[Jewelry making - Article 00097] - Re: [Orchid] Using Antique Brass Mold?

[Ian W. Wright]

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HI,

    I haven't heard of brass molds being used for silver casting although
    I don't see why they shouldn't work. The blackening inside IS the
    release agent - smoke or to be more precise, soot. If the mold is
    cold then the silver should chill and its outer skin should harden
    almost instantly. It may be that the mold would be dunked in water
    quite soon after the silver had been poured. However, if you only
    want something that looks like a silver bar, why not just use
    plumbers' solder. I have a couple of brass molds around somewhere
    that were used for making lead models of Spitfire and Hurricane
    planes just after the war and I have cast many models in these using
    plumbers' solder. In this case, the molds need to be a little warm or
    the surface of the casting is wrinkled. Again I smoked them to
    provide mold release. If you do make a silver casting I would be
    interested to know the outcome - perhaps I will search out these
    molds and make a few silver planes.... 

Best wishes,
Ian

Ian W. Wright
Sheffield UK
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