chyancarrek Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Some days are just better than others - getting together with some buddies to work on a couple of welded pieces then setting up the first of three kiln loads for an upcoming pour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermetal Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Looks like fun for sure.... Take lots of pictures! (and of course then share them with us!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Nice Trolley kiln!!! Looks like some fun work going on in your shop Do share!!!!! What metal will you be pouring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Looks like you fabricate S.S. and pour bronze sculpture, do you have a website? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senft Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Interested in the molding process... is that a shell mold buried in a container of sand, or is the whole thing one piece?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 The studio in the pics belongs to my friend James Lee Hansen an 84 y/o sculptor I've been working with for the last 12 years. Jim's an amazing fella, he does large scale abstracts and even at his age you just can't keep him out of the studio. We've got a pretty good cadre of friends across the spectrum of experience (ace welders, fabricators, riggers etc) and so with our help he continues to produce more work. I'm his "right-hand man" and handle most of the production aspects for the bronze work as well as all of the database work and photography for his catalog raisonne'. Fe, The trolly kiln has sure seen it's share of use - out of the pictures to the left is another one that's almost twice the size of the one pictured. We'll be pouring bronze for 4 new pieces. Michael, You're spot on - The two SS pieces in the pics are the first one's that Jim has done in about 8 years and he's very excited with how they're coming along. Most of his work is cast from bronze as components then assembled into the finished piece. He has a website in progress here's the address: www.jamesleehansen.com/index.php The portfolio section features mostly smaller work as we're still in the process of getting updated photography for his larger work at the studio and in situ. If you do a google search on his name, you'll find all sorts of pics and info about his work. He's been doing this for over 60 years and he's got an amazing history! Senft, What we're doing in the pics is straight-up poured investment were the wax is suspended in the mold form and material is poured surrounding the wax. It's a simple mix of silica sand, perlite and pottery plaster. Shell casting is more oriented towards faster volume production and uses a harder curing material where the wax is dipped repeatedly into the investment building up successive layers. I'll post some more pics as we move along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senft Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Chyancarrek, do you have the recipe for this type of investment? I've done some small scale investment casting and want to go larger, but buying jewelry grade investment is a lot- would love to know how to make my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Hey Senft, We do our investment in 250 lbs batches - the mix is really simple: 70 lbs 70grit silica sand 70 lbs 30grit silica sand 100 lbs pottery plaster 8-10 lbs perlite. You can break that down into ratios to give yourself any sized batch. Please note - this is a mix (no matter how large or small the batch) that will give you a really rough texture - we mix this way because of the size and weights of what we pour and because the surface detail that Jim put's on his work is very organic/earthy. Part of our process of surface prep involves heavy and aggressive grinding and sanding. I've attached a couple of pics (one right out of the mold - the other right prior to final surface prep) to give you an idea of what it looks like.. Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senft Posted April 1, 2010 Share Posted April 1, 2010 Great! Thanks much, next time I do casting I'm gonna try it. What burnout temps/cycle do you use? Is the investment picky about how fast you warm it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted April 1, 2010 Author Share Posted April 1, 2010 Our total cycle takes about 36 +/- hrs for a full kiln ( around a ton +/- of molds). The first 10 hrs are a slow rise through 850 degrees then holding around 1000 - 1100 degrees for about 24 hrs +/-. (don't exceed 1100 for any length of time - it's a good way to burn up your molds) Cool down is around 15 hrs but that's a bit arbitrary as we never empty the kiln right away. We're not doing production work so generally we don't start to pour until the following week. The most important part of the cycle is the beginning - you want to make sure that your molds don't move through 400 degrees until the majority of the wax has flowed - it's the steaming out of the moisture which removes most of the wax and to take it above 400 - 500 too quickly results in a quick rush of wax into an environment where it will catch fire inside the kiln - that can get kind o' exciting pretty quickly You'll notice I've got a lot of +/- in those numbers. What we do is based on how we know it works with a set up that's been in use for 50 yrs so we're not taking ongoing measurements. There's a lot of "looks right, smells right, feels right" going on so I'd definitely recommend doing some research and lots of experimenting based on what kind of set up you are using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senft Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 That helps a lot- thanks! When I can build a bigger kiln I think I'll try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 "Shell casting is more oriented towards faster volume production".......I didn't find this to be true when I was casting. I could turn out a rough casting in two days with investment where as the shell guy took four days to the same thing however you are correct in the use of the word "volume". If the shell guy were doing twenty of one sculpture he could beat me hands down on cost but I could beat him every time on speed of doing one off's or very small runs of five or so, I could get the whole lot cast and out in less than a week. I used to do a coat of Kerr Satin cast first and then a home made concoction for the rest of the flask, saved a lot of money doing that but the Satin cast would pick up fingerprints if needed. Be sure to post more pictures of the pour. B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chyancarrek Posted April 2, 2010 Author Share Posted April 2, 2010 Hey BI, You're absolutely right and it was high volume work that I was pointing at regarding shell casting. Thanks for bringing up the point about Kerr Satin because it is a good way to go if you're looking to pick up detail yet have the larger volume of investment being a lower cost rough-mix. Jim & I never use it because of the specific rough quality that all of his work has so I don't have much experience with it. I'll definitely post pics after we pour - here's a teaser from earlier pours. I'm sure you recognize the fact that the flame coming out o' that large mold ain't so good . . . incomplete burnout of the wax - we had a hole and a crack in that piece when we broke it out of the mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted April 3, 2010 Share Posted April 3, 2010 Oh, that's not good! Could have used a little more burnout time for sure. This year at the iron pour one of my shells didn't have a good burnout, that's what happens when your not in control of your own stuff, and I got some porosity near the top of it, still I think it is repairable. That is one of the problems with shell that I have seen so far, is lack of total burnout when they do it so fast, sometimes there is black showing and just know there is gunk left in there. When I do investment, like you are doing there, I like to cook it until the riser cup is pure white with no black showing. When that happens most of the time all of the wax is gone, nothing left, but every once in awhile you get a smoker no matter how hard you try. :blink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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