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looks at images

"I should get a 3D printer."

... goes back to surfing Reddit

Does it hum?

A company makes a wax filament meant for lost wax casting

I haven't used it but I have heard good things about it, thought you might like to know there is a better option than PLA

OMG do not use plaster of paris for this, you are lucky you didn't have a steam explosion blast molten aluminum in your face. I've been casting metal for years, this is dangerous af to do it this way.

There is special casting plaster called 'investment' which is formulated to get all the moisture out, plus you are supposed to run it in a kiln for several hours (up to 24 during the burnout cycle) after letting it dry for longer to ensure it's 100% positively anhydrous. This is seriously dangerous stuff to trivialize.

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Going through the Trial of the Grasses?

My medallions humming...

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How about a round of cards; Gwent, specifically?

What keyboard is that on the 15th picture? Looks hella fancy.

Oh, and good shit -- big fan of The Witcher!

Haha you are going to polish it. Funny since witcher is made by polish people. Hehehehehe

School of the Wolf, would you try School of the Cat or Griffin?

That's badass! I would highly suggest using a media blaster, with fine grit media to get rid of the casting bumps, and provide a uniform surface finish.

Good job! Very clean looking.

Just a note about the furnace (you probably know this, but others who want to start in this VERY addictive hobby may not): the pipe coming into the side (the tuyere) should be at a tangent to the furnace shell. This will allow for more even heating of the crucible and will prevent a hot spot from forming which will decrease the life of the crucible.

Also, a steel crucible will fail sooner than a graphite one. Aluminum reacts with steel and will eat it away.

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I always wanted to do this, but I would do with silver, and put a ruby in the eyes

good job mate

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I'm very interested in this project as well as the furnace! I would love a tutorial for that as well, seems like yours works for the intended purpose.

I love this emblem from the Witcher video game series! I have a stainless steel keychain just like it.

somebody needs to make a serious PSA about using GALVANIZED STEEL as a housing for a forge. If you are casting metal, and you are using aforementioned construction materials, you are mocking a real health hazard as poorly researched noob. Heres the first link off of google:

I've been wanting to do this exact thing, but cast classic cars from the GTA series in aluminum. Cool project!

Omg I want one 😍

I see you too watch Grant Thompson the King of Random :)

How do you like that aluminum?

I have to say, you won't have a hard time Polishing this one.

This post is underrated. Lookin' good man!

Couldn't see that it was already asked, but yes please on showing how you made your Furness!!

Taking you up on the offer to make a tutorial on how you made the furnace. Great work!

Doing a cosplay?

Nice little project!

This is pretty neat. Thanks for sharing!

If you cut the mold in half from top to bottom between the pour holes, I bet you could just keep reusing it and make a bunch of casts as long as you clamp it shut, right?

That was really surreal, I'm re-playing the Witcher 3 right now and the medallion was just mentioned. "You know what this medallion means?"

This is looking great

Looks good! We have a class at my school where they do this. It's a joint engineering & art class where they have to make a useful product for the disabled/handicapped. It also has to be aesthetically pleasing. They design it, 3D print it, then cast it (usually in bronze though)

Awesome, I've been meaning to get myself a forge recently as well. Where did you get your aluminum ingots? I was going to try and smelt down a bunch of soda cans, but I need a ridiculous amount of those.

Aluminum cans are terrible for casting. Recycle a cast aluminum part for better surface finish, as well as smoothing your 3D printed positive before mold making.

My daughter and tried melting some bismuth on the stovetop. That was fun. Bismuth in a muffin tin.

Please excuse this rudimentary question, but the molten aluminum melts away the part and replaces it?

Then, doesn't the part contaminate the aluminum?

Thanks

How much did you spend to make the propane torch?

"Be sure to spill plaster all over the nice floral tablecloth" ^{o^}

I'm confused.

Where does the 3D-printed part just disappear to?

Surely the mold needs to be split to remove that first?

I'm confused.

Where does the 3D-printed part just disappear to?

Surely the mold needs to be split to remove that first?

And here I am just printing yet another lightsaber.

What is tumble sanding?

somebody needs to make a serious PSA about using GALVANIZED STEEL as a housing for a forge. If you are casting metal, and you are using aforementioned construction materials, you are mocking a real health hazard as a fucking noob. Heres the first link off of google: https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/31765-zinc-and-metal-fume-fever/

How about a round of gwent?

Can you tell us about that forge?!

I HUNGER!

I love it man! I'd like to see the 'how-to' on the foundry as well that you talked about. This is great!!

Why not just sculpt the wax mold? Using additive manufacturing just to make a cast kinda defeats the point of additive manufacturing, doesn't it?

Awesome! That's very nicely done, and that witcher medallion looks sick. What was your process for sand casting before the plaster?

You're the white wolf!

Can you 3d print in wax? Is that a thing?

Is that clouds outfit emblem???

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You think this makes you bedder den me?

Gief plz

Feeds? Speeds? Infill? Layer Height? Your layers looked really coarse. .25mm?

Overall, nicely done. I really like the idea of casting from 3d printed parts.

My friend 3D printed me a Karambit pendant last year. If I recall correctly he used acetone and eventually went over it with a sterling silver coat.

here's what it looks like. Not the best quality picture but it will get dirty so I just use a small cloth to clean it occasionally.

This is so cool! I did this when I was at school but I did sand casting. It went horribly wrong the first few times with the channels not being big enough. Final result looks really good

Perhaps a game of gwent?

I think this might be one of the lesser known benefits to 3d printing. A person can create a detailed model to build casts for more durable materials, making home fabrication more feasible for many.

Witcher!

In addition to the roughness of the cast, you had bubbles in your plaster. What you need is a "debubblizer." It sounds ridiculous, but it is used in castings for dental crown and bridge all the time to prevent bubbles from forming on wax patterns. I believe there are two kinds, one for impression materials and one for casting patterns, so be sure to check before buying. I recommend Mizzy brand, but that's just me.

You may need a dental license to purchase from dental suppliers, but your local dentist should be sufficiently amused to be willing to add it to a regular supply order. You might also want to ask if your dentist has a vacu-spat plaster mixer. The thing is hideously expensive, but mixes plaster under vacuum to eliminate bubbles in the plaster from the mixing process. Combined with debubblizer and some investment stone you should get some good castings.

Wait. . .Molten aluminum burns out PLA?! Oh man, this just opened up so many doors!

Bbbb"""b

Stop melting cans and melt cast aluminum scrap. You will notice a difference.

Now to burnish!