[Jewelry making - Article 00663] - Re: [Orchid] Making my own Crucibles

[Linda Savineau]

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Maybe this will help you !???

    I just finished a week-long workshop with 3 African silversmiths
    (Mali, Burkina Fasso, Niger, one of them being a Tuareg). It was a
    wonderful experience working with so little equipment and obtaining
    such a perfect technique. 

    1. We used only a small charcoal fire and a pair of bellows made of
    goatskin (legs still attached). No problem to melt silver (no
    discussions on propane versus butane or acytelene ...!) and pour
    ingots. 

    2. They used tamarind (a pod like plant) + salt as a pickle 

    3.(the most interesting !!!) As casting investment we used ...
    donkey donk: make your model out of wax, put the donkey dunk
    carefully, little by little around the wax, let it dry near the
    charcoal fire for a day, melt the wax and pour it out (and re-use it
    of course), put the mold in the fire , melt the silver, pour it in
    the mold and there you are! 

    4. That donkey dunk mixed with clay was also used to make small
    crucibles. 

    Of course time was not of any importance but what an enriching
    experience! 

Greetings to all,
Linda (Belgium)


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