casting process

Innovating Door Hardware

The Morphic collection of door pulls lends itself to a variety of home designs partly because we cast in 2 mediums, bronze and stainless steel and partly because the fluid organic design pairs well with contemporary or traditional door styles and door mediums. So, whether your door is wood, steel or glass, minimalist or classical, Morphic can be integrated into the design statement.

End details

Unlike many of our collections, the series has 4 possible tips and we are planning a fourth which I am loosely calling desconstrucionist.
The  ends currently are standard heroic tip (left) and its larger relative (third from left), the symmetrical cylinder (second from left) and the scroll ends  (right). Each end is designed to contrast with the cell-like center and is easily accentuated by finishing in a different sheen or by powder coating with a contrasting color.

Planned Customization during wax creation.

The organic cellular design can be playfully adapted by cutting, splicing, and distorting the wax cell segments to create a unique piece. This is a new direction that we are experimenting with and has the potential to create one-of-a-kind pieces. For those who work in Photoshop this is similar to using the polygonal lasso tool to select an area on a piece and manipulating the shape using the transform function to create a warped edge. Using Photoshop to design  the new shape is relatively easy but replicating the piece first in wax and then in bronze or steel requires expertise in both casting and welding.

 Brazing

In a subsequent post we will discuss mixing the alloys of steel and bronze to create a hybrid pull.

Custom door hardware - an index of posts on the process

Over the years of writing my blog I have often described the process from designing to casting door hardware using the lost wax method but have not until now felt it necessary to index  these posts.

The posts are broken down into 5 areas that describe the process from inception to end product. If you have limited reading time there is one piece that covers most of the stages that was was posted on June 21st 2017.

For details on the different stages please read on.

STAGE 1 - Design

These posts follow the creative process from the initial sketch to more detailed drawings that show the piece from different perspectives. They explain how the technical aspects of lost wax casting as well as the functional requirements of door hardware impact the design and result in modifications to the original concept.

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/dragon-and-netsuke-door-knobs

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/custom-designed-door-hardware-some-common-misunderstandings

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/early-designs-for-a-new-entry-door-pull

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/candlesticks-new-designs

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/new-morphic-door-pull-one-size-does-not-fit-all

Stage 1 - detailed drawing from 2 perspectives Stage 2 - rough carving of pattern later refined

STAGE 2 – Pattern making

Lost wax casting requires an  original pattern or sculpture to be created. We create our patterns by sculpting  in a hard wood, blue wax or high-density foam. Our method is reductive and rarely makes use of 3D printing and we explain why in these posts.

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/bumble-bee-cabinet-knob

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/dog-door-knobs

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/new-carp-fish-door-pull

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/why-research-and-development-costs-for-custom-hardware-is-expensive-part-2

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/3d-printing-as-useful-tool-in-casting-custom-door-handles

STAGE 3 - Mold making, gates and sprues

A mold of the pattern is made. The number of molds needed for one design depends on the complexity of the design and in assessing how the molten bronze will flow. The pattern is fitted with one central sprue and several gates that attach to the sprue and the edge of the pattern. A mold (s) is then  made of the pattern with the sprue and gates attached.

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/how-to-make-a-simple-mold-for-lost-wax-casting

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/how-to-cast-bronze-butteflies-good-and-bad-runners-and-gates

STAGE 4 – Wax replicas and shelling

The lost wax method requires a wax replica to be made for all the component parts needed to make one piece. The Hedgerow door lever for example require 4 waxes to be made; one for the escutcheon, one for the lever, 2 for the tree canopy. The waxes are then dipped in a silicone slurry that when hardened forms a shell that encases the wax. An auto-clave is used to remove the wax (lost wax)  and the hollow shell is ready to receive molten metal.

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/wine-cellar-door-handles-and-shell-casting

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/using-wax-facsimiles-to-create-bronze-door-handles

 https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/hawaiian-theme-door-handle

https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/creating-a-custom-appliance-pull-using-the-lost-wax-process-the-wax-stage

 https://www.martinpierce.com/blog/limited-edition-door-handles

Wax replicas ready to be shelled

 

Dragon and Netsuke Door Knobs

Dragon and Netsuke Door Knobs

 

Dragons appear in fictional literature and are brilliantly described in the witty tale “Guards,Guards!” by Terry Pratchett. More recently they were portrayed as loyal protective demons in “Game of Thrones”. So, it will come as no surprise that we are adding a dragon door knob to our Netsuke collection.

Credit also needs to be given to Dr. Lisa Allen who ordered a Netsuke bumble bee and asked if we had plans for a dragon knob. We had not been planning an addition to the Netsuke collection so as an alternative, suggested Lisa order the lizard knob. If one looks at the portrayal of dragons in different times and cultures they range from serpentine winged creatures to horned scaly lizard-like creatures not unlike the Komodo “dragon” lizard found in Indonesia. Lisa was not to be persuaded by my lizard argument, so Martin turned to his sketch pad to wait for dragon inspiration.

Original Pattern Carved in High Density Foam - Finer Details then Carved into Applied Gesso

What follows is an account of how the dragon knob was designed, carved and by use of lost wax casting will soon take flight as a bronze door knob.

As the Dragon knob will become part of the Netsuke collection we used the compactness inherent in this collection as a focal point. This meant that the dragon had to fold in and around itself and cling tightly to the center of the knob to form an ergonomically pleasing shape that had few jagged protrusions. The tight compact and smooth design characterizes the bee, lizard, rabbit and frog knobs and is why the collection is named Netsuke after the early smooth animal toggles used as fasteners for garments and satchels in traditional Japanese clothing.