Sunday, July 17, 2016

Sandcasting

I've been trying to successfully sandcast from my sterling silver scrap for months with less than great results.  It's something that must come with practice because my pieces became better over time but until this weekend I've just taken the piece and tossed it back into the crucible to melt down for the next try.  Finally, I have a finished cast piece I'm happy with.

                                          

We live close to a wooded area and see our share of field mice. I found a mouse skeleton on the back deck a couple of weeks ago and soaked the bones in bleach for several days to see what I had to work with. I decided to try casting the femur.  (I know. It's kind of gross, but I had no part in the little guy's death...and even though it sort of creeps me out I was also weirdly interested in trying to cast it.)




After the pour.  There are generally a few flames and some smoke but it doesn't have to sit long before the mold can be opened to see the results.




I sawed off the excess and did some sanding, tumbled and then added a light liver of sulfur patina. 


3 comments: