Sometimes I cast the wings separately, but since I don’t do my
own casting, it gets very expensive because it means having
several molds made instead of one main mold. I usually add the
legs and antenna separately by hand to keep the costs down. I
haven’t tried filigree, but once I made an insect with wings made
of wax wires. It was very delicate but it made the casting man
crazy and he felt it couldn’t be done in a rubber mold, so that
piece is really strictly one of a kind. Thanks for your response.
Sandra/ElegantBee
Hi Sandra,
I’m the resident dental tech on the list. Two things that you
can do are:
Get some Duralay acrylic from a dental supply house. Make your
wing or other intricate one level part. When it is finished,
coat it very lightly with vaseline, mix the acrylic
powder/liquid and pour the acrylic into a small box big enough
to fit the piece. When it looses its’ high lustre and takes on
a sheen, carefully place the wing into the acrylic and gently
press it down taking care not to go past the undercut on a round
piece. When it sets, the piece can be carefully removed. You
can now die lube the mold lightly, blow it off and flow wax
directly into the mold. Be sure that the entire wing is molten
before it sets or you will have seems.
or
Get some lab putty from a dental supply house. Mix the
appropriate amount, and press the piece into the putty. Let it
set for 15 min. Pick out the piece and you now have a mold.
Duralay can be used in the mold and you have a plastic part that
can be attached with wax and will burn out cleanly. You could
also use wax.
Good Luck,
Skip
P.S. You can E-mail me directly if you wish
Skip Meister
NRA Endowment and
Instructor
@Skip_Meister
09/05/9712:58:29