What would I have to do to get a resin Ring cast in metal?

Djinn

Djinn

Sr Member
One of my own rings I mean.

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In a conversation n another board I mentioned it would be nice to one day cast one of my resin rings into brass. And someone told me that there are places that would do it for me if I gave them the wax original or a resin copy. So my real question was, what are these places and where can I find them? Would I just have to contact some random foundries in the area, or would I need an actual jeweler for that type of job?
 
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Re: What would I have to do to get a Ring casted in metal?

I would contact local foundries, that's how i found the one i am using for the constantine lighters and my Voyagers Omnis (and other props in the future).

Be sure to ask about pricing and quantities, Lost wax casting is quite a timeconsuming process and for only a handfull of rings, the cost per ring might be very high.

Also make sure you know what kind of master model they will need. My foundry tried, but couldn't make suitable molds of the lighter parts and we ended up doing molds out of rigid Urethane rubber.

cheers.

Marc
 
Re: What would I have to do to get a Ring casted in metal?

Megatron... you seek Megatron.
 
Re: What would I have to do to get a Ring casted in metal?

That should be cast in metal, not casted in metal.

In before MVerta!
 
Re: What would I have to do to get a Ring casted in metal?

Yea, I kinda realized that after I hit submit new thread....
 
Re: What would I have to do to get a Ring casted in metal?

Hehe. Just having some fun. BTW, if you edit your post and click 'advanced' you can edit the title. Took me a while to figure that one out.
 
I still really have no idea where to start here.

Do I need to look up Jewelers or foundries? I'm only looking for cheap yellow metal, so I thought Brass would be the best idea.
 
djinn
hello I did two runs of rings on the club obiwan forums.
and can help you if so desired.
i understand the frustration of not knowing how to go about having something made.
the cost of a ring molt to be made is about 30.00 dollars and having it cast in bronze is another 25.00 or so.
afterwards the mold is yours to be stored or destroyed as you see fit.
do a serch for class ring on the cow to see my work
cheers george
 
Do you have a RTV mold of that ring? You may need to make a new one for a jeweler to use.

If so you can send it to a casting office and they can do wax injections and then cast in metal. Only problem is, that most jewelry casting houses are Trade Only, meaning you have to be in the jewelry industry. You can try The Casting House and see what they say:
http://www.castinghouse.com/

We haven't used them yet since our store has a local caster, but I've looked into them for our rapid prototyped models and heard very good reviews. And it looks like they cast in Sterling and other alloys like brass and steel.

- Jeff
 
Good Idea Jeff. I was going to say make a wax cast of the ring. Then you can make a lost wax casting out of silver or something. It's a one of a kind thing because the wax melts away. If you can make a bunch of wax casts, then you can make as many as you like.

It's easy to do if you have access to the equipment. I make a few rings like this when I was in the Army.

Here's an overview of the process.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/515_lost-wax-casting.htm

FB
 
^
Yeah their videos are pretty good about the general idea of doing it, but trust me there is a LOT more to it then that. What I would suggest is to get a nice clean RTV mold made and send the mold to the caster. Don't try to do the wax copies yourself, you need a jewelry grade casting wax that is heated up and under high pressure to get a nice clean model.

- Jeff
 
I made a ring from lost was casting in high school out of sterling. It was really fun doing it. I made a ring with my initials on it (NJW). My teacher said stay away from letters because it won't turn out, but I didn't listen. So the "J" looks like an "O", because I did not carve it well enough.
 
You could cast it yourself in a low melt metal like pewter.

Another good alternative is to talk to a dental lab. They're used to working with small, detailed pieces and can do some very unusual metals. They're often happy to take on something out of the ordinary.
 
KJ is right. Many platinum silicones can take the temperatures of low-melt metals. If you can get your own metal and you can melt the metal, casting should be no problem...if you need to go through all this trouble:

Many jewelers/jeweler supply stores can cast it for you if you have the wax. If not they can make a wax for you. Just be prepared to pay$$$.

One suggestion:

Your original and all wax castings need to be as perfect as possible since the casting process will amplify and create flaws in your final piece. So, you need to sharpen all corners and edges and make them as clean as possible.
 
i second the dental lab suggestion, i just recently in Dental school casted my own 3 unit bridge for a preclinical course (meaning all on plastic models). As part of it, I had to autowax the teeth by taking an impression of the teeth present which in all honesty is a silicone mold with a durable jacket then filled that with melted dental casting wax to use as the pattern.
 
drusselmeyer said:
KJ is right. Many platinum silicones can take the temperatures of low-melt metals. If you can get your own metal and you can melt the metal, casting should be no problem...if you need to go through all this trouble:

Many jewelers/jeweler supply stores can cast it for you if you have the wax. If not they can make a wax for you. Just be prepared to pay$$$.

One suggestion:

Your original and all wax castings need to be as perfect as possible since the casting process will amplify and create flaws in your final piece. So, you need to sharpen all corners and edges and make them as clean as possible.
Click to expand...

I don't recommend casting hot metal into any silicone, the molds swell and it destroys the mold real fast. You need an investment mold.
 
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