Lunarburn Studio is the studio practice for sculptor Eric W Stephenson.
On this channel, I will present videos that will improve your sculpture-making skills by demonstrating different sculptural processes such as metal casting, welding, ceramics, glass, and new tech.
DISCLAIMER My videos are for entertainment and educational purposes only.
By reading this statement you acknowledge that there are inherent and significant elements of risk foreseen & unforeseen associated with sculpture work, including being close to hazardous and dangerous materials. With full acknowledgment of any potential risks, You hereby release and discharge Lunarburn Studio LLC and its owners from any and all liability for personal injury, property damage, or wrongful death that may result from replicating any activity in these videos. You agree that under no circumstances will you, your heirs, your estate, or your personal representative present any claim against Lunarburn Studio LLC and its owners.
is there any alternative of slurry? like plaster of paris mixed with grog? i live in the southern part of the Philippines its hard to find a components to make a slurry.
Thank you so much for your videos i learned a lot. I have a question. Since i dont have a kiln, is it okay to heaten the shell using a blue torch before i pour the melted bronze?
Have you ever seen an ANKARSRUM Kitchenmixer-System? It supports to mix the slurry by using such a piece of wood or something, fixed to the barrel. By the way- thanks for your nice videos. 👍🏼
Yes, the ceramic shell needs to be first heated to evcuate the wax then to 900C/1600F to vitrify the shell. After this is a good idea to let cool and inspect for cracks and then patch. When you are ready to pour, preheat the shells to around 1000F.
Colloidal silver is not the right material. You need to look for "Colloidal Silica". It typically come already suppened in the water base liquid. To my knowledge it is not something you can make out of common materials.
Hello!! I'm really loving all the great info you are releasing!! Thank you so much!! I tried to open the links for the Dipping Charts but they seems not to work anymore. Can you help with that? Thanks
I have watched this a few times trying to learn as much as possible. I have a question though. Could you share your thoughts on how the recipe could be modified to make a suitable mixture for casting into a mold and having the ceramic as the final product rather than casting metal into it?
Interesting question. Id say reversae the process. Because the of the nature of the material you wont be ablto to just pour it in solid, it will crack as it dries. Instead try to slush the slurry in and pour out. then pour in a fine grain stucco/sand. Using a blower or airhose dry that layer. once dry repeat to desired thickness. Let me know how it works out.
I wouldn’t do that. During burnout the fiber glass will melt out creating voids that will fill with metal and interfere with your detail/surface. As for the cracking how soon does the cracking start? are you doing a slurry only coat your first dip? Are you cleaning your. Wax for dipping?
thank you for your knowledge on this subject, iv done sand casting, yrs ago, i want to try this i have a couple questions for you on your batch you talked of water how much of that would i maybe need to start with. iv looked for the products and found them but who do you get yours from. ill be making half what you do so i can just buy a 5gal bucket instead of 50gal. again thank you for passing this knowledge on.
I get my materials from Remet.com When you say water, you mean colloidal correct? With the AdBond II my mix is 1 part colloidal 2 parts fused silica flour.
@@LunarburnStudio ok 1/2 the water you talked about was to freshen it. sorry guess i should clean my ears, at least pick the grass thats growin. thanks wish me luck
When using certain tools with wax, should I keep them just to using them on wax? or is it possible to use them on other projects? I know with the wax residue it could be a problem but I was just curious!
I try to keep my tools separate for different tasks, but there is always cross over and thats fine. just heat them up and wipe them down before using them for something else.
It depends where in the process it brakes. If between the first 1-5 dips ill fix with slurry and fiber chopped fiberglass cloth and continue dipping. Much after that Ill continue to dip the parts separately and fix after burnout. But its really on a case by case basis. But if your gating is consistently braking away from your patterns the problem is probably how your welding your wax parts together.
I've been watching metal melting videos for a while, and this one shows so many good hints I hadn't heard. Excellent description on carburation and checking temperature. Thank you so much. ^,.'.,^
Some of the colloidal companies also sell wetting agents. I worked in a foundry in Texas and they used a diluted mixture of "Mop-in-glo" a floor polish/wax. Not sure of its chemical breakdown.
Hi Eric. Love the channel. The one thing I would love to see in more detail is the afterburner on your burnout kiln. I want do do some casting but im worried about someone seeing black smoke when i burrn out a shell lol and calling the fire department.
Anyone ever try just straight drywall plaster? I thought it would be a bad idea, because of the cracking problems and also that I don't think it's waterproof after it hardens, so it can melt. That could be a good thing though if you're casting a complex part and want to be able to clean out the shell material from hard to get to areas. I just worry that it's just not a good, reliable medium for making casting shells. The person that made the video showing it didn't seem to have any problems at all and he was making pretty decent sized parts (over 50 cubic inches if I'm not mistaken).
There are a number approaches but if you are looking at a plaster as your main ingredient, you are talking a variation of standard investment. I do realize there are some DIY'ers that have tried a layered approach using plaster but that is chemically different than ceramic shell. The challenge of plaster is that it does not like to release its water content in a timely way, even in a kiln burnout and cure times can take days. But if drywall plaster is all you have, I would mix silica sand into it to help it withstand the thermal shock of burnout. It will also strengthen.
REMET is competitive price wise but not sure if it is the cheapest if that is what you are looking for. I find their products and customer service to be super consistant though.
As for the cups anything combustible is fine. And they can certainly be all Wax. I prefer the Styrofoam because of evacuates that much quicker. There is something said that it’s not great for the environment but there’s so much other nasty stuff out there that it’s a drop in the bucket.
After fixing the seems do you ever alter/modify the shape of your casting so that it works with the overall project? If so, what issues have you encountered?
As I prepare for my first attempt at this process for a ceramic shell, I am impressed by how easily you can make changes to your mold before casting the metal. I've only ever cast from sand; the clean-up process can be a lot. This takes longer, but I would instead melt wax than grind to fix a problem. Especially where if I still mess up, it is easy to remember and start again.
Have you done the casting in a metal flask? I'm doing a reproduction of a mixtec brooche, and I need to cast it but don't have a large setup. So, instead of dipping the wax, have it in a flask and pour slip into it?
Im not sure I understand the question. The best way to dry each coat is air movement. (I use several fans) I also have a de-humidifier in the room which also helps.
@@LunarburnStudioYou do a slurry only first coat but sometimes it cracks and peels during drying. I'm suggesting trying very fine dry silica gel or colloidal silica powder on top of the first slurry layer to reinforce it without loosing detail.
You are exactly right. I was originally taught to do slurry only first coat but to add strength and durability I dust with a fine silica grain. I use Zircon.
Just a small point of tool advice, you may be better off getting a small portable bandsaw for cutting those sprues off. Using a zip-cut dis on a grinder without the guard is very, very risky and can lead to gaining some truly horrifying and disfiguring injuries to your hands and face (consult google images). I've found that grinders tend to also be very hot and slow when cutting sprues, they just aren't very efficient. Milkwaukee makes a variety of offset-blade bandsaws of various sizes that cut very fast and cut a lot more safely than a grinder.
hi sir can you say me about chemical formula of silica binder, AdBond II colloidal because i have not access to commercial bond in iran and i really want to steel casting
I saw a video of a DIY Electric Arc Furnace yesterday, made and tested it today. Cost me 20 bucks 30 minutes time and works a treat. Aiming to do some lost wax or lost PLA fdm casting. Been researching slurry mixes and options. Cheaper the better. Figured I'd tackle that tomorrow now that I have a working EAF
That is awesome! nice work on the new furnace, I have not tried that yet. There a number of way to do lost-wax casting on the cheap with a plaster based investment. Unfortunately ceramic shell can be pricey because of the setup and equipment traditionally required. But if your starting out, its best to use "Just-Dip" or "Suspenda-Slurry". I know it seems pricey $200 per 5 gal, but its ready to go. and its enough material to get 15-20 shells (small to medium) in size.
Hey thank you so much for taking the time to make these videos! I'm trying to make the transition from plaster sand to ceramic shell. These videos have given me the confidence to make that leap.
