[Jewelry making - Article 00200] - Re: [Orchid] Sand Casting Advice

[Sam Patania]

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>     I'm interested in doing things more like casting a medal in bronze,
>     gold or silver, but with provisions for mounting stones. I seem to
>     have gotten a lot of negative responses about the idea. 

    I don't understand the negative responses to the idea of sandcasting
    either. I have loved sandcast work all my life, I see allot of it in
    Native American work which I used to sell and grew up around. I have
    seen many examples of fantastic sandcast work, large scale, like big
    bracelets in sterling. I always consider sandcasting something I want
    to learn, like enamel.....someday.... Far from being limited in
    function I view it as a method which will get results like no other.
    Sure wax casting will get any result you could get with sand but it
    is still not sandcasting. Sandcasting provides a quick low tech way
    to turn scrap into inventory which can be retailed instead of
    scrapped. Sandcasting is another method, and art in itself. The
    Oscar Branson books have a description of Southwest Native American
    sandcasting. These are usually one sided molds where the sand is
    carved to get the original then the original is used to pack sand
    around to produce copies. In the world of pure authentic Native
    American art, wax casting or centrifugal casting was completely
    taboo, that was only done by knock off artists in the Philippines or
    China who would buy an original from a Native American craftsman and
    use it to mold, sometimes with the original makers hallmark still on
    it! Wax casting was looked down on by the one of artists, even if
    they made only one and used it to produce as I described above.
    Sandcasting was always viewed as a one of, no matter how many times
    the original was used to pack sand around and make a new mold. I had
    these "hardline" views for may years which prejudiced me from
    learning wax carving and casting. I have since given up my hardline
    beliefs and really enjoy wax carving. My father carves tufa stone and
    enjoys the limitations it provides, limited mold life and
    unpredictable fills, and uses those effects for the final product.
    Incorporating no fills and partial fills into the final design. If
    you want repeatable consistent production work or a more consistent
    casting method, then go with wax and a vacuum or centrifuge, if you
    want one of each time go with sandcast and enjoy the
    unpredictability, textures and design opportunities it offers. 

Sam Patania
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