Thanks, Hank..., and agree wholeheartedly about the art. I wish more would try their hand.
Richard, here are some photos of the casting process. Not the best or most detailed, unfortunately.
I use a homemade cope and drag of 1”x3” material. You can make them to any size. I think the ones shown are bigger, used for trigger guards. Round metal ones, commercially available, are perfect for smaller things like wrist inlays. Dave has posted nice photos of them. Anyway, I use petrobond sand for the molding sand, which is very similar (if not nearly identical) to delft clay, but far cheaper.
This is the drag (bottom), filled with sand, where the master will be slightly pressed into the sand.
Cope and drag with tapered dowel rod used for the sprue.
Cope and drag showing sprue hole where the metal will be poured into. (I doubt you can see it in this photo, but there’s also several holes punched in the cope, done with 1/8” rod, that come off the mold and act as vents.). I’ve found that it’s easier, and works better to use a “riser” on each end of the mold to facilitate venting and aid metal flow. These are done the same way as the sprue, but smaller, like 1/4” or so tapered dowel rod.
This is a side plate I formed out of steel. The cast one I had was just a bit too small for the lock I was using, so this is what I came up with. The top one is the original.
The ceramic stones work fine on non ferrous metals, but do build up. Using them in conjunction with a cutting oil solves the problem nicely. This is a waaaay overdone side plate that was cleaned up with ceramic stones, then engraved.
Meant to add this above..., shows the cast with small vent holes.
Best,
Ed
