Reply To: What is the best way to cast bronze?

[Kelly-Meirt]

Hello,

I just finished a casting course at my Community College and learned how to cast bronze using the lost wax method. This is a very simple process and fun. The following steps are how to achieve a lost wax casting with bronze.

1. Create a mold in the shape of the item you wish to cast using clay then coating it with plaster.
2. Cut the plaster into two halves and leave a place to pour melted wax into them while they are held together using string, wire, or any method of tying.
3. Melt enough wax at around 200 degrees and pour it into your plaster mold.
4. Take the wax form out of the plaster mold, clean it, and shape it the way you want it.
5. Attach a wax rod to one end and wax block to another end to form vents for gases to escape and pouring the molten bronze.
6. Dip the wax mold into a casting resin and then into sand.
7. Let the resin and sand coating dry.
8. Heat the mold up to 400 degrees to melt the wax completely out of the mold. Now you have a mold to cast bronze in.
9. Heat bronze ingots up to 1500-2200 degrees depending on the grade on bronze in a crucible.
10. Once the bronze is completely melted, pour the bronze into the mold and let cool.
11. Once the cast object is cooled, quench in water and begin to clean and shape the cast object the way you want.
12. Finish the object anyway you want. Some ways include color patina, oil, and paint.

Let me know if you have any questions or if there is anything different you have learned.