Lost-wax casting

Okay, so imagine you have a really cool toy or figurine that you want to make a copy of. But you can’t just make another one like it, because it was made out of clay or plastic or something that can’t be easily melted or shaped.

So what you can do is make a mold of it, which means you coat the toy in a special goo that is liquid and can harden when it dries. Then, once the goo has dried, you can carefully take the toy out of the mold, leaving behind a perfect impression of it.

Now you have a mold that you can pour melted metal or wax into, which will fill up the space left by the toy and take its exact shape. The problem is that if you just pour in the metal or wax, your mold will be destroyed when you try to get your finished product out.

This is where “lost-wax casting” comes in. Basically, instead of just pouring the metal or wax into the mold, you first make a wax version of the toy. This is called a “wax pattern.” Then you attach the wax pattern to a stick or another object that will let you hold it without touching it.

Next, you coat the wax pattern in a special goo that is heat-resistant and hardens when it dries, just like before. But this time, instead of just having one layer, you repeat this process multiple times until you have a thick coating around the wax pattern.

Once the goo has dried, you can put the whole thing into an oven or kiln that is hot enough to melt the wax pattern completely. The wax will melt and drain out through small holes that you made in the coating, leaving behind an empty space that is exactly the same shape and size as the wax pattern.

Now you have a mold that you can pour melted metal or wax into, without worrying about destroying it when you try to take out the finished product. Once the metal or wax has hardened and cooled, you can break open the coating to reveal your finished product. Congrats, you’ve just used lost-wax casting!