Brass Sand Casting / Bureau of Balance Ring pt 1 of 1

-
Here's the first and only (for now) time I've cast anything in brass. I wanted to make some brass buttons for my Taako cosplay so I made a button with the Bureau of Balance symbol in Fusion 360 and then tried sand casting it. Admittedly, sand casting might have not been the best casting method to do this particular design in, but alas it was the only option immediately available to me. I also didn't like the way that the brass looked once cast. I could have drilled the button holes in using a drill press, but I no longer wanted to do all of the buttons in brass for aesthetic reasons. I instead opted for printing them and then painting them with a metallic paint. I have yet to find a purpose for the failed brass button, but I don't want to melt it down and make something else either. I think I might try to make it into a pendant or key chain at some point in the future.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bureau of Balance Bracer pt 1 of 1

-
Image
Making jewelry can get really expensive and I am but a broke college student, so we take a break from your regularly scheduled programming to take a look at a significantly different project than the last. I was going to my local convention as Taako from The Adventure Zone, and I needed a Bureau of Balance bracer of course. I might make another post in the future detailing the making of this further, so if you would like that, please let me know! For now, though, here's the condensed version. I used a leather bracer pattern that I found online somewhere to figure out the general shape and dimension of the bracer. I then added the Bureau of Balance symbol and some (purely aesthetic) lacing holes. Then, being a college student in a dorm, took the flat 3D print and a disposable baking tin to my Keurig and filled the tin with hot water and set the print in it. Having laid a thin washcloth on my arm, I then placed the now bendable print on my arm and molded it to the shape of my arm. Ri...
Read more

6 NAND Flip Flop Ring pt 2

-
Image
 I initially attempted to carve this ring design from wax for my lost wax casting project. It initially started off well, but I am not particularly good at carving anything, much less wax and I was running out of time, so my professor thankfully suggested I stick with 3D printing which I'm a lot better at. My first instinct was to make the design flat and then shape it as I did with the butterfly ring, but there was a lot of risk in cracking the design if I did so. I ended up going with the design on the right, but after seeing the finished ring, I rather wish I went with the left. I also ended up making the band too thick. It was initially fitted to my middle finger, but fits my thumb a lot better. Ah well you live and you learn I suppose. 
Read more

Butterfly Signet Ring pt 1

-
Image
I started making jewelry a little under a year ago, but I've been making 3D printed designs since 2016 (I'm a big fan of Fusion 360, despite all of the hate I see about it lmao) The first time I mashed the two together though, I made a signet ring with a butterfly impression. Why a butterfly? I think they're quite amazing, from the delicate nature of their wings to the fact that they change from a caterpillar which cannot fly to butterflies which can. Anyways, the goal was to create a design which could be sand cast, meaning no overhangs and a flat back, and it would preferably be able to make an actual impression in wax. The first part in achieving this goal was to make a 3d printed ring, and make sure that it had the shape, dimensions, and general feel that I wanted. There were a few iterations before I settled on one, some too big, some too small, some too thick but I finally settled on this. (Please excuse my fat, crooked fingers lol)
Read more