21
Hobbies Wednesday - what have you done this week? (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 10 months ago by Servais@discuss.tchncs.de to c/casualconversation@lemm.ee
21 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Ahardyfellow@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 10 months ago

The picture is of the 'finished' pin, I'd still like to refine the process a bit.

The general process I follow is:

  • print the pin
  • use a casting sand like petrobond and fill a metal container
  • talcum power the printed pin
  • press the pin into the casting sand to make the void for casting
  • heat up the bismuth until it is liquid
  • heat up the actual pin (looks like a thumbtack)
  • pour the molten bismuth into the void, and quickly put the actual pin piece in the molten bismuth, if it's not hot enough the bismuth will cool and the pin won't sink in
  • wait for it to cool (about a minute) then pull the pin out with some pliers (it's still hot so you don't want to touch it at that point)
  • take a dremel to any flashing that occurred
  • paint as required (I'm just using nail polish right now since it's pretty durable)

Hopefully that helps! If you have any other questions I'd be happy to answer them :)

[-] m0darn@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago

Great description. I'm thinking I'll use some of that expensive castable silicone to make a reusable mold for pewter... or outsource the work to a professional.

It's a hat badge for the marching band I play in.

[-] Ahardyfellow@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 10 months ago

That's sounds rad! You should post some pics on here if you do end up doing it! Totally understandable if you didn't want the trouble tho!

this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2024
21 points (95.7% liked)

[Migrated, see pinned post] Casual Conversation

3368 readers
3 users here now

We moved to !casualconversation@piefed.social please look for https://lemm.ee/post/66060114 in your instance search bar

Share a story, ask a question, or start a conversation about (almost) anything you desire. Maybe you'll make some friends in the process.

RULES

  1. Be respectful: no harassment, hate speech, bigotry, and/or trolling.
  2. Encourage conversation in your OP. This means including heavily implicative subject matter when you can and also engaging in your thread when possible.
  3. Avoid controversial topics (e.g. politics or societal debates).
  4. Stay calm: Don’t post angry or to vent or complain. We are a place where everyone can forget about their everyday or not so everyday worries for a moment. Venting, complaining, or posting from a place of anger or resentment doesn't fit the atmosphere we try to foster at all. Feel free to post those on !goodoffmychest@lemmy.world
  5. Keep it clean and SFW
  6. No solicitation such as ads, promotional content, spam, surveys etc.

Casual conversation communities:

Related discussion-focused communities

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
orangeNgreen@lemmy.world
neidu2@feddit.nl
BoozeOrWater@lemm.ee