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What do you need to start lost wax casting?

What supplies do you need to have as a beginner to lost wax casting? I need a good list, references or resource sites will be helpful, but a specific list of items is what I need, any additional information is not necessary. Please don't answer if you don't have any information that is useful, all you'll be doing is spamming and that's not nice.

Public Comments

1. Your best bet is to take a class in lost wax casting at your local community college. They will be able to give you the best introduction and over view of lost wax casting. You can also buy DVDs from online art warehouses.
2. What metal? If you wish to carve the wax, you need just the wax and investment appropriate to what you are casting. If you wish to cast the wax from a clay model, then you will need melting containers and molds, which can be built up by painting latex. You can look at my efforts by going here http://www.mikegigi.com/modeling.htm and following links to more coverage of details.
3. The main thing you need is the ability to do research yourself. I agree, take a class and also figure out what you really want to do. Unless you are really good in figuring things out yourself from books there is plenty of potential for inflicting damage to yourself if you make certain mistakes or don't know appropriate safety procedures. You probably also could burn your place down. If you want something easier look into precious metal clay. That's simpler and more direct. But only for jewelry sized items. You can find books on the subject in your library or through interlibrary loan. Googling how to precious metal clay or introduction to precious metal clay should also yield information. A few paragraphs of text are insufficient preparation for either procedure. First get some good ideas. If you can't be bothered to find sources yourself, you probably won't bother to read the content of those sources either. But a pretty good book for metal casting (sculpture, not jewelry size) is:from clay to bronze. Up to you to find the book.And to read it before doing anything. And Mike is right what you need depends a lot on the metal you want to use and what you want to do. Making jewelry is already different than say a foot tall sculpture which also is different to a life-size statue.