The Process
(Portions of the following paragraph will be highlighted throughout this series and you may want to refer back to it over the next posting weeks)
(Portions of the following paragraph will be highlighted throughout this series and you may want to refer back to it over the next posting weeks)
In the process of centrifugal casting, the old metal junk is placed into the crucible and melted with fire into a liquid state so that there is nothing left of its’ previous form, and the impurities begin to surface from the liquid metal. At this point all the impurities are removed with a pure quartz rod, or incinerated by the fire. In this liquid state the metal will actually follow the flame around the crucible as the impurities are being removed. When the impurities are gone and while the metal is still liquid, it takes on a “mirror finish”, indicating that it is time to activate the centrifugal casting machine to move the liquid metal into the new form (the cavity inside the plaster flask) which is waiting at the open end of the crucible. When the centrifugal casting machine is activated, the liquid metal moves instantly into the waiting plaster flask (which has been removed from the kiln and placed into the centrifuge) containing the new form for the metal. When the metal is cooled, the flask is then submerged into water (called quenching) and the plaster is broken away to reveal the new creation. The new creation is then separated from the “button”, which is all of the leftover metal from the entry point into the plaster flask. Then the finishing and polishing process begins, which can involve many steps including grinding, sanding, and polishing. These steps take the new creation to its’ final stage of beauty, an appearance that observers will appreciate and find pleasing. This is also the point where jewels and gems can be set to further enhance the new creations beauty.
“In the process of centrifugal casting, the old metal junk is placed into the crucible and melted with fire into a liquid state so that there is nothing left of its’ previous form, and the impurities begin to surface from the liquid metal”.
This process begins only after a decision is made that the old junk needs to be made new again. My customers believe in me and my ability to do what I tell them I can do with all their broken-down jewelry. This is much like our decision to follow Jesus Christ as our Savior. We believe in Jesus Christ and His ability to make us new again (Rev 21:5), and have Faith that He is who He says (Jhn 14:6-9) and can do what He says He can do (Jhn 3:16-18).
“The old metal junk is placed into the crucible and melted with fire into a liquid state so that there is nothing left of its’ previous form, and the impurities begin to surface from the liquid metal. It is at this point that all the impurities are removed with a pure quartz rod, or incinerated by the fire.”
Our old life and our old ways, the “old metal junk” of our lives gets placed into the crucible to be made ready for the new creation. This also makes me think of how we come under conviction of our sin. The purification process begins. More often in life than not, this process is likened to “going through the fire”, a refiners fire (Mal 3:2-3). This “fire” at first can seem painful because we are faced with looking at our sin and/or don’t want to let go of some things in our lives. Sometimes it’s things that we have put in front of our relationship with Jesus, and sometimes it’s just plain old SIN. But the refiners’ fire brings all the impurities to the surface so that they can be removed.
“The old metal junk is placed into the crucible and melted with fire into a liquid state so that there is nothing left of its’ previous form, and the impurities begin to surface from the liquid metal. It is at this point that all the impurities are removed with a pure quartz rod, or incinerated by the fire.”
Our old life and our old ways, the “old metal junk” of our lives gets placed into the crucible to be made ready for the new creation. This also makes me think of how we come under conviction of our sin. The purification process begins. More often in life than not, this process is likened to “going through the fire”, a refiners fire (Mal 3:2-3). This “fire” at first can seem painful because we are faced with looking at our sin and/or don’t want to let go of some things in our lives. Sometimes it’s things that we have put in front of our relationship with Jesus, and sometimes it’s just plain old SIN. But the refiners’ fire brings all the impurities to the surface so that they can be removed.
Illustrations of the 'lost wax' jewelry casting process
NEXT POST: JEWELRY CASTING AND THE CREATOR - PART THREE: THE REFINER'S FIRE
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