I think it's just bruised. I should wear real shoes but it's so damned hot down here, and humid to the max (green fur grows on the walls this time of year) that you just can't put on more than a pair of shorts and some tennis shoes. All of the local guys who do construction work just wear flip flops or go barefoot.
Richard
Purple Snails
Re: Purple Snails
Rasper wrote:I think it's just bruised. I should wear real shoes but it's so damned hot down here, and humid to the max (green fur grows on the walls this time of year) that you just can't put on more than a pair of shorts and some tennis shoes. All of the local guys who do construction work just wear flip flops or go barefoot.
Richard
that's Mexico for you. livable part of the year the rest it's too damn hot
DA
David and Charlie aka the shop monster
If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
Re: Purple Snails
In examining the cast I found it wasn't all steam; there was shrinkage too. Some of those waxes were just too thin. The molds I poured these waxes in are somewhat adjustable. I am purposely treading on the borderline of too thin since these snail pours are mostly experiments, one of which is to find out just how thin is too thin. There is a limit to the head pressure on these snail pours because of the height of the furnace/kiln I am burning them out in. The maximum height of the investment is 12 inches. If I used my burn out kiln I could increase that a lot but I would use up maybe five times as much propane.
Richard
Richard
Last edited by Rasper on Wed Jun 18, 2014 6:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: Purple Snails
I always wear steel caps, even when working at home, I feel vulnerable without them..I can understand how uncomfortable they would be in the hot weather that you have RichardRasper wrote:I think it's just bruised. I should wear real shoes but it's so damned hot down here, and humid to the max (green fur grows on the walls this time of year) that you just can't put on more than a pair of shorts and some tennis shoes. All of the local guys who do construction work just wear flip flops or go barefoot.
Richard
Mike
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
Re: Purple Snails
Richard
how goes it with the foot that received the smashing load from the investment.
DA
how goes it with the foot that received the smashing load from the investment.
DA
David and Charlie aka the shop monster
If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
If life seems normal your not going fast enough" Mario Andrette
Re: Purple Snails
Richard,Rasper wrote:In examining the cast I found it wasn't all steam; there was shrinkage too. Some of those waxes were just too thin. The molds I poured these waxes in are somewhat adjustable. I am purposely treading on the borderline of too thin since these snail pours are mostly experiments, one of which is to find out just how thin is too thin. There is a limit to the head pressure on these snail pours because of the height of the furnace/kiln I am burning them out in. The maximum height of the investment is 12 inches. If I used my burn out kiln I could increase that a lot but I would use up maybe five times as much propane.
Richard
Look into steam casting as a means to force bronze into thin, petite cavities. In a sense, it's the old school method of injection casting. I've done steam casts for jewelry of a variety of metals and have duplicated an Alaskan size Mosquito perfectly (in its entirety) before. Made an awesome tie tack. Also cast dragon flies that way, and other bugs. It's super easy but requires small melts and individual investment molds (talk'n silver dollar size in dia., or there'bouts). You hold a small cup crucible in tongs with one hand, keeping the crucible in a blow torch flame on high intensity flame, and the other hand ready with a wet pad of leather in the other. When you pour the melt into the mold cup and it fills to capacity you take your other hand with the wet leather padding and quickly and forcefully jam it onto the pour cup and melt and it'll instantly force feed the mold cavity giving absolutely perfect fill even to the teeniest limitation. The pour cup of the mold, though, doesn't have a big gate at the bottom like we use in sand casting and large mold investments. The gating going into the steam cast molds are teentsie tiny no bigger than the head of a colored stick pin (smaller than a b-b). All you're doing is forcing the steam reaction to force the metal through the bottom hole(s) of the pour cup into the mold cavity inside. Otherwise, the metal stays in the pour cup even when it's liquid due to surface friction of the metal. It's pretty cool... you're only melting a small dollup of metal at a time in this fashion. You might ultimately use up more investment in the long run this way but the cast quality and success rate of producing quality casts each time this way can be well worth it. Google it.... read up on it. It's super easy and FUN!!!
Re: Purple Snails
That sounds like a definite thing I will try. Seems a lot better than all of that centrifuge business.
Here are the finished snails.
Richard
Here are the finished snails.
Richard
Re: Purple Snails
They look soooo cool Richard, what's the patina you used
When life gets tough, remember: You were the strongest sperm
Re: Purple Snails
There's a details how-to on steam casting at http://myheap.comF.C. wrote: Richard,
Look into steam casting as a means to force bronze into thin, petite cavities.
Re: Purple Snails
I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black, which I buy in my gun shop. It is used by shooters and gunsmiths mostly on brass gun sights. It is also sold by sculpture supply places as something with a number like M-20 or something like that. Same stuff.what's the patina you used
I dilute it about 20 to one with distilled water unless I really want it to turn black. The dilute mix gives me flexibility using multiple applications.
On the top side of the snails, over the the Brass Black patina, I used cupric nitrate applied sizzling hot.
Then I rubbed them with a Scothbrite pad and water and when dry applied transparent wax.
Richard