, $10 medium, and $15 for a large (based on the flasks we have).
Katri P. @Kati Hannah P. @MossAgate and @purpleporpoise will be working together as the initial teachers for these classes. Thanks to each of these ladies for volunteering their time to help bring this process to life. I’d also like to give big thanks to @AnneGullett, @dr_cee, @dallasmagna, @Terrence and @LeeCJones for helping us make this possible!