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I Forge Iron

Quick Tip for Casting a Ribbon Burner with Crayons


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Posted

One of the problems with using crayons as mold cores for ribbon burners is that they can sometimes be a little tricky to remove from the burner once it hardens. While making my most recent NARB, it occurred to me that I could get rid of most of that wax by reaming out the holes with a thick wire (about 3/32") heated to a dull red in a propane torch. Once the holes are opened up and cleaned out as much as possible with the wire, the remainder of the wax will burn out once the burner goes into use inside the forge. 

Be prepared for some strange colors, though, as the pigments in the wax burn off.

Posted

I cleaned the wax out of NARB 1 by heating it with an engine heater and IR lamp in the shop. NARB 2 I reamed it out with an old drill bit and then put it in a steel bowl with a few burning charcoal briquettes. 

Still got pretty colors for the first few firings in the forge.

Frosty The Lucky.

Posted

John,

Use plastic straws instead of crayons. They come out in the Forge, with a Flair!! Use the same wooden base for the form, straws are almost the same size. If you don't agitate the mudd too much, they stay in place.

Neil

Posted

In this particular case, I used a plastic container (that had originally held Parmesan cheese) with holes drilled at the proper spacing. The flexibility turned out to be a good thing, as I could move the crayons apart a bit to get more mud in between, and then move them back together to pack the mud around them.

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