First metal casting steps...

A lot of reenactment level work is about learning appropriate historical crafts and skills. This board is for all general skills that don't have their own forum.

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Kortoso
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Kortoso »

Manveruon wrote:Bronze is certainly superior, without a doubt. Unfortunately, a lot of the buckles in film tend to be of a silver-tone, so if you're making replicas, bronze doesn't quite look right.
Yeah, haha, I don't think they had "actual use" in mind when they designed the costume bits. :P
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by caedmon »

Elleth wrote:
I'm going to try for a fire striker. I fell in love at first sight with the Gotland design you see here, and have wanted a Middle Earth take on the idea for ages....

fire-striker-designs.jpg

Wow, I've seen those before and didn't realize they were strikers. How does it look from the side & back?

Also, how are you building your flasks? I'm guessing glue?
-Jack Horner

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Impression: Cædmon Reedmace | bronze founder living in Archet, Breeland. c. 3017
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Elleth
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Elleth »

caedmon - here's some other views of the Gotland striker:
merf-gotland-firesteel-medievalcraft-eu.jpg
merf-gotland-firesteel-medievalcraft-eu.jpg (51.99 KiB) Viewed 22119 times
Available on the medievalcraft.eu site.
(they also have an etsy store)

I won't say I'm disappointed exactly, but I had thought from the store photo that rather than two thin scales, the bronze position was a single piece with a cutout in which the iron fit. That is probably the direction I'll go with mine.


So far as materials-

The molds for you see above are just MDF scraps glued together with hot glue: in future projects I'll be using lego blocks for that part. This is for pouring a silicone rubber mold.
I then use the silicon rubber mold to create duplicates of my carved original in casting wax.

Then we use these flasks in which to pour a plaster of paris investment:
https://www.riogrande.com/Product/Rio-P ... a/70201514

We burn the wax out of the investment in a small kiln, and then pour in bronze.

So far, so good!
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Elleth
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Elleth »

and for my next trick...

None of this is anywhere near final artwork: it's just initial shaping to get an idea. I'll be using my own tree closer to the sketch on the left, but the film tree made a quick standin to fill the blank space. The final model won't include the iron: just the bronze keeper portion. Finally, I suspect I'll have to manually stipple the background behind the tree. Aside from lending a nice hand-done look to the final model, trying to get that level of detail in a 3D model would be an insane filesize.

But anyhow -- onward! I'm expecting this to be ready to order preview masters in a around a month, life permitting.
merf-dunedain-firesteel-00-initialshaping.jpg
merf-dunedain-firesteel-00-initialshaping.jpg (49.47 KiB) Viewed 21495 times
PS - students of ME heraldry: that top portion is intended to echo the Professor's heraldic emblem for the Silmarils. It's hard to tell from that little sketch though: do you read the drawing the same way?

Edit -
a place to preview the model in 3D, providing you're using a compatible browser:
Dunedain Firesteel, alpha version
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Udwin »

Elleth wrote:PS - students of ME heraldry: that top portion is intended to echo the Professor's heraldic emblem for the Silmarils. It's hard to tell from that little sketch though: do you read the drawing the same way?
Yup, looks like Tolk's silmaril to me! Those will be amazing pieces when they're ready!
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Re: First metal casting steps...

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How do they figure that those are fire strikers? That's a new one on me.
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Manveruon »

Oooooooh now that is indeed a lovely thing...
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Manveruon »

Kortoso wrote:How do they figure that those are fire strikers? That's a new one on me.
Correct me if I'm wrong here, Elleth, but I believe the idea is that this is more of a housing for the actual firesteel itself. This part would be made of bronze, or something of that nature, and would sandwich a piece of high carbon steel, which would stick out of the edges, looking a bit like a knife blade. This would be what was used to strike against a piece of flint. Am I about on the mark here?
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Elleth
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Elleth »

Yes, that's the idea. I've tracked down the original find my Gotland repro firesteel is based on to here:

kulturarvsdata.se/shm/object/html/448586

... but there's not a lot of info there. I'm trusting the repro company (admittedly a dicey idea) that the original in question was in fact a firesteel mount, and not say a hinge or door furniture or goodness knows what else.

But anyhow, regardless of what the Gotlander buried with the thing used it for, I like the idea of a firesteel mount in that shape. :)
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Kortoso »

Thank you for the links. I'm not familiar in any Scandinavian languages, but I'll shoot this to my Viking friends to see what they make of it.

Of course, these things don't have user manuals engraved on their back in runes... :P
I've seen similar things in the York Archaeology materials identified as strap-ends.
Fire-steels (in the "eastern style") have been found which are made out of bronze and hold the steel.
Image
But I have to register my doubt about the Gotland repro interpretation, unless there's some (rusted) steel in place behind the bronze piece, which I haven't seen. :mrgreen:
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by caedmon »

Elleth wrote:Yes, that's the idea. I've tracked down the original find my Gotland repro firesteel is based on to here:

kulturarvsdata.se/shm/object/html/448586

... but there's not a lot of info there. I'm trusting the repro company (admittedly a dicey idea) that the original in question was in fact a firesteel mount, and not say a hinge or door furniture or goodness knows what else.

But anyhow, regardless of what the Gotlander buried with the thing used it for, I like the idea of a firesteel mount in that shape. :)
It is a firesteel, The mounts by themselves aren't the only extant finds of this type.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/25192079149796222/

Image
-Jack Horner

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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by caedmon »

And Elleth, you need to stop being so damn prolific it's really hard to keep up! :lol:
-Jack Horner

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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Kortoso »

Thanks, Caedmon, it's easy to see the iron under the bronze now. Cool!
PS: it looks like at the top of these pictures, there are little loops in iron, that the gadget probably had a lanyard or something attached to it so it didn't go wandering off.
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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by caedmon »

Kortoso wrote:Thanks, Caedmon, it's easy to see the iron under the bronze now. Cool!
PS: it looks like at the top of these pictures, there are little loops in iron, that the gadget probably had a lanyard or something attached to it so it didn't go wandering off.
Yes that is interesting, good eye. It also solves certain issues with the mold.
-Jack Horner

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Re: First metal casting steps...

Post by Elleth »

caedmon wrote:
Kortoso wrote:Thanks, Caedmon, it's easy to see the iron under the bronze now. Cool!
PS: it looks like at the top of these pictures, there are little loops in iron, that the gadget probably had a lanyard or something attached to it so it didn't go wandering off.
Yes that is interesting, good eye. It also solves certain issues with the mold.
Interesting - how so?

If I were copying mine in lost wax, I'd probably create the plaster mold vertically, and pour from the top of the lanyard portion. With a stone mold.... perhaps either two panels like in the original, or a three-piece perhaps not entirely unlike a spearhead mold?

Anyhow, I'm honestly curious in your expertise caedmon - I'd like my final piece to be something that could be made with medieval technology, even if the Shapeways staff are actually doing it in a modern studio. Could you tell me what if anything I need to change to be more period-plausible?

Also re: prolific. This is the tip of the iceberg.
Tons of stuff to show off once I get a few more touches done.. and a nice autumn backdrop for photos. :lol:
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