r/PreciousMetalRefining • u/NecessaryItchy8051 • 9d ago
Would appreciate feedback
My goal was a really aged hand hammered look on the front and to practice getting cooling lines in the back.
This was a first using wood to create the mold/pattern and looking for any feedback on the aesthetics...
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u/SignificantYou3240 9d ago
One thing I know only from reading (I’m a newb) is that a hammered surface will look different from a cast surface, so if you want a hammered look, you might have to hammer it after casting, even if you cast a hammered item… the surface will look cast unless you hammer the surface again, because it’s a surface micro-texture.
If you give it a lot of wear after casting so it looks really old and worn, then you might not need it, but for something small it will probably be hard to avoid.
Did you cast a hammered piece of metal for this? Because it almost looks like the mold got hammered… though that might be the lighting angle messing with me.
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u/NecessaryItchy8051 9d ago
It is casted 925 in 1.25 inch wood mold I made.
The peaks came out slightly high so I did hammer them down. The current finish is done used the char from wood and a Dremel to achieve a very old coin or relic that is readable vs a I have no clue what this is.
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u/SignificantYou3240 8d ago
I would try (if I am reading this correctly) try pouring a plain plank, like just make a mold in some clay, and then hammer the resulting blank until it looks like you want… then press that into soft clay, and when the clay dries, pour into that.
The hammering has to be done to the master or the cast, if done to the mold, it’ll make pumps and what you want are shallow dents.
If hammering metal is too hard (it is hard to hammer metal) then you could try making the master out of a much softer metal… tin is pretty soft, there’s also indium-containing alloys that are really soft, though indium is really expensive.
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u/NecessaryItchy8051 7d ago
By putting the divits in the wood mold is the master.
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u/SignificantYou3240 7d ago
Oh… well I mean master as in the original one you’re copying… if you are carving the mold out of wood then I guess… well you’d need the negative of the surface you want, so you’d need the wood to have little bumps instead.
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u/NecessaryItchy8051 7d ago
I made a copper master but when I testing molds I realized making the divits smaller was the same thing. Just had to hammer them a little bit
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u/MAYOMyke 9d ago
Can you give us more info? I’m only assuming what I’m looking.
Are you drop pouring? Pouring silver into a mold a drop at a time?
Again where more info would be appreciated, if you’re trying to sell them, I think it’s kind of cool but I don’t think I’d buy it.
At the end of the day though, if you like it, then it’s awesome! 👏