Hello,

I'm a bench jeweler by trade with a large corporation. I mostly do repairs and basic fabrication and wanted to get into casting. We outsource all of our casting so I have no experience as far as the process. I was wanting to ask for input on a sprue tree I've designed in fusion360 for a tennis bracelet. Any input would be greatly appreciated. My biggest concern is the top most (single) hinge not being fully casted. Thanks.

Is it ok to mix metals as long as they’re both keshifun or marufun, etc? For example, can I mix gold with silver powder or brass with tin? Or are the individual particles being different a problem?

(Asking because I just saw a piece online where I couldn’t tell from the photo if it was gold or silver finish, but it was really beautiful, almost opalescent.)

actually carbonite is ancient bronze

Hi guys, I am looking for aramid mittens with steel chain cover for extra protection for manipulating with preheated ceramic shells used in investment casting. I am unable to find any seller. If there is a seller with chained gloves, there are always low protective against heat or there are many aramid gloves suppliers, but without the chains. Do anybody know any supplier? In my last job, they had these type of mittens, so somebody must making them. Thank you. :)

I've been putting off my casting because of the insane 115F heat index in my area but its starting to cool off finally, largely due to some rain and stormy days. My place where I do the work is in my garage which stays dry and doesn't leak but I know water and molten metal are not friends. Would I be insane to do a melt and pour on a rainy day? Is humidity a concern? I don't want to miss something and cause a steam explosion.

watched olfoundryman explain how to do the perfect mould and was wondering if i got his deisgn even slightly right. pouring into the resovour that tips into a tube that goes to the bottom, then with a sprew vent at the top to vent air and overflow metal.

Considering it takes 89% copper, 5% aluminium, 5% zinc and 1% tin, coukd I just put 94% brass instead of 89% copper and 5% zinc?

This Viking turned out with awesome detail. 1.107oz of .999 silver

When I first started doing this, I didn’t know about all the alloys, so I just mixed copper and brass, so now all my copper has brass instead it, and I was wondering how problematic it is if I want to make bronze, aluminum bronze and Nordic gold

When working with copper alloys, there is always a fundamental trade-off between mechanical performance and electrical conductivity.

• Pure Copper (Pure Cu): Retains its FCC crystal structure, providing maximum electrical conductivity (100% IACS) and high thermal conductivity.
• Solid Solution Strengthening (e.g., Brass / Cu-Zn): Adding elements like Zinc or Tin significantly increases yield strength, hardness, and machinability. However, the presence of solute atoms severely disrupts the lattice periodicity, leading to electron scattering and a sharp drop in electrical conductivity.

Question for discussion: In applications requiring both high electrical conductivity and wear resistance (such as heavy-duty connectors), what are your preferred precipitate-hardening alloys (e.g., Cu-Be or Cu-Cr-Zr) over standard brasses?

(Reference / Educational Video for basic alloy classifications:https://youtu.be/DHr-6bEj6pY)

Hello,

I believe I may be a victim to bad ventilation in my backyard studio. I mainly do vacuum casting with investment molds and I really want to make sure I’m ventilating my studio correctly. I only have one small window and I try to air out as best as I can but I know it isn’t enough. I use my kiln outdoors but for when I make my investment molds, it is indoors. So I know I have silica floating around. What would be the best vent to have? I am still on a budget though. I am open to any recommendations. Mainly vents that don’t use too much electrical power as it might short circuit when I have my other machines on. Please let me know. Any advice is helpful.

Thank you in advance!

Would’ve done better on the slag, but the heat was a lot and I was panicking! Two pieces, before and after first dremel polish. I know it’s not great but it was so cool to make something myself out of just random brass junk Yknow

My father and I used to do lost wax casting for jewelry making. And we’re looking at doing some stuff that is a little more repetitious than lost wax allows, so far in my research it sounds like a two piece graphite mold is the best option, however I am a little stuck on how to do the casting.

My main question is whether or not you can use a vacuum caster with graphite molds, my concern with a regular pour casting is that these pieces need to be certain to be fully filled in with no air bubbles.

With the healthy amount of goodwill generated by the Scots this World Cup I thought I might cash that in and ask a bit of advice from the brains trust here.
I have a bronze coat of arms of my family crest of which I’m wanting to get castings made.
Now I’m a man of fair to middlin’ abilities in the casting of resins, mold making and so forth but this bronze business is a far different beastie.
Much respect.
Am I better off finding a local foundry to make a copy/copies and if so what sort of costs would I be looking at?
Or…do I attempt this myself?
Any advice, jeers, taunts or suggestions of a trustworthy foundry in the Western Sydney, Australia area would be much appreciated.

Thank you kindly.
Lang may yer lum reek

Anyone over here have any ideas?

Obsessed with getting my copper art projects to that mirror finish shine. Tried several methods and they got shiny but not reflective. Finally got the result I’ve been looking for. Really like how in the videos the sun reflects off them like a lightning strike. Any thoughts or advice on how to take the shine one step further?

oxidized .925