Ready to dip
Dip #2 slurry and fine silicone
Detail after dip #3 of hat on left
Detail after dip #3 of inside hat on right
Detail of bird tail after dip #3
After dip #3
After dip 5
Close up view of pigeon/bird 1/2 way through the dipping process.
After dip 8
Close up of hat
Dip 9
Detail after dip 9
Dip 10 is slurry only. This will dry into a nice hard porcelain like shell.
Next, I cut off the top of the cups and pT them for n the furnace upside down.
In my he furnace upside down so the wax Will burnout.
Wax melting out of the pieces.
Heating the bronze. Once it is warm it is put in the crucible.
glowing hot bronze just after it was poured into the piece.
All three pieces after the bronze has cooled.
Breaking off the shell with a sledgehammer and chisel.
Most of the shell is broken off 1 hat. It looks like a very successful pour.
The second hat.
Fowl
I break off enough shell to know how successful the pour was. That takes a couple of hours of intense physical work. The pour of the two hats is great the bird body poured great but the feathers (delicate twigs) did not pour. - another lemonade situation I will have to figure out how to fix. There is still a lot of shell to be broken off first. In order to save my shoulder I will take these pieces to legacy fine art foundry to finish cleaning off the shell.
The ceramic shell is removed, the pieces has been degated ( the removal of sprues and cup). Now to create the texture that was damaged be the sprues and cup.
I made a little progress using the oxyacetylene brazing set up atGlassell TXRX. I still have a lot of work to go.
I have added considerable tail feathers and feathers around the feet called leg muffs. the piece has been sandblasted and now I need apply the Patina. That will be in a separate post.
I have decided to make a separate post for completing the hats.