Solid bronze skull mask - Casting a metal facemask - 3d Printing to metal casting - Lost PLA

In this video I will make a really cool skull mask designed by artist Zane Rogers. I started by 3d printing it using a plastic called PLA. Next I coated the 3d print in a special ceramic slurry called Suspendaslurry. After that I placed the shell into a kiln and fired it at 1500° F to turn them into a ceramic. I filled the shell with bronze consisting of 92% copper and 8% tin. Once cool I broke off the ceramic shell molds to reveal the casting.
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Find Zane Rogers work here
www.myminifactory.com/users/D...
/ trajan19901

[@user-qf6yt3id3w]

You can imagine archaeologists digging this up in a 1000+ years and having endless arguments about how it was made. I like the liver of sulphur, polish and varnish to make it look aged.

[@tahahaider5836]

They'll just watch this video

[@user-qf6yt3id3w]

@@tahahaider5836 There's no way this civilization survives 1000 years without a reboot that takes out KZbin videos and probably almost all tech too.

[@tahahaider5836]

@@user-qf6yt3id3w it'll be available in the depths of an archive somewhere

[@PaulsGarage]

I was an archaeologist for about 6 years so I can tell you for certain they will shrug and label it "ritual object". Anything you see labelled ritual object just means the archaeologist doesn't know what it is. 😂

[@tahahaider5836]

@@PaulsGarage hence the generic labeling

[@erikig]

The Robinson villain arch is shaping up nicely 😅

[@Nobe_Oddy]

that came out BEAUTIFUL!!!!! and I LOVE how you use the patina to really highlight the design well at least it will look good as a decoration if you're never able to make it stay on :)

[@smartengineer2661]

Great result! 😍 It may be more practical to use 3D printing with anodizing for your mask. Where before anodizing it is critical to coat the mask with a graphite mixture (for electrical conductivity of the surface).🙂

[@HagendazPVP]

What an amazing piece, it looks like it should be in some sort of Aztec display at a museum.

[@andreipendle1778]

Simply amazing. You knocked this one out of the park! Also good to see you putting your face out there. Your videos just keep getting better and better.

[@smithdesignwerx]

I would add the mask to a helmet i.e. medieval or fantasy helm. BTW love the rapter claw I bought from you, hope to see more of your creations for sale.

[@00Discourse00]

Just wrote the same suggestion, scrolled down and read your comment. I was thinkin' a Kabuto with horns would be appropriate.

[@0l...-]

Incredible! Usually in casting videos you can see the not so pretty details, but here everything is perfect.

[@bigv6724]

That's freaking awesome and never seen that ceramic casing method before. That brought out so much detail in the mask it's unreal. A thinner mask would help i imagine and keep the current as a shelf queen show piece. If not maybe wearing a sturdy hat or rather helmet and attach your mask piece to that creating a samurai look. I can't wait to see a second attempt with a thinner build so you can actually wear it comfortably. I really hope other melters or casters see this video and try that ceramic modeling method. Some of the content creators make some really cool casting but can't achieve this kind of detail using just the sand.

[@justinbanks2380]

Simply amazing. The processes you use are always fun to watch and learn from, but this one looked simply stunning when you removed from the sand blasting cabinet

[@brandt-heiss]

That mask is so impressive... 😮 Beautiful.

[@DaveyBooBoo]

Didn’t know about this casting method! Amazing design

[@PaulsGarage]

Thats so cool! That looks amazing with the liver of sulfer and polish

[@ElDJReturn]

Very cool, reminds me of Mayan skulls. Also your videos have been getting better! Keep up the good work!

[@projectdirtbikes]

That thing looks sick! It'd be funny if you hid the ceramic shell scraps with the design embedded in them near where old native pottery had been found in the past. Probably throw some people for a loop

[@Druforithe]

OMG! That is SO beautiful!

[@Lol_Pig]

Scorpion from MK would be proud!! Very cool

[@josefmildner7665]

Amazing! Such a craftsman 😁 great work!!

[@slothywoth6128]

Great video as always

[@emailjustinbyrd]

You haven't even had the time to watch it weirdo.

[@OwenTietz-rl6bw]

yup

[@williamlanphar630]

Beautiful detail.

[@MeltAbilities]

‼️BadAss‼️ I ❤️ both your and Zane’s work 🤩

[@samuele279]

Nice! The shrink is likely due to insufficient metal supply to the piece. Larger gates would ensure your piece has enough metal to draw from when cooling, if the gate solidifies before the piece it’ll shrink on itself

[@Electric.overload]

That glove trick was probably the coolest transition I’ve ever seen👍

[@LunarburnStudio]

Fun project, Amazing the difference Fused Silica makes.

[@markhorvat4430]

A ball end or spherical burr would leave you a much smoother surface. The straight burrs are good for removing material quickly, but it’s easy to dig in too much and leave “ridges” near the tip of the tool bit. Just a helpful tip from a fellow friend of the details 👍. Keep it up, I love that when watching your videos, you can really see the evolution of your craft from the first to the last.

[@zohircherifi5616]

Impressive the mask ended looking like a meseum peace

[@Kamal_AL-Hinai]

First time seeing the face behind all this genius work

[@kentieber7309]

it was nice seeing you instead of just hearing your voice. great video and cool project

[@Skylanders_Fun_Facts]

It looks like one of the masks for Scorpion from Mortal Kombat and I love it

[@endless130ify]

Been watching your videos for a while now. It’s nice to see you in the video explaining. Keep up the great work

[@allenstroud4236]

Wow! Thank you for sharing. I learned many things just by watching. Hopefully I can get set up to learn hands on someday.

[@christopherhurray6115]

Wow, a gorgeous piece of art! Reminds me of the work of H. R. Giger.

[@un-factory]

Everything from 3D printers to processing is amazing.😊😊😊

[@Jerimahsts]

That turned out amazing!!!

[@grifftech]

Zane does amazing 3D models!!

[@darrinplank]

Looks great

[@MrDoItAll956]

This is freaking amazing I always thought 3d printing was impractical and was only for making toys but you have definitely made me rethink in how I see 3d printing

[@quixoticjedi942]

You need to make a matching head/helmet for it, that would make a awesome display piece.

[@Constantsorrow512]

Awesome work

[@Myself55]

Looks like a few inspirations from Scorned that one video game…. Very cool

[@anthonyrigley4402]

Nice idea for the hand gard when poring

[@bostitchrider2026]

Wow, very impressive.

[@luiznogueira1579]

Fantastic work! The mask looks really awesome. Too bad it turned out to be too heavy... Maybe you could make a matching helmet or skullcap to support it?

[@sketchi7472]

the design looks very scorn inspired iwl like it gives that like hemo-tech vibe

[@emeltea33]

Super cool!

[@bluewinterwolf]

That looks awesome, you could probably still use those straps and add belt buckles to both on 1 side and just make the fastening pin holes closer together for a better fit, compensating for the weight.

[@AnonOmis1000]

This would be great for a Scorpion cosplay

[@apeschwartz]

Loved seeing you in the video

[@Vibraza]

Amazing!

[@xenogoku531]

Could always attach it to a custom motorcycle helmet, since it wouldn't stay via straps alone. Great work on the details on the bronze, ancient, atlantian looking mask.

[@peninsulahomerenovations9680]

wow looks cool

[@CharlieMetcalf]

That is VERY cool

[@SteveJaeger]

That would make a great halloween mask!

[@theawesomer]

Awesome display piece, even if it's not a practical mask.

[@UKGtrotter2k]

Surprised Adam Savage hasn't had you on tested yet, Amazing work.

[@okbye3933]

Can you speed up the slorry coating by building a smal heating box with a fan? When you dont use wax it wont melt right?

[@charlieevergreen3514]

Truly beautiful design, and your work with it really does it justice. Great job. Next mask, you can use a very hollow back, making it like a deformed sheet, for weight, but I don’t know how difficult that would be to cast. If it helps, the prototype could be made using slip casting: a method where liquid clay is poured into a plaster mold, allowed to firm up just on the lining face of the mold before dumping out all the clay that remains liquid. It leaves a very thin shell, with all the detail on the outside, and an inside that seems like an inch of snow on the lawn. It’s similar to your ceramic mold, but on the inside instead of the outside, and done in one pour instead of multiple dips.

[@lundgrenbronzestudios]

It would be interesting to see how thin you could make it. The thinner I go the harder it is to fill the entire area before the metal freezes. Especially with a lot of surface area.

[@Arcticwhir]

so cool

[@paulmhoward]

This is beautiful. Can the liver of sulphur at 6:26 be used with something like painters tape to patina specific portions of brass and copper?

[@digitizer101]

Curious where do you get the fused silica? does it come from a big box hardware store or do you have to special order from foundry supplier?

[@zaxthedestroyer675]

This makes me think of samurai masks. While it is heavy if you created a helmet themed around this mask, you could maybe create some form of hook that attaches to the helmet

[@user-ko3je5js9c]

Great work! , you got a new subscriber :)

[@frikkiesmit327]

Stop it!!! Just stop it!! Noo dont stop. You doing flippen nice!!! Real pro man. Now i remeber why i subbed.

[@charlesdebarber2997]

Leather working enthusiast here. You're not far from what you need here. You need veggie tan straps with fabric leather glued on the interior to make it comfortable. One strap needs to be along the lower crown of your head. Regardless, the weight is going to give you a neck ache. However, a better harness will make it work.

[@sealpiercing8476]

Make it into part of a helmet. That would help with suspension, and a whole helmet with this kind of aesthetic would be so cool. Definitely need to keep the weight down for the remaining pieces if you go that route though.

[@haighs9900]

this is so cool! have you tried that method where you coat the print in carbon then electrode metal on to it? that would make it lighter

[@yorkshiremad]

Just a thought, if you fill a large bucket with sand, then pump air in from the bottom, So the sand is Bubbling, it would make coating the mouldings much easier and give an even coat of sand. Great Video

[@thunderbasilisk1352]

Damn that looks gorgeous! Also would a couple of adjustable buckles not work? It doesnt have to be pretty just stable enough to be able to pose without holding it.

[@wernerpfeifer]

Grandios!

[@BLURby84]

An upper piece to go with it might help hold it well and be a great project piece to make.

[@joepearson9704]

ALong with the leather straps you have, you should try an overhead strap from the ring holes on each side.

[@tattooeddragon]

I have this very mask! ( the plastic version ) It was my staple when covid was a thing 😊

[@numbersabcdefg]

What type of silica did you replace it with that's better??

[@DrihunGaming]

you can use a kitchen sieve to pour on the silica faster and more evenly. get one roughly the size of the box and get the full coat needed with only 1 passing per axis rather than several passes per axis. edit after rereading my comment, who cares haha. if it works for him then keep doing what you do

[@user-fj3yh1ux9z]

Do you think having a kiln ramp profile (500f, 700f, 900f, 1500f) for x minutes each would help prevent shell cracking?

[@kznsq77]

Great work! You should make also a helmet and attach it to this mask.

[@dilian245]

Hey dude, nice video. I just wanted to ask you about the gloves that you're using? do they have leather in them? Do you know where I can find these?

[@je-fq7ve]

You need a plaster cast of your face to go between you and the mask. It is not to hard to do. Use plaster bandages use for a broken arm. Start by shaving, put Vaseline on your face, soak plaster bandages and place on face overlapping. You can incorporate any straps into the cast also.

[@MrHellsing76]

I've been considering doing this to work on armor, props, and especially, large resin printed figurines for high detail items, have you ever considered or experimented with resin printed figurines casted in metal?

[@agentfifteen]

Isn’t there a way to cure the coatings faster? Also to completely eliminate air bubbles would it be possible to cure it in a vacuum chamber?

[@XXCoder]

You probably could use thick foam pads to space mask away from your face so you can tighten it to hold better on face.

[@chrischerry2787]

That looks really good! Is an electric kiln essential for lost PLA casting? I've built my own small gas furnace but can't find the $$$ for an electric kiln.

[@geuis]

Lovely. Easily my favorite since you did those similar style statues a couple years ago. Have you looked into doing resin printing to get finer detail and no layer lines? I've seen a few other folks on KZbin doing it, mainly for jewelry type stuff. I have no personal experience with this product, but there's "Siraya Tech Cast - Castable resin" that other folks have used.

[@JordanSpaz]

This would make a sick Dying Light 2 mask!

[@bryrusmi4001]

Suggestion: get either black or red leather in a thin strip. Attach it to the bridge of the nose. And have it go over the crown of your head and glue it to to the top two pieces of your existing straps. It's a slight modification from the original design intent, but it would make it workable and distribute the load.🎭

[@jimmy88000]

Hello, I just finished watching all your videos on the subject of foundry. I also aspire to get into this practice. I am looking for a simpler method for making molds, often made with red sand. I noticed that your sand + wallbord joint compound + cement floor, gives excellent results, which is of particular interest to me. Personally. Do you sell your creations? I would like an aluminum or bronze model. In any case, I would like to congratulate you on your remarkable work.

[@RaminOhebshalom]

Bravo

[@00Discourse00]

Y'kno' what? Add a Kabuto helm with horns to provide support. I think that would be a fantastic way to expand your repertoire of skills, and ensure that this piece doesn't just sit on a shelf.

[@henuel906]

Hello, can yuu use the ceramic shell to cast an very detailed bronze sword/Dagger i'm not fan at all of sand casting?? Your videos are very nice! Thx for all the good work.

[@popcatzoo]

is there no sand between the first and second layer?

[@rachelg552353]

WOW 😊

[@shadowscribe]

What if got a helmet to attach it to offset some of the weight?

[@FunDumb]

So f'ing cool bro!

[@Diazjake]

That’s sick! The next one should have a hinged jaw! 👺

[@ggbullion]

Very cool. 1st of all-- subbed. You are great, dude. Even if it didn't turn out EXACTLY as you intended, your stuff shows great craftsmanship. Thanks for giving me a motivation boost to melt & pour some silver as soon as feasible. ❤ You are making some really cool stuff, I know you're likely a bit busy to respond but I'm curious how you got into the method which you use. I, for the most part, pour into shaoes with high-density graphite molds w/ insulated propane furnace. (I'm also kinda broke, but would love to get into more of the kind of stuff you are doing some day.) How did you get into that style of pouring/metalworking? Anyways, we Smithys are total Chads 😉 Respect from Detroit. 😎🇺🇸😎

[@DragonAtelier]

As I am thinkig - for a bronze mask - it is too heavy to wear - even just for CosPlay of some sort. Either way - how much does it weight?

[@gloriouslumi]

Three pounds, he said. He reduced the thickness of the model considerably, but even that wasn't enough. Keep in mind that gold is twice as dense as bronze, so it can't be that unreasonable. Aluminum would be a much lighter alternative, or even Aluminum Bronze (approx 68% vs 6% density reduction, respectively). As long as it's secured properly, it shouldn't be too bad. Look at industrial respirator masks for ideas of how to hand things from your face lol

[@DragonAtelier]

@@gloriouslumi thnx for the info bout the weight. Regarding the metal choice - it was not needed - I am a metal caster myself 😉😁

[@beserkergang]

I wonder if there would be a cheaper way to do this? Say you didn't have a kiln, could you make a wood fired kiln from mud like primitive technology builds? What could you use for the slurry coating?

[@maxcactus7]

Archaeologists in 2123 "This mask dates from the pre-Aztec period in the ancient Americas! It is a meticulously crafted piece of art and the only known example of it's kind, made in the infancy of the bronze age in the Western hemisphere. Given it's unique nature and exquisite detail, collectors value this piece in the tens of millions of dollars, if not completely priceless. As such, it will be displayed as one of the crown jewels in the Smithsonian."

[@raresboghean2974]

I hear that you can do that whit plaster as well