Chapter seven hundred and thirty second found something
The workers made eighteen wooden molds, and Chen Wenzhe was making clay models, because the casting of Jingyun Bell required clay models.
Clay models are not that easy to make because they require refinement, drying and other processes.
The manufacturing of clay models has a long history.
Judging from archaeological excavations, bronze was already cast in the Xia Dynasty.
The initial castings were made from stone molds.
Because stone is difficult to process and cannot withstand high temperatures, stone molds were quickly replaced by clay molds.
In the early Shang Dynasty, marked by the Erlitou site in Yanshi, clay molds were used to cast bronze adzes, bells, etc.
After Pan Geng moved to Yin, bronze smelting and casting technology reached its peak.
In order to obtain bronze castings with complex shapes and wonderful patterns, smelting craftsmen selected pure texture and high refractory sand to refine the clay molds.
This is the key point. Only qualified sand can produce qualified clay models.
This is not difficult for Chen Wenzhe, who has master-level clay training skills.
What is really rare is knowing what kind of sand to use.
Not to mention other things, after the mud is mixed into mud, it will crack if it is dried for a while.
And what are you going to do with the cracked mud fan?
If you want to avoid such a result, you must look at inheritance.
There are too many successful experiences in the inheritance, so Chen Wenzhe will not take detours and will always stay on the right path.
After selecting the mud and sand, start making the mud mold. At this time, you also need to choose a craft.
In terms of modeling technology, clay mold casting uses the split casting method as the basic process to cast complex shapes.
Or cast the body first, then fit the mold on it and pour the accessories;
Or cast the accessories first, and then cast the two into one body when pouring the body.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the process of casting accessories first and then casting the body became the mainstream of split casting.
At this time, it’s time to show off your skills.
The clay mold made by the split casting method has strict requirements for the drying, roasting, assembly and uniform wall thickness of the mold core.
Only by making a qualified clay mold, allowing it to solidify at the same time when casting, and preheating the mold so that it can be poured smoothly, can a qualified product be cast.
In this regard, a complete set of mature techniques had been explored during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.
In the Han Dynasty, the craftsmanship was naturally more mature, such as the three bronze wares placed not far away.
Chen Wenzhe got these three bronzes not only because he liked to collect them or to make money, but what he valued most was the craftsmanship.
It cannot be said that the casting technology of the Han Dynasty was better than that of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, but it was definitely not weaker.
For example, the stack casting method reached its peak in the Han Dynasty.
It can be said that another outstanding achievement of clay model casting is the emergence and widespread application of the stack casting method.
Stack casting involves stacking and assembling many mold blocks, or pairs of mold pieces, and pouring them through a common runner. Dozens or even hundreds of castings can be obtained at one time.
The earliest stacked casting in my country is the Qidao coin from the Warring States Period.
In the Han Dynasty, the stack casting method was widely used in the production of coins, carriages and horses.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the technology of using clay molds to cast large and extra-large castings became increasingly mature.
The iron lion from the Five Dynasties period in Zhoucang and the Yongle Bell from the Dazhong Temple in Shendu are both world-famous giant castings.
As for the Jingyun Bell, it is made by separate casting methods, not an extra-large casting formed in one go!
Therefore, there are some things that need to be done in advance.
And as long as it's done well and you continue to make some big clocks in the future, maybe you won't have to go to such trouble.
After all, this is my first time doing it, so I’d better follow the original method and explore it first!
After all, Chen Wenzhe has never seen the Yongle Bell, so he doesn't know how the one-piece casting is completed.
Making clay models and wooden molds is what I have been doing recently.
Of course, in this process, it is also essential to continuously smelt copper ore and refine copper ore.
The work progressed slowly and orderly, and on this day, some small clay models made by Chen Wenzhe were ready for use.
Some bronze materials were also successfully fired and set aside for later use.
At this time, Chen Wenzhe needed to experiment to see if the alloy materials he prepared were suitable for making percussion instruments.
By the way, when these days came, Chen Wenzhe also transported all the Yue Yu bronze wares at home to Dahai City, because they would not return to their hometown during the Chinese New Year this year.
One aspect is that my niece is too young to travel and travel.
Another reason is that the two elderly people in the family are reluctant to part with the income from the restaurant.
The closer the New Year is, the better the hotel business is. How could they give up that easy and huge income just to go home for the New Year? Absolutely impossible!
So, after just a little discussion, they decided to stay in Dahai City for the New Year as a family.
Anyway, the whole family is in Dahai City. Where are we celebrating the New Year? We can’t get together as a family?
Among those bronzes were a chime and some copper bells, which Chen Wenzhe needed.
He still admired the skills of Yue Yu and the Huang family. Chen Wenzhe really didn't believe it. Everything the Huang family made was just fake.
Therefore, if you can’t see a real chime bell, you can learn from the technology of imitations.
It was with all kinds of preparations that Chen Wenzhe made some small clay models and prepared to do some experiments.
This time, the simplest ones he made were chimes, singing bowls and some wind chimes.
The craftsmanship of the bell is slightly more complicated, similar to that of a large bell.
Moreover, it requires one-piece casting. Chen Wenzhe felt that he had not fully mastered this craft yet, so he wanted to make something simple first.
Although the chimes and singing bowls are larger, it is really not difficult to cast these things.
Once the clay mold is ready, you just need to pour the copper water into it, wait for it to cool, trim the edges, and polish it.
If it is poured in one piece, it depends on whether it will be successful or not.
The cooling speed is very fast. Once the clay fan is broken and the chimes and singing bowls are taken out, there is definitely no possibility of failure.
With modern machines, whether it is trimming or polishing, the speed is very fast.
The machine is fixed with sandpaper and rotates quickly.
At this time, put the copperware in, and you can polish whichever side you want. You don't have to bother much at all, and the polishing is completed quickly.
After all the processes are completed, it is time to verify the results.
Whether a percussion instrument is good or not, you can tell what it is like by just hitting it.
"Ding..." The voice is melodious, lingering, and very nice.
But after hearing the sound of the singing bowl made by others, Chen Wenzhe knew that it didn't sound very pleasant to him, right?
It feels like the sound is no different from the singing bowls I bought!
I struck the chime again, and the sound was just like that. I'm not a professional, so I can't judge whether it's good or bad.
At this point, Chen Wenzhe felt a little numb!
Fortunately, Cao Qingchun prepared two singing bowls for him, one with a deep sound and the other with a clear sound.
After such a comparison, Chen Wenzhe made some discoveries.