Hello everyone! I was curious if anyone out here ever tried to cast any form of metal. I was looking to buy a custom key in the form of a jewel that my GF could wear around her neck. The key has to be functionnal and all for the lock I am wearing. I came across a few really nice suggestions such as "chastity-shop" who sells custom made silver / gold keys that works and they are sooo nice, so shiny and just...wonderful really. I just had the idea of starting to cast metal into keys / jewellery and things like that myself. Am I delusional for thinking I could create such wonders? So here I am looking for tips and tricks or you guys can even try to dissuade me if this looks insane So anyone has any suggestion for a "starter kit", places to buy the actual metals, the kind of metal I should use, anything in the pool would be welcome to hear about! Who knows, if it works good I might create a brand new collection, hehehe...(Yea I know I can keep dreaming about it) Thanks for your time!
Search for "investment casting" on the internet. Likely a good technique for making the type of objects you are seeking. You need some equipment, and it will probably cost you more than purchasing a single piece of jewelry to get started, but it's possible and can be learned.
I’m not sure about casting. You would need to be sure the result was strong enough for a functional key. If it broke in the lock you could have a problem! I have made functional keys in both brass and stainless steel by carefully cutting and filing a piece of metal. In that case the slots in the side of the key have to go right through the piece of metal because you can’t file to a slot to a blank end, so I made the key section and the handle section separately and brazed them together with silver solder. I have to say the result worked but I was never really happy with the finish I managed. Beware it needs great care and takes ages! I have seen gold and silver plating kits on the web although I have never tried one. There was a guy on UK TV using one recently. It seemed to work. As for the casting idea, I think, if you have to ask if it can be done it will probably require a lot of trial and error to get a good result.
Casting in and of itself isn’t necessarily difficult but it does require certain tools and materials not the least of which being a torch, a mold, and a crucible. You need enough metal material to make molten to fill the space of the mold cast (you can use a packed sand technique with a casting box, there are special boxes and sand you can purchase for this). If you don’t have enough material to pour into the mold and you don’t pour it correctly and at the right temperature the cast itself will have bubbles and pockets where it won’t be solid. The method I’m referring to depends a lot on the impression made in/on both sides of the inside of the cast box. This method is rough and probably a little less sophisticated than the results you’re hoping to achieve but it may be the quickest way to get into casting. You can make your own casting set up and you’ll probably need at the very least a large propane or map gas torch, something to act as a crucible to melt and pour molten metal into your cast, a wooden frame and sand cast box, some method to clamp the two box parts together for the actual cast, metal in your choice of castable materials (brass is one of the most common), time and patience (casting can be a frustrating process that takes trial and error as well as good preparation and the right materials to make work). You will also want a set of tongs or something to take the crucible from the point when your metal has been heated to molten/melted to the cast box as it will be extremely hot and should not be handled barehanded unless you like third degree burns. Once you have poured your cast you have to wait until the cast is cooled enough to see the result so you unclamp the two halves of the box and check your mold. My question would be what exactly are you trying to design. Like, do you have a drawing of your idea down on paper or is all of this a thought exercise in your head? If it isn’t something you’ve really planned out on paper and worked through the logistics then it isn’t realistic to consider doing this because it currently lives in your head and until it’s out of there on paper it won’t leave your head. If you really want to make whatever this is you can but only if you’re willing to put in the time, effort, and get/make the tools and learn the process to make it happen. If you’re not willing to do that I’d say your best bet is to cut your losses and just buy one from someone who is already making them like from that shop you mentioned. Also, consider that there is more than one way to approach this and casting may be the most convoluted way to get what you want and there may be a simpler/easier method to make this. If structural integrity and sturdiness is a concern, like you need this to actually work more than once, I’d consider, if I were you, foregoing casting altogether and finding a better, faster, and more convenient way. I hope this helps.
I have done a bit more research. It looks as though casting a real key might be somewhere on the boundary of being doable. Making something that looks like a key is probably not too difficult. Making a reliable working key seems to have some potential problems. 1. For strength you might need to use a metal with a melting point higher than you can reach with a propane torch. 2. One web site suggested you should use a vacuum chamber to exclude air bubbles. You might like to look at this video. . They use tin, but is that strong enough? In this video they use nickel/chrome. The temperatures are much higher so you will need to get special equipment. It looks as though you can get "scrap gold" on the internet at affordable prices. It is not pure gold of course, it is recovered from computers etc. Even so, it might polish up to make something that looks nice. I have no idea of the strength or melting point. If anyone has any info about that i would be interested.
Woah thanks a lot for all the answers! You guys gave me a lot of tips and a lot of things I wasnt aware of or didin't think about, like the sturdiness of the key, the bubbles / vacuum chamber. That already seems a bit more complicated haha. As for the design I wanted to make it is pretty much just about making keys and / or jewelery in general (rings and such). I would agree that the cost or getting equiped WILL exceed the cost of buying one but I feel like this could become some sort of a hobby, taking time for sure, but wouldn't the result, once achieved, be more satisfying? And imagine buying a nice piece of jewel for your girlfriend, that is cool and she would feel special wouldn't she? Now imagine MAKING that jewelery with your hands, trying hours and hours to make the nicest thing you could possibly make for her, how much would she appreciate it? As of right now I am at the point where I still gather information, I've seen some "starter kit" on amazon for approx 200$ / 300$ CAD, will most likely need a few more things out of the kit like polishing cream and the actual metal needed to craft the things. Yes I am not convinced of starting this project yet but, I think it's worth the research and investigating on the doability of it all. Thanks for all of your answer again, I am still open to any point of view!
Another approach is 3D printing in metal. There is one available for sale and it’s a DIY project to cut to your lock or find a locksmith to do it. I previously created a DIY for it. https://www.chastitymansion.com/forums/index.php?threads/silver-key-diy-project.35022/
@SheMastersMyDomain Woah! That would be a really really nice one to get on my side. I went and read the post you made, absolutely what I am looking for, you made my day...even made my week. Thanks a LOT for sharing!
Glad you like. If you decide to DIY, let me know if you have any questions about it. My wife has been wearing hers daily since I made it for her. She gets tons of compliments on it from vanillas that have no idea what it’s for. They think it’s like a Tiffany key or something vanilla. Like the key to my heart. If they really knew. Haha.