.9999 Silver Chess set

[James Ball]

I used some of my refined silver from electrolysis to make a silver/gold chess piece set. The silver is .9999 pure silver but the "gold" pieces
are made from aluminum bronze (90% Cu, 10% Al). I used the lost-wax method to cast these pieces from a set of House of Staunton chess pieces
of the type used in the Spasky-Fisher Chess Tournament. I have some pictures and a link to the R & R investment gallery Website. Of course the pure silver
is soft and will dent easily. I bought a special chess set box to hold the pieces. The board is purchased too.

I thought the silver refining community would like to see this set.

Link to the R & R gallery: https://www.ransom-randolph.com/gallery?pgid=l2rq7dfz-40e366cc-a2ef-413e-aac4-01e705c3815b

 

[4metals]

Very nice work.

 

[FrugalRefiner]

Very nice. I've often considered such a project, but so little time.

Dave

 

[4metals]

Nice on both counts, the casting and the woodworking!

 

[James Ball]

I would like to take credit for the board but I bought the board.

 

[Darkthirty]

I would like to credit for the board but I bought the board.

Cast with cores, or solid? How were they gated?

 

[James Ball]

I used the lost-wax method to cast these chess pieces. I made a silicone rubber mold of each chess piece. From this mold I made a wax chess piece. I placed the wax piece in a 2.5 x 5 in perforated casting flask with a 10 mm diameter sprue. I melted the wax, burned out the wax, and used the heating schedule for R & R ultra-vest investment. I melted my silver and poured it into the flask with the flask held at 1000 F with a vacuum. I finished each piece with sandpaper and steel wool. All pieces are whole with no cores - heavy chess set! I tried sand casting with petrobond and just did not like the look of the castings so I went with the lost-wax method. I learned how to do this using aluminum first though. Yes I have a lot of silver in this set and want to make it a family treasure.

Edited to state that I used vacuum casting.

 

[nwinther]

I know a couple of people with a lathe that would love to finish those pieces

 

[tmj883]

Nicely done!

 

[Lou]

Want to sell the silicone molds? Been meaning to do one of these for a long time

 

[James Ball]

I know a couple of people with a lathe that would love to finish those pieces

Good luck making a Knight/Horse using a lathe! But the bottom 1/4 or so of each piece could be nicely finished with a lathe. Some pieces like the pawn, rook and bishop are amenable to finishing with a lathe too. But, no lathe here

 

[BGDOCK]

The green felt on the bottom is a nice touch

 

[nwinther]

Good luck making a Knight/Horse using a lathe! But the bottom 1/4 or so of each piece could be nicely finished with a lathe. Some pieces like the pawn, rook and bishop are amenable to finishing with a lathe too. But, no lathe here

Yes, the knight would require mostly hand-finish, but all other pieces are reasonably uniform and only the top would be unsuitable on a lathe. A milling machine could be used for the top of the king the rook and to some extent the queen.

 

[rickbb]

I would love to do some lost wax and even sand casting, but "she who must be obeyed" would kill me if I started another hobby.

 

[BGDOCK]

Tell her you are making gifts for her side of the family.

 

[Shark]

Tell her you are making gifts for her side of the family.

If I told mine that she would call me a liar, and she would be right,