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It's called Bronze Clay and it works along the same lines as Precious Metal Clay. Just sculpt the clay as you would Fimo or Sculpey and heat (in this case, in a metal container filled with activated charcoal) to 1500 degrees for 30 mins and your piece is done.
No investment casting, no wax to muck around with.
As soon as it's available (they say before Sept) I'm ordering 400g of the clay itself along with a bag of charcoal and a firing vessel.
There is nothing quite like making your own replicas and showing them to the public!
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Pedro Bedard
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Wow...are you experimenting with this stuff Pedro?
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Matt,
I have a standing order for everything necessary to get started plus 400g of the bronze clay itself.
If it's anything like the Silver clay, it will be easy to work with.
Heck, beltplates and other items that are needed en mass, can be made in a Sculpey3 mold and then fired together as long as they are separated by a thin layer of charcoal.
I for one am very excited about this stuff!
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TARBICvS/Jim Bowers
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Does anyone know what % shrinkage occurs using this stuff?
Here it is....
http://www.yourriogrande.com/bronzclay/index.html
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I just put in my order for some but its backordered! :evil:
I've had some silver PMC for a while but haven't made anything from it yet. I'll report back when I do and when I get the bronzclay.
Lucianus
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Lucianus,
It's not that it's back ordered, it's just not available to the public yet.
Certain places and schools got a "sneak peek" at it so that they could put their reactions to it online.
So far the reactions have all been VERY good.
I have a pre-order in for it as well.
Titus Petronicus Graccus
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Quote:Lucianus,
It's not that it's back ordered, it's just not available to the public yet.
Certain places and schools got a "sneak peek" at it so that they could put their reactions to it online.
So far the reactions have all been VERY good.
I have a pre-order in for it as well.
Ok, but they really are tempting us! :twisted: I just got Rio's new findings catalog in yesterday's post and they had devoted four or five pages to the stuff. Any idea when it will be available? I know there's a Felix Vtere belt set in my future from it. 
Lucianus
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Wow, this stuff is a real metal when it finishes! :o )
I was a little dubious at first...the pdf gives al the info, thanks Peronis!
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Quote:Wow, this stuff is a real metal when it finishes! :o )
I was a little dubious at first...the pdf gives al the info, thanks Peronis!
Yes, if it comes out looking as good as the jewelry items in that pdf, then I think we've got a real great resource on our hands. Of course you'd need access to a kiln but besides that it seems pretty straightforward.
Lucianus
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Lucianus,
The "kiln" doesn't need to be any more sophisticated than a dozen fire-bricks and two propane torches (one on either side).
You'll easily get 1500degrees that way. Let it bake for 30 mins and voila!
Now the only thing that worries me is that they'll get such a run on it, I won't be able to buy it until the late fall...
Ah well it still looks like great stuff, worth the wait.
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Hmm, I'm still a little dubious. It's a sintering process, not casting--and I don't understand sintering well enough to give an explanation! The finished item has 90 percent of the density of cast bronze. I'd want to see a few finished items up close and in use before being convinced. Will a buckle or crest knob be as strong as the "real thing"?
The firing times in the pdf booklet are up to 9 hours--I don't know if a bottle of propane will last that long! Seems to me if you can get that kind of heat, it might be easier just to melt copper, add tin, and cast some stuff for real! Granted, casting isn't THAT simple, but... This clay stuff seems to have its own long list of idiosyncracies and potential drawbacks, such as cracking, blistering, etc. Looks like it takes a lot of patience to work with (long drying times and such).
I have heard that SilverClay is popular with folks making costume jewelry, though I don't recall any details.
Well, try it out and let us know! I'm willing to be convinced.
Valete,
Matthew
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Quote:Lucianus,
The "kiln" doesn't need to be any more sophisticated than a dozen fire-bricks and two propane torches (one on either side).
You'll easily get 1500degrees that way. Let it bake for 30 mins and voila!
Now the only thing that worries me is that they'll get such a run on it, I won't be able to buy it until the late fall...
Ah well it still looks like great stuff, worth the wait.
Actually, it really does require a kiln. For pieces less than 3mm, you have to do a ramp up at 500 degrees per hour to 1550 degrees and then hold it there for 2 hours for an approx. 4-5 hour total firing time. For thicker pieces you need to ramp up at 250 degrees/hour to 1550 degrees and hold it there for 3 hours, for a total firing time of about 9 hours. I think you might have been confusing it with precious metal clay which I believe can be fired for a much shorter period. Even given a 9 hour time, it still would be less time in the long run than investment casting because you would dispense with the spruing time. The kiln time would be similar to burnout time for the wax. It would be helpful to have a kiln with a programmable thermostat (which mine is not).
Peroni, the information seems to indicate a 20% shrinkage rate. My concern with it would be strength and porosity of the finished product. They do say that it is solderable so perhaps that isnt' so much of an issue.
We'll have see what its like!
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20% eh? that is quite a lot to factor in isn't it? :?
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Adrian and Matt,
I believe the 20% number is the difference between the undried piece, and the finished product.
After drying the piece will naturally shrink. So all one has to do is factor in the shrinkage of the dried piece compared to the finished product.
But don't quote me on that, the literature on the product is mostly of the Rah! Rah! sort. You don't see much in the way of "I like it except for..." posts and blogs yet.
But I for one am still very excited about it, and yes, I'm apprehensive but that's not going to stop me from buying it and giving it a whirl.
Titus Petronicus Graccus
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Pedro Bedard
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