Bronze horse statues, horse art & the real horse: Creating a custom bronze horse sculpture. The process of turning a clay sculpture into a bronze casting.

Bronze Horse Sculptures

Creating a Custom Bronze Horse Sculpture:

I recently gave a presentation at the Silver State Select Horse Expo in Reno, Nevada
teaching about how a bronze sculpture is made.

The process of creating a finished bronze horse sculpture from a clay model is a

complex one involving many steps, time and many hands working on the sculpture

through the different parts of the process.

This bronze horse sculpture of a running thoroughbred stallion was first modeled

in clay. In the photo we can see a supporting pipe going up into the horse's belly.

It is part of the armature that supports the clay.

Next, the clay version of the bronze horse is

coated with liquid rubber & the rubber is

allowed to set up.Subsequent layers of rubber

are added after each coat dries.

After the third coat of rubber, aluminum shims

are added to allow the mold to be opened and

the clay horse sculpture removed from the

finished rubber mold.

Mesh fabric is embedded in the rubber after the fourth

coat of rubber to give the mold strength, then more

coats of rubber are added to finish the rubber part of

the mold over the horse sculpture.

Paper shims are added to divide the pieces of the

fiberglass Mother Mold. The fiberglass "mother mold"

is then built around the rubber mold

The finished mold is then cut apart, removed from the

clay model and reassembled.

Wax is then poured into the mold and the hollow wax

sculpture is cut into pieces to allow it to make a good

casting.

A bronze sculpture must be hollow in order for the

bronze to cast well. The walls of the wax piece must

be relatively thin, 1/4 inch or less. In bronze casting,

a thin bronze is a good bronze because there will be

less shrinkage or distortion in the sculpture. A good

bronze sculpture casting that is thin reproduces the

fine details of the artists original work without distortion.

The wax pieces are then attached to a wax cup with

wax "straws" or sprews.
The horse sculpture head shown is a hollow wax copy

of the original clay model which has been attached to a

wax cup with "sprews" or "gates" which are solid wax straws.

The wax is then coated in slurry and covered

with sand.The first layers of sand are a fine grit that picks

up all of the detail of the sculpture, even down to the

artists fingerprints that were left on the piece. Then the

later layers are a coarse sand to add strength to the shell.

Successive layers of slurry and sand begin to build a

ceramic or "rock" shell around the wax.

Next comes the step that the lost wax bronze casting

process is named for.

The "rock" or ceramic shell that coats the wax sculpture

is then placed in a burnout furnace where the wax is flash

melted out and the shell is heated to about 1800 degrees.

At the same time, bronze ingots are heated in the crucible

furnace until they are liquid and also about 1800 degrees.

The shell is then pulled out of the burnout furnace and

placed in a sand filled cart which is wheeled under the

crucible where bronze has been heated until it is molten.

The next step in the lost wax bronze casting process.

Molten liquid bronze is then poured into the red hot

ceramic shell.

The ceramic shell filled with molten bronze is then

set aside to cool.
When it has cooled and the metal is once again

solid, the shell is broken off to reveal the bronze

sculpture.

The raw bronze pieces are then sandblasted to

clean them, and any parts that were cut off to

cause the piece to cast better are welded back on.

The welds on the bronze sculpture are ground

down and then re-textured in a process called

"metal chasing". A final sandblast and check are

then done on the bronze sculpture to prepare it for

the patina or color.
The raw bronze horse sculpture is sandblasted and

ready for patina. A bronze sculpture, if left in this raw

state will naturally go darker and darker, eventually

becoming nearly black, or if exposed to moisture,

green, due to the copper content of the bronze metal.

Bronze running stallion horse sculpture with bay patina

Monday, May 2, 2016

Creating a custom bronze horse sculpture. The process of turning a clay sculpture into a bronze casting.

Creating a Custom Bronze Horse Sculpture:

The process of creating a finished bronze horse sculpture from a clay model is a

complex one involving many steps, time and many hands working on the sculpture

through the different parts of the process.

This bronze horse sculpture of a running thoroughbred stallion was first modeled

in clay. In the photo we can see a supporting pipe going up into the horse's belly.

It is part of the armature that supports the clay.

Next, the clay version of the bronze horse is

coated with liquid rubber & the rubber is

allowed to set up.Subsequent layers of rubber

are added after each coat dries.

After the third coat of rubber, aluminum shims

are added to allow the mold to be opened and

the clay horse sculpture removed from the

finished rubber mold.

Mesh fabric is embedded in the rubber after the fourth

coat of rubber to give the mold strength, then more

coats of rubber are added to finish the rubber part of

the mold over the horse sculpture.

Paper shims are added to divide the pieces of the

fiberglass Mother Mold. The fiberglass "mother mold"

is then built around the rubber mold

The finished mold is then cut apart, removed from the

clay model and reassembled.

Wax is then poured into the mold and the hollow wax

sculpture is cut into pieces to allow it to make a good

casting.

A bronze sculpture must be hollow in order for the

bronze to cast well. The walls of the wax piece must

be relatively thin, 1/4 inch or less. In bronze casting,

a thin bronze is a good bronze because there will be

less shrinkage or distortion in the sculpture. A good

bronze sculpture casting that is thin reproduces the

fine details of the artists original work without distortion.

The wax pieces are then attached to a wax cup with

wax "straws" or sprews.The horse sculpture head shown is a hollow wax copy

of the original clay model which has been attached to a

wax cup with "sprews" or "gates" which are solid wax straws.

The wax is then coated in slurry and covered

with sand.The first layers of sand are a fine grit that picks

up all of the detail of the sculpture, even down to the

artists fingerprints that were left on the piece. Then the

later layers are a coarse sand to add strength to the shell.

Successive layers of slurry and sand begin to build a

ceramic or "rock" shell around the wax.

Next comes the step that the lost wax bronze casting

The "rock" or ceramic shell that coats the wax sculpture

is then placed in a burnout furnace where the wax is flash

melted out and the shell is heated to about 1800 degrees.At the same time, bronze ingots are heated in the crucible

furnace until they are liquid and also about 1800 degrees.

The shell is then pulled out of the burnout furnace and

placed in a sand filled cart which is wheeled under the

crucible where bronze has been heated until it is molten.

The next step in the lost wax bronze casting process.

Molten liquid bronze is then poured into the red hot

ceramic shell.

The ceramic shell filled with molten bronze is then

set aside to cool. When it has cooled and the metal is once again

solid, the shell is broken off to reveal the bronze

sculpture.

The raw bronze pieces are then sandblasted to

clean them, and any parts that were cut off to

cause the piece to cast better are welded back on.

The welds on the bronze sculpture are ground

down and then re-textured in a process called

"metal chasing". A final sandblast and check are

then done on the bronze sculpture to prepare it for

the patina or color.The raw bronze horse sculpture is sandblasted and

ready for patina. A bronze sculpture, if left in this raw

state will naturally go darker and darker, eventually

becoming nearly black, or if exposed to moisture,

green, due to the copper content of the bronze metal.

The finished bronze horse sculpture after patina

(color) is then applied by the use of chemicals and

heat processes to change the color of the metal,

The finish is then sealed with a coat of hot wax, and

the piece is mounted on a beautiful walnut wood base.

No comments:

wax "straws" or sprews.
The horse sculpture head shown is a hollow wax copy

melted out and the shell is heated to about 1800 degrees.

At the same time, bronze ingots are heated in the crucible

set aside to cool.
When it has cooled and the metal is once again

the patina or color.
The raw bronze horse sculpture is sandblasted and