Casting silver? I need help

[AntCaps]

hy guys I know this might not be the right place for this but I need help.
a couple years ago I had some neat little gears waterjet cut out of some steel, I turned a couple of them into lanyard beads for my knives.
now I would like to try to cast a couple of these in silver my plan is to make a 2 part silicone mould of the steel parts no use this to cast up wax replicas then use those to cast plaster/investment moulds for the silver.

Is this feesable? Is there an easier way? I'm sure I got the wording wrong but I have no experience in this kind of thing.
thanks guys
Anthony

 

[Albertese]

This is very plausible. I'm a dental technician by trade, and I do lost wax casting every day. I think the hardest part is going to be making your two-part silicon mold and using that to replicate the cogs in wax. That would depend on the shape of the actual gear, the depth of its teeth, its overall thickness and diameter. The only other option I can think of would be to sculpt the gear from wax freehand, but that would probably be very difficult to get right.

In any case, I have a lot of experience making wax copies via silicon molds and I guarantee you, you will have to clean up your molded wax with some hand-waxing/carving. And I recommend taking a metal instrument and gently rubbing the surface of the wax-up after you demold it but before you start to add wax, as the silicon almost always leaves a faint static charge in the wax which causes the first few touches of molten wax to splatter on the surface.

The wax you use also matters. But I assume that if you know what investment is and have access to it, you probably also have the right kind of waxes available. I assume you'll also have access to the appropriate tools for despruing the casting and finishing/polishing it's surface.

And of course, I'm sure the final product is purely decorate. Silver is fairly soft metal and would be a poor choice for a functioning cog.

In other words, you seem to be on the right track, but if you have other questions, I'm happy to help if I can.

--Alex

 

[AntCaps]

Thanks I'm not 100 percent sure on the wax but Im assuming that I could use the carving wax that jewlers use. These will end up being beads and pendants so no issues on the silver being soft.
Thanks Alex I appreciate the help

 

[PotionMistress]

You might try Precious Metal Clay (PMC). It's relatively easy and there are lots of videos and websites and info about using it. You can get silver or gold clay (not cheap!). Here are a few links:

http://www.metalclaysupply.com/?gclid=COHqh_P43MICFQESMwodLnoA6g

http://www.amazon.com/PMC3TM-Precio...364558&sr=8-1&keywords=metal+clay+starter+kit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JswFU9V1LOg

 

[AntCaps]

I found something called "delft clay" I think I might go with that it seems easy to use its not suuuuper cheap but if it works it will be worth it.