There are a few pieces of equipment that sound really great on paper
but I wonder if they offer serious practical advantages in the real
world. Any opinions would be welcome and appreciated.
The Electromelt. It looks incredibly convenient and quick, but in
actual use, do you wind up with firescale? It concerns me that there
is no flame covering the melt, even though the crucible is graphite.
A vacuum wax injector. Is this only for the really big guys? It
looks like a good investment. It would simplify mold cutting (no
vents). It also looks as though you would shoot perfect waxes every
time. But do the molds wear out faster? And is the mold clamp
(which costs almost as much as the injector) really a necessity?
And last, these Neutec casting machines. I’m thinking of the
smallest one. Quick, no firescale. It looks so simple to operate, I
feel I must be missing something. Is the drawback that I’ll be
buying Neutec’s consumables for the rest of time?-Steve.
Steve, I use an electomelt often. I use it for the very reason of
firescale. What little oxygen there is in the chamber is
sufficiently soaked up by the crucible and you get lovely repeatable
results with no firescale. I have enjoyed it even more since I
hooked my oven up to a timer (paragon 110v). Can’t help you with the
other items.
Larry Seiger
I will put my 2 cents worth in as follows.
The Electromelt. It looks incredibly convenient and quick,
but in actual use, do you wind up with firescale? It concerns me
that > there is no flame covering the melt, even though the crucible
is graphite.
I used to use an electromelt (the digital Model) and I switched to a
large Victor oxy-propane torch .The torch successfully covers the
melt and the ceramic crucibles cost $ 8 and last years doing 75
melts /week. The torch will melt 500 grams or more in approx. 3
minutes. The electromelt will take 20 minutes for the first melt and
the crucibles will cost more than $20. and will have to be replaced
quite often .The electromelt will need various parts replaced as time
goes on… the torch needs nothing. As the graphite crucible wears
out… where do you think the disapearing graphite is going???
Accuracy…the digital one is more accurate than the non-digital unit
. The electromelt will do its job … eventualy 
A vacuum wax injector. Is this only for the really big guys?
It looks like a good investment. It would simplify mold cutting (no
vents). It also looks as though you would shoot perfect waxes
every time. But do the molds wear out faster? And is the mold
clamp (which costs almost as much as the injector) really a
necessity?
there are good vacuum wax injectors and there are some that are not so
good. The yasui is one of the best and their mold clamp is worth it if
you have the production figures that would warant the expense.Many
people do not know how to use these machines properly as it takes time
to learn how to make them work to your advantage.Next time you are at
a show, bring a mold on an item that you have a really hard time
getting to work… they will have to fool around with the settings a
bit, but it will fill the mold correctly … with practice. You will
still have to cut some vents… not as many…and it will not shorten
the life of your mold.
And last, these Neutec casting machines. I'm thinking of the
smallest one. Quick, no firescale. It looks so simple to operate,
I feel I must be missing something. Is the drawback that I'll be
buying Neutec's consumables for the rest of time?
Again, the cost of crucibles ( probably $ 60 + /each plus other things
that wear out) would steer me clear of these machines as a small shop.
I have had many expensive machines in various companies that i have
designed and built for others and the high tech gear is good for
employees who know what they are doing… but even in this case,
mistakes are made … and get quite costly in materials and machine
parts. This is my Dollars worth !
http://www.racecarjewelry.com Visit the workshop. Daniel Grandi
Hello Steve, Sorry for the late reply,I’ve been gon for a wile. There
will be always new good stuff machinery bla-bla-bla.I live in Germany
due to my profesion and jewelry is my hobby.I work for several years
with old fasion equipment in a hobby centre in Heidelberg,using a
kiln and torch to melt,cast and solder my jewelry.I went to a class
in Idar-Oberstein and there was a guy sitting next to me talking
about al kinds of fancy trademarks like Neutec and things I’ve never
heard from.Now,he asked the instructor for the best equipment on the
market.The instructor on his turn looked at me and posed the question
to me.I was embarezed by telling him that the torch I used was 15
years old and the kiln aswell.All the equipment I had was old.The old
man looked at me and the other student and started with the
estatement that the best jewelry is made by old fasion proces.His
words “The art and knowledge is in the person and not in the
equipment”.Keep your equipment simple but good.Write down what you
want to do and then choose the equipment to perform your work
with.Altough,a progamable kiln is very usefull if …you make your
own program!Consider first before you buy and buy little by
little.You can’t buy a business,a business has to grow. Regards,Pedro
THERE IS A NEW BOOK '‘JEWELLERY MANUFACTURING,THE ART AND
SCIENCE’'374 pages, it describes all the process’s, including
precious metal casting, melting, alloying, and soldering,etc.NEU TECH
IS MADE BY RIO GRANDE, IN ALBEQUQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA.
Advise if you want copy of book. PHIL