Casting considerations
For some, the first thought may be about equipment cost, which is a valid concern. Overall, the cost of the equipment necessary to cast varies, depending on your production requirements. One might want to consider the words of Igor Shersher of Platina, a full-service trade shop in New York City. “Buy in cheaply, you sacrifice quality, get in expensively, and you can’t afford it,” he says. Since casting equipment prices are readily available by perusing the supply catalogues likely lying around your shop, I won’t address this issue specifically. One of the most important points I want to convey in this article is that consideration of the process may require factoring in many additional parameters.
For example, consider the cost of installation. Does your infrastructure easily accommodate a kiln, ventilation system, wax preparation, and investing? Another great question that may be tangential to cost is training. Is your shop prepared with enough expertise to cast both successfully and efficiently? If the expertise is in-house already, the decision may be simpler than if either you or an employee will need lengthy training. The apparent simplicity of the casting process can be misleading—it is an incredibly nuanced field of expertise, and each year we learn more about how the process really works, both to achieve superior casting success and to precipitate failure. One hard truth is casting problems often don’t show up until the final finishing process. Micro-porosity is one example. Poorly formed crystalline structure—created by anything from contaminants to improper flask temperature—is sometimes hard to trouble-shoot and often impossible to resolve without remaking the piece.
In speaking with other casters around Canada and the United States, I find control seems to be one of the main motivations for casting in a small shop. By that, I mean control of the entire production process, of the time element involved in production, of the metal, and over one’s inspired designs. All are mentioned when casters speak about why they cast.
