Members Masterclass: Luted Crucible Bronze Casting

Member Events

Luted or sealed crucible casting is low a cost, and low-tech method of casting, relatively unknown outside India and west Africa. Artist Piers Watson has been exploring this type of casting and has been teaching it all over the world. He has come to the Institute of Making to lead us in a week-long exploration of how bronze making was done since the early days of its history.

During the week, we will explore the fundamentals of the technique by creating small solid bronze objects using a portable propane fired furnace. Participants are involved in every step of the process and will need to attend the full week’s course:

Making the beeswax object to be cast
Attaching sprues (these form the channels for the metal to travel down) to the object and adding the first clay layer
Forming the clay mould around the object, and making a clay cup (the crucible) to enclose the bronze
Weighing and preparing the ‘recipe’ of metals that make up the bronze alloy, and filling the clay cup
The mould and crucible are then joined together at the neck, dried and baked in the furnace, bronze end down.
The luted crucibles are ‘cast’ by turning them upside down, the bronze runs into the cavity left by the now-melted wax
When cool, they are cracked open and the bronze piece is finished with tools
The technique is very open and experimental, each small object, each experience, will be unique. It is interesting not to think of creating individual works of art, but to enjoy the looseness of the process, like being able to sketch with bronze, to explore and develop ideas

See our blog post from last years cast: Click here

Makers need to arrive with an idea of what they want to make or explore.

The plan for the week:
Monday 10am – 12pm: Create beeswax models and invest them with clay and sand mix.
Tuesday 10am – 12pm: Create crucibles and cover moulds with initial layer of clay and rice husks.
Wednesday 10am – 12pm: Talk about Bastar Metal Casters
1pm – 3pm: Prepare metal and join the moulds to the crucibles.
Thursday 10am – 12pm: Apply final layer of refractory clay to lutued crucibles.
Friday 9am – 6pm: All day casting.

This workshop is free, and all materials will be provided. Applicants need to be inducted members of the Institute of Making