Applying to join this forum, you HAVE to activate your membership in YOUR email in the notice you recieve after completing application process. No activation on your part, no membership.

Lapidaryforum.net

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Welcome new members & old from the Lapidary/Gemstone Community Forum. Please join up. You will be approved after spam check & you must manually activate your acct with the link in your email

Congratulations to Bobby1 and his Brazilian Agate Cab!

 www.lapidaryforum.net

Another cabochon contest coming soon!

Pages: 1 [2]  All   Go Down

Author Topic: Casting set up....  (Read 5874 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Debbie K

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 137
Re: Casting set up....
« Reply #15 on: May 17, 2016, 04:03:45 PM »

I appreciate the information; I always wear a mask while mixing, but didn't know about the release of particulates when quenching. I'm not inexperienced; have been casting for years and always read the instructions when I can and MSDS's when I can find them, but this is news to me. When I cast, I wear a burn-resistant smock, welding gloves, leather shoes and a face shield; molten metal spooks me a little. And I always do a trial run with my centrifuge to make sure it's clamped down good and solid.

Talia, lots of people don't know where to look for information so anything we can do to minimize injuries is a good thing.

I read something here or at the other forum a few weeks ago about a dangerous thing to do and why; running equipment without a fan belt guard: Guilty as charged. I plan to make one before I use the offending piece of equipment again.

I didn't know when I first started carving stone that carving dry was bad. When I first started, there wasn't much of any information available on the internet or at the library about how to do this correctly. That's why I joined the other forum in the first place, because over the years I learned about the right and wrong ways to do things and wanted to share the knowledge with other peeps.

I think it's fascinating that someone has been doing casting since 1965 using plaster of paris, and I intend to try a control flask with a copied wax next time I cast to see how it works. It would be interesting if I've been wasting my money all these years.


Debbie K
Logged

hummingbirdstones

  • Opalholic and General Rock Nut
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3055
    • Hummingbird Stones Lapidary Services
Re: Casting set up....
« Reply #16 on: May 17, 2016, 04:46:35 PM »

Debbie, please post your results after your test.  I'd be interested in seeing them - and I'm not doubting Slabbercabber, I'm just curious.  I took 2 semesters of jewelry in high school (a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away) and I seem to remember using plaster of paris to invest, too.
Logged
Robin

olgguy

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 370
Re:More on investment safety
« Reply #17 on: May 18, 2016, 06:06:54 AM »

It is more important to wear a mask when disbursing and measuring out the powder. For quenching, just hold the flask with tongs and dunk in a bucket of water and hold it there. Also if you spill any powder on the floor, mop it up wet. Dry powder on the floor will be repeatedly kicked up into the air.
        olgguy
Logged

T P

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 61
Re: Casting set up....
« Reply #18 on: May 18, 2016, 10:52:20 AM »

The only experience I have with plaster used as investment was a friends failed attempt,  He was always one to get in a hurry and mixed 
up hydro cal for investment.  casting turned out very poor in comparison to regular investment. 
Logged

gemfeller

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 544
    • Art Cut Gems
Re:More on investment safety
« Reply #19 on: May 18, 2016, 11:25:47 AM »

It is more important to wear a mask when disbursing and measuring out the powder. For quenching, just hold the flask with tongs and dunk in a bucket of water and hold it there. Also if you spill any powder on the floor, mop it up wet. Dry powder on the floor will be repeatedly kicked up into the air.
        olgguy

What you say about measuring investment powder is true.  But I don't make things up out of thin air.  Quenching is dangerous whether you think so or not.  First a quote and link from Charles Lewton-Brain about dust in the workshop:

“Be aware of the things you do that generate dusts; for jewelers this usually means using abrasive procedures (sanding, grinding etc.-including flexible shaft use), using powdered materials like cristobalite in casting investment (really hazardous), quenching flasks after casting (even more dangerous)…”  http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/dust.htm

And  this video:  http://www.ganoksin.com/benchtube/video/147/

Many jewelry investment powders contain cristobalite because it remains stable at high temperatures needed for casting jewelry metals.  Nearly all commercial jewelry investment contains quartz silica which is also dangerous.
Logged
Pages: 1 [2]  All   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.11 seconds with 31 queries.