[Jewelry making - Article 00206] - [Orchid] Bronze casting temperatures

[Kathy Johnson]

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    I cast some charms and pendants out of the Rio Grande "Ancient
    Bronze" for the first time yesterday. I was quite confused by what
    little info I could find on bronze casting in books and online. I
    found several widely varying melt/flow temperatures--anywhere
    between 1800F and 1950F. The variance was due to differences in the
    makeup of different types of bronze. I don't know what the exact
    makeup of "Ancient Bronze" is, so I had to guess. 

    And I only found one reference to flask temperature--1250F. I checked
    the grain every 500 degrees as the electromelt heated. It finally
    melted at a temp very close to 2000F (top end of the gauge on the
    electromelt). I set the kiln to keep the flasks at 1250F and cast at
    that temp. 

    The resulting bronze was all covered in *thick* firescale and it
    took a lot longer to get the stuck-on investment off the pieces than
    it does with silver. Is this normal, or did I do something wrong? 

Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Jewelry
http://www.fgemz.com
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