This was my first casting project. Made over the course of a week, these animals were hand-sculpted in wax. The wax was then mounted to the lid of a mailing tube, then the tube was inverted. A metal casing is ratcheted on the outside of the mold so that the metal does not leak out if the mold cracks. On the other side, we poured investment casting material, which then hardened around the wax. After the mold hardened, we then removed the lid attached to the wax and poured the molten metal in.

When the molten metal hits the casting wax, it almost immediately vaporizes, allowing the metal to seep into the void where it used to be. After the whole thing cools, you can open up the mailing tube and then break open the investment cast to reveal the final cast.

Contrary to my expectations, molten metal does not flow slowly like lava in the movies. In fact, when heated sufficiently, it has a very low viscosity like water! (Which is both very cool and very terrifying to handle.)

Final steps include sawing off and dremeling excess metal, sandblasting to smoothen, and finally adding patina to add contrast to the cast. Not too bad for a first try!