Hi, let me first start out I am a complete noob to model making, I am an industrial design student so I do however know some things, for years Ive had a sick obsession with the Key Of Bastille that Lafayette gave to George Washington I have hundreds of pictures and have even contacted Mount Vernon for the exact dimensions of the key, my question is, how do i make my own? I have no soft modeling experience but it doesnt look hard to sculpt, I was thinking of using Super Sculptey but that was as far as i got, the original key is made of iron, so if you guys had any idea what process i could go through to go from Sculptey to Iron, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Key Of Bastille
- Thread starter pkott716
- Start date
IEDBOUNTYHUNTER
Sr Member
Got any pics to show us for reference. theres more than one way to build it.
as a fellow industrial designer welcome.
as a fellow industrial designer welcome.
I Contacted the Curator at mount Vernon who gave me the dimensions its about 10 inches long and weighs 4 lbs out of wrought iron, she also sent me a picture of it with a dollar bill for size reference, anyways, heres a pretty good picture of it
http://emuseum.mountvernon.org/media/full/CT-6615 W-14 A&B.jpg
http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/72...3459118DE602188171D599C200D1EB01E70F2B3269972
any ideas on how to make it?
what i really need is, what material you guys think it needs to be sculpted from, then if that material can be cast directly into iron, or what process i need to go through to get it to iron. thanks guys.
http://emuseum.mountvernon.org/media/full/CT-6615 W-14 A&B.jpg
http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/72...3459118DE602188171D599C200D1EB01E70F2B3269972
any ideas on how to make it?
what i really need is, what material you guys think it needs to be sculpted from, then if that material can be cast directly into iron, or what process i need to go through to get it to iron. thanks guys.
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Iv Libahrt
New Member
If you'd like more information or have a question about the Mount Vernon Bastille Key, I'm writing a book about it: www.bahrnoproducts.com/Bastille_Key.htm
Iv Libahrt
New Member
I'm pretty sure, per my re-measurement request, the Mount Vernon Bastille Key is 7 3/8 inches long and weights 1.18 pound. I also believe that while molds have been made of the key, it is very difficult to cast satisfactory iron replicas from them. Hence you get the styled, cast iron replicas such as the ones recently made for Trump and Macron. More in the book "George Washington's Liberty Key" and at www.LibertyKey.US and its embedded links.
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This is just a rough ball park idea. Sculpt it in Aves Epoxy putty, Or magic sculpt.
Or a sculpting clay like Chvants NSP.
You can then make a wax copy of that and do a lost wax casting.
I don't know the exact process but you can read up on it.
You might be better off finding a small local foundry that does sculpture casting.
While you can do it at home it takes a bit of practice and time and equipment to get it right.
http://foundry101.com/
Keep in Mind it will not be cheap.
Another way is to 3d print it
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26717
and then do a similar technique to lost wax casting
I think they call it lost PLA.
https://makezine.com/projects/guide-to-3d-printing-2014/metal-casting-with-your-3d-printer/
Instead of iron you can cast it in low temp Bismuth alloys
A bit cheaper and easier to work with than brass or iron.
Or a sculpting clay like Chvants NSP.
You can then make a wax copy of that and do a lost wax casting.
I don't know the exact process but you can read up on it.
You might be better off finding a small local foundry that does sculpture casting.
While you can do it at home it takes a bit of practice and time and equipment to get it right.
http://foundry101.com/
Keep in Mind it will not be cheap.
Another way is to 3d print it
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:26717
and then do a similar technique to lost wax casting
I think they call it lost PLA.
https://makezine.com/projects/guide-to-3d-printing-2014/metal-casting-with-your-3d-printer/
Instead of iron you can cast it in low temp Bismuth alloys
A bit cheaper and easier to work with than brass or iron.
