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Question about CNC milling (and also about brass casting)

I'm thinking about how to make some ornate guitar roses, similar to this one:

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original is cast brass but I'm wondering whether a CNC mill could be used to mill/carve the basic shape in a dense hard wood so I could then hand-finish the carving and gild it with gold leaf. Has anyone used a CNC mill for anything similar, or are there any CNC experts that could tell me how easy or hard a task this might be?

(Hidden agenda: this would also provide the excuse I've been looking for to buy a small CNC mill ;-) )

Alternatively, is there a sensible way to produce a brass casting to replicate the original?

Dave

Reply to
NoSpam
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Long short is yes it can be done.

Have a look here at some examples

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That's the good news, bad news is it won't be a starter project and it won't cost 3 bob.

You are wanting to go into the realms of 3D carving and the software isn't cheap and the learning curve is even steeper.

John S.

Reply to
John S

Thanks John, the demo makes Aspire look reasonably OK to use but the price tag of well over £1k is probably more than I want to try and justify for casual use, especially on top of £2.6k for a KX1 (or £3.7k for a KX3). If there's nothing cheaper then I'll need to either think of more uses to justify the expense or go to someone else that is already set-up to offer a service.

Reply to
NoSpam

What about a lost wax casting?

Reply to
Neil Ellwood

That's what I was going to suggest and if the item in question can be removed then a mould can be made from that with various materials such as latex, silicon or alginate products. Alec Tiranti has a few options

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That will allow the wax pattern to be produced which can then be used for the lost wax casting process.

Reply to
David Billington

I don't know anything about casting so would probably get someone else to do that for me, but I'd still need to make a master because I can't get my hands on an original part.

Reply to
NoSpam

It's a hell of a job to get the tree to grow into the mould :-)

Mark Rand RTFM

Reply to
Mark Rand

...but Mark, brass doesn't grow on trees

Regards, Tony

Reply to
Tony Jeffree

It will if you chuck enough muck at it.

Cliff.

Reply to
Cliff Coggin

It's even harder training the bees to deposit the wax where it's needed :-)

Alan

Reply to
Alan Dawes

No bloody good if you've lost it, is it??

Regards, Tony

Reply to
Tony Jeffree

You could always put it into a damp cupboard - we used to have one that grew mould.

Reply to
Neil Ellwood

My dad told me that it was money that didn't grow on trees.

Reply to
Neil Ellwood

Yes, it can be done on a small CNC mill, but the cost and learning curve are VERY steep - probably not worth it unless, of course, you really want to own and learn CNC. Lost wax casting is also possible, but a much simpler method is to use the Delt Clay system. It's really intended for jewellers who want to do one-off castings in gold or silver, but it works just as well with brass, copper or aluminium. This U-tube video shows what it is and how it is used.

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I've used it many times and it's capable of reproducing very fine detail. Here's a picture of a teddy bear pendant I cast in gold - it's about 30mm high.
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You can purchase the system from just about any jeweller's tool suppliers; I got mine from Sutton Tools in Birmingham - see
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Reply to
lemel_man

Thanks Gary, the video is interesting but I'm concerned that there are going to be a lot of failures before I can cast something that's 2-3 inches diameter with the level of detail I need. A gilded carving or a pro casting are probably the way to go.

Reply to
NoSpam

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