How I pour molten metal into ceramic shell

[@morfeussssss]

Нет таких эпитетов, которыми бы можно было вознаградить автора за его труды. Спасибо за ваш труд.

[@felixseib4482]

The video I was waiting for. 😍 I like your style to explain all the details. It's the missing part, compared to the more spectacular videos all over youtube, that show the process for casting metal in a short rush and when you try it yourself, you end up in frustration, because it's all these details, that you're missing. And your videos are filling this gap. Now I feel much more confident for my next casting approach. 😃 Can't wait to see the next video, how you open the shells.

[@LunarburnStudio]

Thanks for your kind words, The reality is that casting can be dangerous and just randomly experimenting can be a problem. I have to admit i was surprised at how little information is out there, so just trying to do my part to rectify that.

[@lachlanmatthews7248]

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. in a short time by watching your videos I feel confident in being able to move on to casting my own sculptures.

[@LunarburnStudio]

Glad to hear my videos have been helpful. What are your sculptures like?

[@f.demascio1857]

VERY informative man. Great video & demo. I envy your set up, but take inspiration as well.

[@CIA_Alien]

Just retired out of the military and I have always wanted to try some molds like this. Would be interesting printing off some blade profiles and pouring some high carbon steels for this vs forging them... Have lots of leaf/coil spring material laying around I could use. I don't think a propane forge would be sufficient to melt these metals? I have a couple bags of coke in the garage, perhaps I could use that inside of a clay forge with high temperature refractory brick? I know this coke is rated at around 4000F so I would need a solid crucible! *Thanks for all of the instruction! Very thoughtful of you to take time out. Stay safe!*

[@glowpon3]

I've been watching metal melting videos for a while, and this one shows so many good hints I hadn't heard. Excellent description on carburation and checking temperature. Thank you so much. ^,.'.,^

[@علییوسفی-ه9ث]

Very good and useful. In my opinion, besides being a good teacher, you are also a great person

[@LunarburnStudio]

Wow, thank you for your kind words.

[@ChristophLehner]

Great video as always 👌

[@lee2003uk]

Thank you learned a lot from your videos explained well excellent

[@LunarburnStudio]

Great to hear!

[@jpjpJPJPG]

It sounds similar to making a pour over coffee, love that sound

[@PK-qg8wl]

Nice! Your a great teacher.

[@LunarburnStudio]

I appreciate the kind words. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[@thomashawson4781]

please help with a question: have a sculpture to make and my foundry burners are struggling to heat to poor temp. i fear my recycled iron pipe burners are too small 1" int dia and would like to know what size you are usuing and do you put a flare on the hot end? and how do you proportion the top vent to the burner size? Thank you very much for your fab videos, along side formal training and some time in a working foundry as apprentice i have been very excited to finally build my own foundry and hot shop for fabricating sculpture. Your videos have been a great help for me make the leep into one man foundry process.

[@LunarburnStudio]

I am glad to hear you are finding my video helpful. it does sound like increasing your burner size will help. and your exsust port may be be a bit small. I would make it 5 to 6 in dia. Are you running one burner or two?

[@renofranczek9511]

Didn't know you sometimes preheat to 2000....wow. Thanks for this great video and the instructions on lighting one up!!!

[@LunarburnStudio]

Not often just for super thin stuff.

[@HoldtSteen]

Nice setup you have established there. I have recently made my first bronze pours. Similar sizes to your skulls, and about 60 kg total in several molds. I have been watching all your videos to gain knowledge on ceramic shell process. They have been very helpful. Also made my own kit of tongs, but had to go with a two person setup. Being able to pour large pours on your own is pretty cool though.

[@LunarburnStudio]

If possible it's safer to have an extra person helping. but having the option to go solo is huge.

[@HoldtSteen]

@@LunarburnStudio Come to think of it, I do have a question for you. Some of my pours are with very high surface details that I need to preserve (skin texture). I haven't had time to clean off all the ceramic shell yet, but I am seeing a lot of "dendrites" on my surfaces. So probably from having bronze penetrate between the grains of sand in my ceramic shell. Looks like I can chisel them off with little- to no ill effects. But I am wondering, if additional coats of slurry with no silica is enough to counter this, or I need an even finer mesh silica for the first coat with sand? I think I did sand on the 2nd or 3rd coat of slurry this time around. Seem to recall you previously mentioning something about using... another denser and fine grain for your first coats. I just thought that maybe the additional slurry coats could do some of the same?

[@LunarburnStudio]

For high detail surfaces one or two slurry only coats should be good. Let me ask are you brushing the slurry after you dip?

[@HoldtSteen]

@@LunarburnStudio Hmm, my comment might have been deleted for containing a link. Yes, I do brush and stipple the slurry after a dip to dislodge air pockets. I have noticed that dipping after silica have been applied, it will keep exposing more air pockets. That is probably the nature of dipping and soaking a porous shell I guess.

[@LunarburnStudio]

@Steen Holdt Between course coats I defiantly let the shell soak a bit. but on dips that are over the 50/100 mesh sand I like to pre-wet with a mixture of colloidal and distilled water (50/50). This brake the surface tension and allow better bonding between those early coats.

[@aminbagherloo1444]

Thank you for your good training, please tell me what material your furnace is made of, if it is made of ceramic blanket, please tell me what temperature and what thickness and density it is?

[@LunarburnStudio]

I did use silica wool in my furnace build that is encapsulated within a castable refractory and a final coat of Satanite. I hope to finish a video on my furnace build soon.

[@aminbagherloo1444]

Thank you so much

[@aminbagherloo1444]

@@LunarburnStudio I built a furnace exactly like yours, today I tested it for the first time and there is a problem, when I turn on one of the burners, everything works fine, but when I turn on both, gas accumulates in the furnace and an explosion occurs. It happens and makes a loud noise, please guide me, also the blower I used feels weak and I need to change it.

[@LunarburnStudio]

@@aminbagherloo1444 Yes it sounds like your blower is under powered and is not push all the gas into the furnace chamber. what size crucible are you using?

[@aminbagherloo1444]

@@LunarburnStudio The inner diameter of the furnace is 36 cm and the depth is 50 cm. I thought that a40 would be the right size. Please guide me on what power blower to get so that everything works properly?

[@gastonoyarzun4084]

Bueno tu vídeo me puedes compartir información sobre la estructura con que retiras el crisol del horno.

[@gastonoyarzun4084]

Fotos o dibujos

[@LunarburnStudio]

It is a unique solo pouring rig that was designed by @Chicagocrucible. www.chicagocrucible.com/custom-foundry-equipment It is dependent on having a overhead gantry/crain.

[@anitalim]

Is this generally a one person job? Does the weather and temperature outside affect how much time you have to pour the metal? Why is the platform that the shells are standing on filled with sand? What does the sand do to the metal droplets? Why do you have to avoid mixing hot metal with cool metal? I've seen this one video on tiktok where someone seemed to be doing a pour but there was a sudden explosion and the metal splattered all over them. Is that what happens?

[@LunarburnStudio]

1. Typically most foundries use a team of 3-5 people. Its just with this spciel piece of equipment that allows me to pour by my self. But to be clear, I try to have help when I can. 2. Weather can play a part but I do pour year round. 3. if molten metal splashes and hit a bear concrete floor it will bounce/spray/explode. The sand creates a barrier or air and insulation. 4. Its all about the inherent moisture on the cool metal that turns to steam and expanse in a violent way that is unpredictable. That is why we do everything we can to keep moisture away from molten metal.

[@thomasbonnotte763]

Great video, really interesting to see your process Can you tell how you fix the shell when having a leak on a part of the piece please?

[@LunarburnStudio]

It depends on the size and shape of the leak. If it is just a pinhole it just be a matter of putting a cold piece of steel over the leak freezing the hot metal to form the plug. Larger holes can be plugged with a heat-set refractory or some times a mixture of slurry and chopped fiberglass. either will need to be help in place till the patch sets before resuming the pour. And some times you get lucky and the leak will freeze it self off as it did in this video.

[@thomasbonnotte763]

@@LunarburnStudio Ok, that's clever, I'll definitly will try fiberglass+slurry on large plate shapes to test till how it can handle it. Many thanks master.

[@Iflyagrasshopper]

Very informative! Thanks for posting!

[@LunarburnStudio]

Glad it was helpful! Let me know if you have any questions!

[@aminbagherloo1444]

I see that a layer of mortar covered the inner surface of the furnace. Please tell me what mortar did you use?

[@LunarburnStudio]

I used Santnite. I am working on a video that will explain my furnace build.

[@stevendephillips2490]

Your videos and the way you explain what and why you are doing is excellent. The question I have is what kind of crane you are using seems to be a jib crane. I am a one man show as well and am thinking of building a jib crane so i can swing it over and roll the trolley in and out by hand then i only need to use the hoist control to move crucible up and down.

[@LunarburnStudio]

I wish it was a jib crane. Its a small bridge that you have to manually drag, North /south its too heave to pull with the hot metal so I can only go east/west. So I line up the furnace and pour pit along the rail.

[@DragonAtelier]

Another thing cane to my mind after my last hollow cast. Do you break the shells inside your casts? I was thinking about your skull casts. Do you try to brake and take out as much of the shell from the inside of the skull? I have difficulties regarding that matter. I just cannot hammer the cast so much because I made it in aluminum and the wall thickness is about ~5mm. I was hammering the rise and there is a crack already. So maybe will putting it in water and when the shell with soak it it will break easier? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@LunarburnStudio]

I do try to get out as much of the core material as possible. I will keep that in mind as I am spruing and if i need to create access points to facilitate the removal i do so. Soaking the shell in water will not dissolve it or make it weaker.

[@DragonAtelier]

@@LunarburnStudio thank you. I thought it simplier to be honest ☺️

[@LunarburnStudio]

have a video that will go live in about an hour that talks about shell removal. If your castings, especially aluminum are too fragile to break out with a hammer you will need to rely on sandblasting to remove the softer shell from the metal.

[@DragonAtelier]

@@LunarburnStudio yes. It was my first hollow cast and I made a mistake that I made the walls of the cast too thin (only 4mm). Should have done a bit thicker, maybe 6 or even 8mm and I would be fine. Well I think. waiting for the video then ☺️

[@robverboom5392]

Super clear video (once more!) - thank you. I am considering resuming the bronze casting my father did in the mid seventies Where he was using traditional investment, I plan to us the ceramic shell process and your videos are very helpful for understanding and learning this technique. Watching this video, I was wondering if it wouldn't be easier to have the crucible in stationary position (i.e. tilting only) and manoeuvre the shells - lined up - instead. I can see a rail for the lateral movement of.a tray on which another tray (similar to the one you have) can move in the perpendicular direction.

[@LunarburnStudio]

I am glad you are finding my videos helpful. As for moving the shells to the metal, there are tilt furnaces that use a similar method that you suggest. I have done it multiples ways over the years, this current setup allows me to pour without the need for assistants.

[@ashley6725]

Have you done the casting in a metal flask? I'm doing a reproduction of a mixtec brooche, and I need to cast it but don't have a large setup. So, instead of dipping the wax, have it in a flask and pour slip into it?

[@LunarburnStudio]

Metal flasks work with a plaster base investment, not so much with the ceramic shell.

[@Jose_Angel7]

Super LIKE!!! Thank you!!!!

[@DragonAtelier]

Great video as always from you Eric. I got a lot of information from your videos and they did got me to the place that I am now. I use shell casting process also but as solo and more of a home made, I bury my shells in sand actually. I do not have space and maybe I am more afraid of the molten metal going out of the shell. Maybe thats why I use the sand burying technique.

[@LunarburnStudio]

Burying shells in sand has its place and if you are concern about leaks thats fine. Just make sure you cover the entirety of your pattern and if possible preheat your sand to keep the cold sand from cooling your shells.

[@DragonAtelier]

@@LunarburnStudio that is what I try to do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. But I am not a professional sculptor and metal caster. I learned all that I know by myself and with help of videos like yours Eric ☺️

[@DragonAtelier]

@@LunarburnStudio also I am looking for those heat resistant mitts. I think I found almost the same but I would like your opinion on them. Better to get with or without steel mesh - the contact heat resistant is 900*C (without steel mesh) and 1000*C (with steel mesh)? I do not know about the costs but for protection it does not matter much for me. Safety is first. Thanks.

[@LunarburnStudio]

The stainless steel mesh is nice in that in that it does increase the temp you can touch but also greatly increased the life of heat mitts. The company i got mine from is silverneedle.net/molten-metals-gloves/

[@DragonAtelier]

@@LunarburnStudio thank you Eric!

[@kevinbreslin5718]

Maybe make your sand tray longer and line up the molds so you don't have to go around.

[@LunarburnStudio]

Good idea, that pour pit is what I was using with my tradition 2- person rig. Just got the solo rig this past summer.

[@wikusdp]

Awesome setup and process. If I can possibly give some criticism it is that you have your crucible to high above the pouring basin/cup. If possible reduce the height of the pour. Less turbulence will give a far better outcome. With turbulence comes oxides. I love all your videos and always look forward to the next one.

[@LunarburnStudio]

I agree that Im a bit high on this pour. Still working out the logistic and choreography of the new solo rig. But you are spot on regarding the issue with too much turbulence. I am glad you enjoying my video and thanks for supporting the channel!

[@KingBoy-kf9wr]

You used colloidal silica

[@LunarburnStudio]

In what are you referring to?

[@nuttapongvg6490]

อะไรคือ ceramic shell ?

[@LunarburnStudio]

Ceramic shell is an industrial material made of a quartz based silica that allows for high detail and thinner castings.

[@nuttapongvg6490]

@@LunarburnStudio หาซื้อ ceramic shell ได้จากที่ไหน

[@michelevitarelli]

great video. no need for background music. its distracting and unessessary.

[@LunarburnStudio]

Noted! Glad you enjoyed the video.