I was uploading my past videos in order but I'm getting tired of seeing ant colonies. Forget about the stupid ants for a second and imagine how the cast of the inside of a fish skull would look. As in the cavity where it's brain and other various.....whatevers are. Can't do it can you? That's what I'm here for. Check this out.
In this video, I'm going to cast the inside of a large fish skull with molten aluminum. I caught this 29 lb black drum a few years ago off the coast of Dauphin Island, Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico. I've had the skull displayed on a cabinet in my shop for a few years and recently thought it might be cool to cast it in molten aluminum.
Hopefully, it's clear in the video what I'm doing and why but if not, here is a detailed explanation:
I can't just pour aluminum into the skull without preparations because it would spill out of the eye sockets and other openings. In order to prevent that from happening, I'm going to encase the skull in plaster before casting. That presents a new problem, because the plaster would fill the skull and leave nothing to cast with aluminum.
To get around these problems. I'm going to first seal off all of the exterior openings with tape, except for the spinal cord opening which will be the aluminum pour hole. After that's sealed, the skull will be filled with wax. The solidified wax will act as a barrier to keep the plaster out of the skull.
Next, the tape is removed and the skull is encased in plaster. The plaster will act as a barrier to the molten aluminum and will also provide support to the skull in case it burns through or cracks. The plaster mold is then placed into an oven to remove the wax. as well as any free moisture in the plaster that might cause steam which could ruin the cast.
After the wax is removed with the heat of the oven, the aluminum is poured in.
More info/pics of the cast at http://anthillart.com/castings/102
Support Anthill Art by donating at https://www.patreon.com/anthillart
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