I could then expose it to water or something which gets rid of the
origional non-wax material leaving my nice hollow detailed wax
model.... or something to entirely replace the wax itself that can
be burned out... paper clay or sugar substance
OK, here’s the thing. I haven’t posted to this, because although I
cast frequently, I haven’t gone into these realms myself. Let’s say
that you get a hollow rubber ball, invest it, and cast it. What you
will get is a solid metal casting. If you use water soluble wax,
build a model around it, dissolve away the core, and cast it as-is,
you’ll also get a solid casting - or a bad casting from leakage of
investment inside it. A hollow casting must be full of investment -
that is, inside and out, to be hollow. The way sculptures are done,
as has been mentioned, is to make a core that has bits (struts?)
sticking out, wax around it, invest so that the bits sticking out
bond
to the outer shell (thus holding the core in place after the wax is
gone), and empty it through the holes left from the “bits”. And then
patch the holes with the mother metal. The other way is of course to
cast in pieces and assemble after. It doesn’t matter what you use to
make it hollow, you must also fill it with investment and have some
method of supporting the core in place after the wax burns away, or
it will just be a round about way of making a solid casting. And if
the core falls it will just be garbage.
I sometimes need to be reminded that every once in a while somebody
wants to know if my ranting and rambling has any truth or purpose
other than amusing myself.
I received several queries as to the validity of my defamation of
the microwave, that sacred cornerstone of modern civilized existence.
Here’s what I replied…
Well,
I hate to say i believe everything I read in newspapers, but ...
I read it in the papers. Several papers. As well as i can recall
- the negative effect being reported was specifically with
regard to the destruction of 90% of those compounds in broccoli
(and some other vegetables) which, it is claimed, tend to prevent
cancer. I don't know the names of those compounds. Maybe they
fall under the general category of "anti-oxidants." The papers
in which the articles appeared are ordinary, middle-of-the-road
mass-circulation daily papers - neither supermarket tabloids
claiming that Martians are having sex in the White House, nor
organic-hippie-eco-radical scandal sheets claiming that the
government is brainwashing us with TV hypnotism. I read the
article(s) to which I refer approximately 2 or 3 years ago. I
don't remember the dates. However, lest I leave you thinking my
memory is shot, let me say that it is not. It is just that I am
not in the business of convincing other people what to do with
their microwave ovens - or I would have taken better notes and
backed up my statement with references.
My decision Re: microwave eviction was more complex than that,
however.
I do 99% of all the cooking in my family and always have. 40
years ago, in a previous life, I was the chef at the Italian
restaurant in which the young Anthony Bourdain was inspired to
become a real chef. My decision to 86* our home's microwave was
only partially based on the supposed destruction of nutrients.
That was the last straw but only a very small straw. The other
99% of the straws which broke that camel's back consisted of
endless occasions of mediocre food emerging from the stupid
machine. A matter of personal esthetics, taste, and autocratic
one-man-rule in my kitchen.
I'm sure you can find out what you want about microwave effects
with some googling. Good luck.
Marty Hykin in Victoria BC, where we don't mince words, at least
not as often as we mince garlic.
* "86" - Restaurant / bar slang meaning "to banish an unwanted
patron," or alternately, "we are sold out of some menu item."
Getting back to the real thread for a sec, this book:
is the best I’ve ever seen about casting sculpture or anything large
it’s a hands-on tour of a sculpture foundry, and how things are
done.
As to the new thread (microwave shenanigans) - popcorn, leftovers - I
won’t throw it away, but that’s about what it’s for - popcorn and
leftovers. Heating a cup of water for tea, melting butter. Cooking?
That’s not cooking…