Cuttle Fish for Casting?

Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold? Same Questions for Tufa
Stone another item I hear about for casting Silver tho more porous I
understand.

Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

Cuttlefish is a one-use-only material for casting, and it's not good for casting
intricate designs.
Most pet shops tend to stock it, and it's quite cheap. Here in Australia it's
illegal to remove
cuttlefish from beaches so a pet shop is the only option.

The item cast will generally end up a bit smaller than the original in it's
dimensions as the cast
piece comes out very rough due to the way the cuttlebone burns away as the metal
is poured in, and
needs a fair bit of filing and sanding to be presentable.

These days there are products available which are similar to a very fine clay
that can be used in
the same way cuttlebone is, and produces a much better finish.

Dale Porter


"Otsinekwar" wrote in message
...
Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold? Same Questions for Tufa
Stone another item I hear about for casting Silver tho more porous I
understand.

Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

"Otsinekwar" wrote in message
...

Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold?

Try going to your local pet shop. Sweet-Talk(tm) the Lady or Gent
behind the counter for a discount. Get to know them well if you want a
good supply. Surprise them with what you want it for! You'll get a job
out of it too!

As for repetition casting with cuttlefish, you won't get it I'm
afraid. Once used with a hot metal, like silver or gold, it's
finished. You can of course, use Pewter (for enhancing your
model-making, etc), a few times though, after being careful to pull
the two halves apart... Let it -set- first though. It takes a bit of
time to 'set' compared to the more 'Noble' metals...

Price? It's up to you and the seller for this, but cheaper for
quantity (you'll need it).

Work on it.

-SP-




Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

"Otsinekwar" wrote in message
...
Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold? Same Questions for Tufa
Stone another item I hear about for casting Silver tho more porous I
understand.

Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

Petshops should sell it, its also used for budgies, etc... to chew on
..


---
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I've done cuttle casting a number of times. My frustration is the general
lack of precision that is available with the process. I get my cuttle at
Walmart for about $1.00 each. I think the mold burns too badly to be reused
when casting sterling - I haven't tried other metals.

Bruce

"Otsinekwar" wrote in message
...
Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold? Same Questions for Tufa
Stone another item I hear about for casting Silver tho more porous I
understand.

Nia:wen Thank you

---
http://www.geocities.com/bearclanmohawk
http://www.cafepress.com/ohkwari

Bruce C. wrote:
I've done cuttle casting a number of times. My frustration is the
general lack of precision that is available with the process. I get
my cuttle at Walmart for about $1.00 each. I think the mold burns too
badly to be reused when casting sterling - I haven't tried other
metals.

I remeber my first casting experiences with cuttlefish casting in gold.
It seemed to be very simple, however the results were heavily depend
of preparation and luck.
Since that time I did it never again. There are better materials in the market
Not only Quick-Cast MMD, you`ll find it here (only in german):
http://www.butschal.de/werkstatt/q.htm
but casting in lost wax process is much more precise.
:-)
--
Heinrich Butschal
http://jewels.butschal.com

in article , Otsinekwar at
wrote on 5/10/03 10:42 pm:

Hi folks, I keep seeing folks mention using Cuttle Fish to cast
Silver, where can this be obtained? Approx cost? How many times can
you cast before it's time to make a new mold? Same Questions for Tufa
Stone another item I hear about for casting Silver tho more porous I
understand.

Nia:wen Thank you

Hi,

Cuttle Fish means the chalky internal carapace/bone of the Cuttle fish. You
need two for each casting. They have a hard side and a softer chalky side.

Take two Cuttle fish bones and hold them one in each hand - hard side
towards your palm. Then rub the two bones together until you have two close
fitting flat surfaces.

Take two short sticks half an inch long and push them into the soft surface
of one bone to act as register keys

Then you take the object you wish to cast, place it between the bones and
push them hard together so they touch completely.

Then pull the bones apart very carefully and remove the object. Next you cut
a channel to the outside and scoop out a bit of a funnel to act as a pour.

Then you push the two bones back together taking care to register them on
the sticks. Bind the two halves together with iron binding wire wire.

Stand the cuttle fish mould upright in damp sand or earth and pour the
molten silver in the top.

You will get smoke and a smell of the sea. Wait a few minutes for it to cool
and when you break apart the cuttle fish halves you should have a silver
object.

It will not be perfect and may well have a pattern of cuttle fish bone on
its surface a little like wood grain in appearance. But it will be a
casting.

The Cuttlfish lasts once. You can get it from hobbyist Jewellery toolshops.
Pet shops where it is sold for budgies to peck at, (It should cost very
little) or Off the beach if your part of the world has temperate/warm seas.

You can find them all around the UK beaches.

iron binding wire can be bought from florists shops and ironmongers tool
shops.

Molten silver is dangerously hot, Cuttlefish bone is messy, powdery and its
unpleasant to breathe. Wear protective clothing mask and goggles and take
proper precautions for dealing with high temperatures.

Hope that helps,

Hillary
--

Hillary Corney

Designer Silversmith and Jeweller
http://www.designersilversmiths.com

"Heinrich Butschal" wrote in message
...
Bruce C. wrote:
I've done cuttle casting a number of times. My frustration is the
general lack of precision that is available with the process. I
get
my cuttle at Walmart for about $1.00 each. I think the mold burns
too
badly to be reused when casting sterling - I haven't tried other
metals.

I remeber my first casting experiences with cuttlefish casting in
gold.
It seemed to be very simple, however the results were heavily depend
of preparation and luck.
Since that time I did it never again.

That's a shame. I've had around twenty years experience with it
daily/weekly, and it's never let me down yet, apart from when I can't
get any of course! :/


There are better materials in the market
Not only Quick-Cast MMD, you`ll find it here (only in german):
http://www.butschal.de/werkstatt/q.htm
but casting in lost wax process is much more precise.
:-)

Yeah, but you can't beat cuttlefish for speed. Great for a gents
signet on a Sunday afternoon.

-SP-



--
Heinrich Butschal
http://jewels.butschal.com

What no-one's mentoned is that a cuttlefish bone casting has a certain
pleasing charm of its own if you leave alone the desire for a more perfect
replication of a model. After all if you wanted a decent copy you'd use
Delft or pay a wax modelmaker and investment cast it. Yes I've seen some
super cuttlefish castings, and they are usually ones that show the grain
effect to advantage, especially when it is in pleasing combination with the
shape.

In article ,
H. J. Corney wrote:
Cuttle Fish means the chalky internal carapace/bone of the Cuttle fish.
You need two for each casting. They have a hard side and a softer chalky
side.

Another way I frequently use is to cut just one in half.

Take two Cuttle fish bones and hold them one in each hand - hard side
towards your palm. Then rub the two bones together until you have two
close fitting flat surfaces.

A coarse wood-rasp helps here. Or a concrete path.

Registration is also maintained by grinding the sides flat when the object
is inside, shaping and squaring the four sides together well. Putting it
back together and binding it is easier.



Then pull the bones apart very carefully and remove the object. Next you
cut a channel to the outside and scoop out a bit of a funnel to act as a
pour.

An alternative feeder sprue may be drilled through the hard outside casing,
widen it out to a funnel with a wood-countersinking bit.

If the sides and shaped square the whole mold will sit nicely on a steel
tray, so catching any unfortunate spills, and the spill material is easily
recoverable.

The Cuttlfish lasts once.

Sometimes it's useful to be able to test your casting. So pour a trial
casting using pewter to see how the metal flows. Make any alterations to
the mold now and set the same mold up again for the stg silver.

Brian

--
B r i a n A d a m
B u s h J e w e l l e r y W o r k s h o p s
Titirangi AUCKLAND New Zealand
www.adam.co.nz/workshops/bush

-SP- wrote:
"Heinrich Butschal" wrote in message
...
Bruce C. wrote:
I've done cuttle casting a number of times. My frustration is the
general lack of precision that is available with the process. I get
my cuttle at Walmart for about $1.00 each. I think the mold burns
too badly to be reused when casting sterling - I haven't tried other
metals.

I remeber my first casting experiences with cuttlefish casting in
gold. It seemed to be very simple, however the results were heavily
depend of preparation and luck.
Since that time I did it never again.

That's a shame. I've had around twenty years experience with it
daily/weekly, and it's never let me down yet, apart from when I can't
get any of course! :/

Ok, ashes on my head. :-)
According to some other´s here I have had also some excellent results
in cuttlefish casting. Especially surfaces sometimes get really smooth.
problems I always have had with forms, wich get pressed deep in both
sides, for cuttlefish is not elastic and so corners break out by removing the
original.
So I was looking for a material which is compressible and good for casting.
The normal casting sand, wich is glued with oil is fine, but to weak for jewel
casting.
So I found out, that a paste like honey, soluted in gasoil poured over this
sand and dried out over some days, will fix the sand much better and is
a little bit elastic also.
However Quick-Cast-MMD set is sold by www.Schula.de and I developed
the material, It shouldn´t sound as advertisement here.
Yersterday I´ve done a sample casting and made some photos with one
hand ;-)) (so it´s not perfect, only demonstration).
You might have a look there at:
http://www.butschal.de/werkstatt/Quick-Cast-MMD.htm
Sorry it´s quite a lot of pictures.

However I use it very seldom by myself, for I prefer lost wax casting.
Very often I use the sand for better positioning for soldering only.

Nice day

--
Heinrich Butschal
http://jewels.butschal.com