Using the Lost
Wax Investment Casting process, the replica is cast by the Artworks Foundry,
the same foundry that cast "The Spartan" statue on the MSU campus.
This
is a multi-stepped, time consuming process involving skilled work by the
artisans at the foundry.
First, a wax positive is formed inside a mold that was taken from the original
sculpted miniature. Great skill is required to ensure that wax reaches every
detail of the mold. Wherever there is wax, there will be bronze in the final
replica.
In the chasing room, detailers inspect and correct any flaws in the wax positive.
At this point in the process, the limited edition number is engraved into the
wax.
Wax rods (gates and sprues) and a wax funnel cup are added to the wax positive
to facilitate the flow of bronze.
The assembled wax positive is then dipped into a ceramic slurry and coated with
fine sand and allowed to dry and harden. This process is repeated seven times.
Finally, this ceramic shell is inverted and fired in a kiln. The wax melts
and drains out leaving behind a hollow ceramic mold, called the investment.
Everywhere there had been wax is now a negative hollow which will be
filled with molten bronze creating the replica statue.
Several hours after the bronze pour, the investment and its bronze contents are
cool enough for the ceramic to be chipped away revealing the bronze replica.
The gates and sprues are cut off and the metal finisher welds in place
smaller sections that were cast separately. He details the seams rendering
them absolutely invisible in the final statue.
The last step in the casting process is applying the patina, or final finish
of the bronze. The patina artist heats the statue with a torch and sprays
on chemicals causing the bronze to oxidize to a patina resembling the original
ceramic Sparty.
Finally, this ceramic shell is inverted and fired in a kiln. The wax melts
and drains out leaving behind a hollow ceramic mold, called the investment.
Everywhere there had been wax is now a negative hollow which will be
filled with molten bronze creating the replica statue.