Casting

I hope you're able to do it -- I'd like to see some of your work. With me it's a battle of time. I have the equipment, stones and desire but stuff like preparing income taxes, waiting in line to get the car smogged to avoid huge fines, the never-ending upkeep chores around the house, dealing with the evil ways of machines that quit just when you need them most and seemingly endless obligations of one kind or another -- wow, I'm tired just writing that! But everyone faces the same hurdles. I guess I'm just slowing down a lot.

Thanks for the kind words Daulton. I'm not familiar with the Emesco brand but assume (from Google) it's a centrifugal machine. There are several excellent books about casting and I imagine YouTube has a host of casting videos. If you're looking for a good general manual to gain an overview of the process I highly recommend Tim McCreight's "Practical Casting." One important safety concern with centrifugal machines is making sure they're inside an enclosure. Many people use a small metal washtub so that if something goes wrong the molten metal is contained inside it instead of burning holes through the user. I use a Neycraft machine that incorporates an enclosure as part of the centrifugal design. There are commercial enclosures available through most jewelry catalogs but galvanized wash tubs are cheaper (I think).

The creative part of casting is working with waxes to create your own unique models. Taking a stone from its rough state, polishing it, then casting a one-off design for it provides a lot of personal satisfaction. One gets the same satisfaction by fabricating a setting as well but casting opens design possibilities that are sometimes impossible with fabrication. Good luck and let us know how you're progressing.