casting sterling silver?

[Chris Burton]

I'm not sure which forum this belongs in, but does anyone here cast their own silver pieces?

I'm wondering what the best way to go about casting sterling silver (and gold) tubes. I know you can carve the tube in wax then form plaster around it, but I' wondering if there is some sort of permanent mold I could make so that I wouldn't have to make the wax/plaster every time I want a tube.

 

[wood-of-1kind]

I'm not sure which forum this belongs in, but does anyone here cast their own silver pieces?

I'm wondering what the best way to go about casting sterling silver (and gold) tubes. I know you can carve the tube in wax then form plaster around it, but I' wondering if there is some sort of permanent mold I could make so that I wouldn't have to make the wax/plaster every time I want a tube.

See Mike (mredburn), he does some fine silver work.

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f13/silver-slim-line-90901/

 

[wiset1]

You can also contact Bruce Robbins (BRobbins629), he has done some pretty amazing work doing this sort of stuff and is a wealth of knowledge!

 

[mredburn]

Or for $7.00 +/- you can buy Ferris fileawax solid round bar in different diameters and just drill and turn them to size as you need them. Its not as cheap as injecting your own if you have all the equipment. but its cheaper than buying the equipment.
ferris wax | eBay

 

[BRobbins629]

Whether you turn or inject the wax, you're still going to have to form the plaster around it and burn out the wax for each tube. You may be able to make a steel mold similar to how they cast ingot, but its unlikely to fill very well without vacuum or centrifugal force and will probably have voids. You could also extrude the tube which is probably how its done commercially, but that too is a big investment in equipment and tooling for each size. Unless you are really high volume, its pretty quick turning wax tubes and there are many places that have the proper equipment and experience to cast at reasonable prices. Its not something you learn overnight.

 

[Chris Burton]

Thanks for all the replies. If a centrifuge is going to be used, can a steel mild be used in one of these? I will probably just turn them in wax and send them out to have them cast, but I'm curious to know about just how much time and money would be involved in getting a steel mold & centrifuge (if that's the next best way to do it).

much thanks,
Chris

 

[azamiryou]

Why do you need to cast your own? Sterling tube is available from jewelry suppliers in a variety of inner/outer diameters.

riogrande.com - very low minimum orders!
hagstoz.com - I'm not sure on the cost, but I think they might be able to make it to your specs
ijsinc.com - usually good prices (used to be way better than Rio Grande, but they seem pretty similar these days)

It's my understanding that when making one's own tubing, it's usually fabricated rather than cast. It's formed and soldered oversize, then drawn through a draw plate (progressively smaller holes) to make it round and the correct size.

 

[Chris Burton]

I need tubing that is evidently a size that nobody seems to carry. It needs to be 0.540" o.d. (or slightly larger) and 0.460" i.d. (or slightly smaller).

Why do you need to cast your own? Sterling tube is available from jewelry suppliers in a variety of inner/outer diameters.

riogrande.com - very low minimum orders!
hagstoz.com - I'm not sure on the cost, but I think they might be able to make it to your specs
ijsinc.com - usually good prices (used to be way better than Rio Grande, but they seem pretty similar these days)

It's my understanding that when making one's own tubing, it's usually fabricated rather than cast. It's formed and soldered oversize, then drawn through a draw plate (progressively smaller holes) to make it round and the correct size.

 

[PTsideshow]

As two the price depending on whether you want new or used. For all the bits and pieces around Three grand give or take for new.
It is a centrifugal casting machine, not a centrifuge.

casting stuff

Scroll down to the bottom of the page they have complete kits on sale currently. And yes if you have some experience in casting you can do it cheaper.

As been said before it isn't something you can pick up in a couple of days. Getting the investment correct and dry all the way through so the water trapped in side doesn't expand and cause a failure can take days.

You could get some silver wire the profile and size you need or close to it and then use a draw plate to bring it done to the size you need. Wrap it on a mandrel cut it to fit, then silver solder it together like making a child's ring. Done correctly you will not see the join seam.
You will have a lot less in equipment costs.

If you really would like to get in to metalsmithing I highly recommend the Complete Metalsmith, By Tim McCreight but get the pro edition as it has everything ones needs to know about basic and general metalsmithing.

The other cheaper editions don't have everything in it, and people generally get the pro edition next.
:clown:

 

[BRobbins629]

If this type of stuff interests you, probably the best money you can spend is on a course in jewelry making. There are teaching centers all around the country. This will give you a better understanding of the possibilities and techniques available in the trade. I've taken 4 or 5 on different topics, some just 1 or 2 day seminars and others for 8 weeks (1 nite a week). I've found that if you tell the instructor the types of things you are specifically interested in, they will be more than willing to gear some personal instruction to your needs. Many places let you use the studio outside of class time so you can get a good idea of what equipment to buy when you decide to set up shop and what processes you may want to outsource to the pros. I did that for casting. While I learned the process and made a few nice pieces, I found out that for me, creating the wax model was what I really wanted to do, and let the people who really know how do the actual casting perform that function. There is plenty of finishing work after the cast is made, but it has saved me plenty of money for my limited volume and I haven't lost a piece yet due to cast error.

 

[mredburn]

THere are reasons that tube is rarely cast as a method of production. Your tube your wanting to make is .040 thick each wall. That does not lead to an easy cast without attaching a lot of sprues. A sprue is a supply channel for the metal to flow through.

 

[PTsideshow]

+1 most in our local area are at the community colleges, They are called bench jewelry/repair or some such title and they could be under continuing education for the trade. They had some really off the wall reason for it being there instead of just an adult enrichment class.
There was 20 people in the classes average, all hobbyist no working store bench/repair jewelers. So it was geared to what people were interested in and still covering the material for the certification papers.
You also can check out any local mineral/rock hound type groups they sometimes offer classes, or the club has the equipment that you can use if a member.
:clown:

 

[mredburn]

Here is a link to Metalliferous
http://www.metalliferous.com/pdf/silver/SCV5_2.pdf

they carry tube in several shapes and sizes although i didnt see what you specked.

They do however state they will do custom sizes.