Digitry Company, Inc.
188 State Street, Suite 21, Portland, Maine 04101
207-774-0300 FAX: 617-484-5220

Preparing carrot for casting into box mold	Open face cast carrots with copper and frit stems

CAST CARROTS

The Open face Carrots made in Castolot mold. This mold material is refirable (about 10 times), fast setting, carvable, and pourable.

Ingredients and Equipment
Whole carrot
Small amount clay or plasticine
Plate glass to make mold on
Glass sheets for bottom and sides of mold
Duct tape
Water
3 cups Castalot mold material- reuse up to 12 firings
Spatula or spoon
Mixing bowl
Shelf Primer
Bullseye #2 and #1 frits and powders: orange, yellow, clear, and transparent orange
1/8" Diamond core drill
Sandblaster and Liquid luster
Copper 8-strand wire in 4" lengths
Bullseye #0 and powder moss green, spring green, aventurine green
Small piece kiln shelf
Elmer's Blue glue
Epoxy glue
OSHA approved mask

Steps
1. Secure the carrot to the glass with clay so that there are no undercuts.
2. Measure 2 parts Castalot and 1-1/2 part water and mix 90 seconds until all lumps gone. More water will increase setting time. Working time about 5-6 minutes.
3. Pour immediately onto the carrot and use spoon to vigorously agitate Castalot to eliminate bubbles. Castalot can be mixed thicker and applied with spatula if desired, but will not retain as much carrot texture.
4. Let sit about two hours and dig out carrot.
5. Pre-Fire mold immediately 30 min to 190 and hold 2 hours. Ramp @ 275 hour to 50 above firing temperature
(1480 + 50= 1530). Cool naturally. Mold will last longer if pre-fired before glass is fired in mold.
6. Coat cold mold with very thin layer of Shelf Primer.
7. Fill with a mixture of #1 frits and no more than 10% powders. Every time a new carrot is fired, recoat the mold
with shelf primer and vary the frit mixture proportion to create a variety of carrots.
8. Fire and cool.
9. Remove from the mold. Kilns that have side elements provide more even heat than kilns with only top elements.
10. Drill 1/2" long hole in tops of carrots with 1/8" diamond core drill for the greens and do any cold work necessary on the carrots.
11. Sandblast if desired. Liquid Luster can be used to restore the sheen of the carrots.
12. Spread out 8-strands of copper wire on kiln shelf and cover ends with Elmer's Blue glue.
13. Sprinkle green frits onto the copper wire so they are covered to make carrot top greens.
14. Fire as fast as kiln goes to 1250. Hold AT 1250 until frit is melted together but does not puddle glass.
(a variation on frit cookies). See Frit Cracker firing.
15. Cool, and glue in the carrot tops with epoxy glue.
16. The advantage of Castalot over a bisque clay mold is that it can be "poured" over the positive to get texture and detail, and is soft enough to carve. The disadvantage is that Castalot mold begins to break down after about 12 firings.

Sources
-www.Bullseyeglass.com
-Castalot 206 248-6233 www.castalot.com Rio Grande: Glass drills
Sold at Olympic Color Rods
PO Box 9240
Seattle, Wa 98109-0240 800 445-7742
-Temperature Controllers: Digitry Company, Inc. www.digitry.com
-Liquid Luster Curt Brock 615 597-6801 ext 124 cbrock@tntech.edu
Designed to seal sandblasted colored glass, stone, granite and cement. Can achieve a shine or low luster
Sold at C&R Loo
1085 Essex Avenue
Richmond, CA 94804

Firing Schedule

©copyright 2004