BackyardMetalcasting.com - Lionel's Laboratory

Just found this thread, and I've only had a chance to glance through it, but I am very impressed - it looks great! Although I wouldn't have expected less from you... Wink

I've also been working ...

I used a 50 lb harbor freight anvil for many years.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=806
In retrospect it was too light and was a "cast iron anvil shaped objec ...

How do you keep the ceramic blanket and firebrick in place, or does it just "sit" in there by itself? What is kiln shelf made out of?

I put the brick on the bottom and cut the ceramic fi ...

Welder is right, a forge is just a furnace on its side (or vice versa - depending on your point of view). I've made a number of forges - I used to forge knives and swords. I usually use ceramic blan ...

Try Biringuccio's book: http://www.amazon.com/Pirotechnia-Vannoccio-Biringuccio-Sixteenth-Century-Metallurgy/dp/0486446433/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214625258&sr=1-1

It was writte ...

Abby, I figured you had tried all of these - you've been doing this longer then I have. But...you never know. With ceramic shell I never get large bubbles - and never on a smooth surface such as you ...

Gentlemen, I am an artist, and I take umbrage at your comments about my fellows!

Of course I'm also a strong advocate of Darwin.... Wink

Abby, bubbles are a bitch. I did a life casting of a hand recently and at many of the hair follicles there were tiny little bubbles (maybe 1 mm) - I sat there for several hours with magnifying glasse ...

I don't know off hand, but many years ago I used to buy cups and sprues from local foundries at a pretty low cost. With the prices of metals now I don't know it this would still apply. Worth calling ...

You are approaching this with the positive attitude of a true scientist - negative results give as much information as positive ones. Wish my suggestions had resulted in a "fix" though.
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I've been getting it from Industrial Metal Supply Co, which is local here in L.A. so there is no shipping. I generally purchase smaller amounts, so the cost is higher, plus I haven't purchased in a y ...

This was sterling, but I mixed it myself from 99.9 ingots and copper wire. This piece was not a centrifugal casting, it was a ceramic shell casting - or actually two castings: the front piece is silv ...

When I used to cast jewelry I used a centrifugal caster, I imagine the centrifugal force caused so much pressure that bubbles are squeezed out. I recently cast a medallion out of silver (with a bronz ...

Check a few other places for their shipping costs. For example, Arizona Sculpture supply will charge $14 (shipping to Battle creek) for a 10 lb slab- that's $44/1 slab. Not too crazy - 10 lbs of wax ...

Sure, bee's wax is the most traditional type of wax to use - greeks, romans, egyptians, asia...all the way back to the bronze age. Microcrystalline was developed as a less expensive synthetic version ...