Cast chess set: Iron vs. Brass
After sketching and design work was complete, the final designs were shaped out of Renshape and used to make silicone molds. Wax duplicates of all pieces were then poured using the silicone molds until all pieces, plus some backups, were made. Finals were shaped by hand slightly to ensure clean and accurate details.
Once all the parts were made and attached to casting structures, including all sprues and runners, the parts are ready to be dipped. The dipping process takes several days, and requires the parts to be dipped and coated in a sand/glass mixture roughly every 6 hrs or once dry. Eventually a hard mold will be built up around the wax part. The wax can then be melted out leaving an empty mold ready for the molten metal.
