Photo #1 - shows seven rings that are sprued onto a wax tree.

The tree is attached to a rubber base.  The green ring is an 

original that was carved from a tube of wax. The pink ones are 

offspring from another ring that I previously carved and made a

mold of.  Our wax injector machine currently has pink wax in it,

so that is why some of the rings are pink.

Photo #2 - a metal flask has been tightly fitted onto the rubber base.

Photo #3 - the flask has been filled with investment, which is a plaster-like material.  The flasks are sitting on a vacuum investing machine, this machine removes the air bubble from the investment.  After the investment dries, the flask is placed inside a kiln.  This process burns out the wax models and cures the mold.

Photo #4 - is a photo of our centrifugal casting machine and burn out kiln.

Photo #5 - shows the centrifuge spinning around with my flask in it. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Photo #6 - the centrifuge has stopped and you can see the flask sitting behind the crucible (the cruddy looking cup thing).

Photo #7 - after the flask has cooled a little bit, it is removed from the centrifuge and quenched in a bucket of water.  Some of the mold material will break apart during the quenching step, but we use very tough investment so we have to dig and scrape it out using a screwdriver or whatever tool is available (that's what I'm doing in the pic). The bucket is also used to collect all the nasty 

investment that we don't want going down the drain. 

Photo #8 - the tree has been freed from the flask and it still has investment all over it. I will clean off as much as I can using the screwdriver (delicately) and an old toothbrush.

Photo #9 - the tree is then put into the ultrasonic to remove any remaining investment.  Then it goes into the pickle pot to remove the oxides.

Photo #10 - the tree is nice and clean (sort of). It has a white coating that will come off when I file and clean it.

Photo #11 - the next step is to remove each ring from the tree. We use a sprue cutter that is attached to a worktable.  It removes rings like magic!!! (I use to spend hours sawing them off by hand!)

Photo #12 - shows the cutter chopping my rings off. Magic I tell ya! :^)

Photo #13 - all the rings have been removed from the tree.  

The tree material can be recycled in a later casting.

Photo #14 - see the nub on the ring? I will use a big honkin file to remove it, then I will use finer files to get off any rough spots, then I will use an emery stick. Then I take it to the polisher and make it shine!

Photo #15 - is a photo of one of the finished rings. 

(My "Plays With Fire" ring)

Photo #16 - another photo of the same ring. I am very proud

of this ring! :^)