You're welcome! Thanks for watching! :^)

Hi! Absolutely. You could make a variety of textures in the wax model. 😀

Hi. Vac-u-coat. This is sprayed on to help prevent air bubbles from sticking to the models during investment. :^) Thanks for watching!

Hi! Thanks for your question. Yes, there is around 5% shrinkage when you cast your wax model. You can adjust for that in the model or after casting. If you want to learn more about making stone settings in wax models, including casting with stones in place during burnout, try our Lost Wax 3: Settings in Wax workshop. Available online and in person. Classes are live with your instructor, and recorded so that you can review them up to a year later. Thanks for watching! www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/539/eventID/8091/details.asp

Hi! Thanks for your question. Yes, there is around 5% shrinkage when you cast your wax model. You can adjust for that in the model or after casting. Want to learn more making stone settings in wax models, including casting with stones in place during burnout, try our Lost Wax 3: Settings in Wax workshop. Available online and in person. Classes are live with your instructor, and recorded so that you can review them up to a year later. Thanks for watching! www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/539/eventID/8091/details.asp

Hi! Thanks for your question. It's a good one. In general, using an acetylene torch in your home is going to be a no: for safety, for local zoning, and for your home insurance. First, check with zoning and your insurance (these can be "what if..." questions, instead of "so I have a gas tank in my house, how do you feel about that"). Acetylene is rated an especially volatile gass. If you're using acetylene and air (like with a silversmithing style torch), your tips start larger than other jewelry torches. Maybe you're working on larger pieces. You can use different torch tips with a smaller torch to get a larger flame sizes, and use a safer setup like a small disposable propane bottle and oxygen concentrator, for big jobs like bracelets. In any case, whether you're setting up in your studio, garage or a spare room, check first to be sure it's ok and safe. Thanks for watching!

Hi - Thanks for your questions and for watching. Shrinkage is 5% after casting. This is an old style of setting and goes back to ancient Rome, if not earlier. If you size the sprue correctly and know how to manage the thickness of the wax model, then using one sprue is often successful. Also, using a casting machine, like centrifugal casting machine or a vacuum casting machine, can give you great results. You can absolutely use a vacuum casting machine for this project. If you want to learn LOTS more about making stone settings for casting, including casting with stones in place, please check out our Lost Wax 3: Settings in Wax workshop. Available online and in person. We have one starting this week (7/25/24). www.silverajewelry.com/classes/w/ID/539/eventID/7878/Lost-Wax-Casting-3-Stone-Setting-in-Wax/details.asp Thanks again! Joe

@@SilveraJewelrySchool Thanks for addressing my questions! I will check that link out.

Hi - Those are all very good questions. These are important steps to do correctly and safely, more than I can cover in a reply. Our school covers lost wax casting in our Lost Wax Casting 1 - the Basics workshop. It's available in person and online. Check it out at silverajewelry.com/classes/w/c/30/Casting for more info and upcoming dates. Thanks for watching. Joe

Hi! That is a common first reaction. However, this method has been used for decades and is carefully engineered. The well or box around the casting machine catches any metal because if any is released it is thrown in the same plane as the centrifuge or lower. There are other methods of casting, too, like vacuum assisted casting. Thanks for watching!

Great to hear! Thanks, Joe

Hi Sharon! Yes, a flex shaft is superior to a Dremel, especially the handheld models. And once you've tricked out a Dremel to be like a flex shaft, the money spent would have purchased an entry level flex shaft. Dremel holders (do you mean a hanger?) tend to be too lightweight for flexshafts. Here's a link to an inexpensive one. You can screw it to a board and clamp that to your table with a c-clamp until you're ready to screw it into your bench. www.silverajewelry.com/store/w/id/1405/c/416/t/Flex-Shaft-Accessories/n/Flex-Shaft-Hanger-Screw-Mount/details.asp Thanks for watching!

Hi @catherinemartina6469 - Dust sucks. Sounds like there's a lot of dust that is not from you but rather just from the space? Or maybe you're making the dust while making jewelry? In any case, I agree with using drawers to protect tools, etc. Covering your bench between work times is a good idea too, but be careful to make sure that your soldering surfaces and anything else hot like torch tips have cooled completely first. I would also suggest boxes with lids to keep dust off of your other materials. Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for watching!

True! But when we add them to the environment through poor stewardship, they're not going back to the mines or into the earth where they were found. They're accumulating in areas that are sensitive to added amounts of copper, like the ocean, rivers, near landfills, etc. Thanks for your comment!

@@SilveraJewelrySchool you can pour poison into the earth and the earth will convert it back into minerals and other elements. I've seen acid turn soil into carbonates.... Even poisoned water eventually is cleaned by being filtered through clay underground. We have pleaty of water on earth and water. Anyway, you have your way of seeing it.

Hi - Thanks for your question. Every metal alloy as a specific gravity number associated with it. You can google it. Multiply the weight of the wax model the the SG of the alloy you're casting. Wax models are very light, so for accuracy, make sure your scale can measure to 1/10th (.1) of a gram. Thanks for watching!

Glad it was helpful!

Great question! For a beginner setup using butane torches and infrequent soldering, it's okay to start with simple ventilation, like an open window. It can be easily upgraded with an exhaust fan that connects with ducting to over your soldering space. Or a dedicated bench fume extractor. Just in case, please note that a fume extractor is for gases, and a dust collector (different) collects dust, like from polishing. Thanks for watching!

@@joesilvera8853Awesome. Thanks!

Hi! It's like a small planishing punch used for chasing. Thanks for watching! Joe

Hi! It's hard to quiet the sound completely, but if you put something under your steel block it can make the sound not quite so sharp. I used to put a mouse pad underneath it. You can also use some leather, cloth or a sandbag. Also, try moving your block so that it is over something solid like a table leg. That should reduce extra sound from hammering, because it's not hollow underneath it. You'll still hear hammering.

Hi! Casting started 6000 years ago with simple gravity pours into clay molds. This is the least amount of force you can use to help your metal fill the mold. A lot has changed. A vacuum table helps to pull trapped air and gas out of the way and pulls the metal into the mold for a good fill. You can also use a centrifugal casting machine to apply greater force to fill the mold. You can just pour the metal into the mold, but your chances of a full casting are reduced. Somethings you can do to assist the casting are to make sure that the sprues aren't too narrow. Add vent sprues on the to the models to keep trapped gas out of the way. Don't try to cast too many models at the same time. Don't overheat the mold! Use the same normal casting temperature as a normal casting, from 900 - 1050°F. If the mold is too hot, the metal may take too long to cool and can cause porosity or other defects in the models. You can add force in simple and very interesting ways: look up steam casting and sling casting. :^) Thanks for watching! Joe

Hi Matt - There are two reasons a rubber button former base will have a hole, in my experience. 1) it's a hole to fit a large main sprue wax rod (this is a partial hole at the top of the button former), 2) a hole in the base and no rubber button former (this is to screw in a NeuTec style main sprue that includes the button shape. www.riogrande.com/knowledge-hub/articles/why-use-the-neusprue-sprue-and-base-system/ Thanks for watching!

Hi! Thanks for your question. Plaster is different from investment. Investment can withstand the process of high temperature burnout. I have a bad habit of calling investment plaster (I don't think that I'm alone in this), so sorry for any confusion. Thanks for watching! Joe

Hi! We have some kits of basic tools for making jewelry that you can check out. Go to www.silverajewelry.com/store/w/c/309/t/Kits/browse.asp Thanks for watching!

Hi! Thanks for watching our video. :^) Yeah, you mostly see jewelers using flex shafts and micro motors. I hope that you continue to enjoy working with lost wax casting! Joe

Hi Peter - Thanks for your comment. I did add flux, just in case you missed it. The crucible was prepared with a coat of flux, and I added a bit of flux during the first part of the melt. Thanks for watching! Joe