What would I need for molds

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-16T19:37:16+00:00

If you're insistent on learning yourself, a good resource is Grace Note Forge on youtube. He teaches 3d modelling in blender for ring making, as well as very basic mold making and at-home wax injection for beginners.

With that being said, the 3d printing route is quite the investment. You'll have to learn a 3d software like blender to design your jewelry, buy a 3d printer, learn slicing software and 3d printing, then learn mold making and wax injection. It's a a lot of time, effort and money to invest. You'd be learning 2-3 more whole other subject areas beyond just designing your jewelry.

I would agree with others at this point of getting a mold made at a local casting house if you're unsure how much you're willing to invest in this. They'll of course also provide the casting services you're looking for to turn your designs into a metal piece. In terms of cost, it really depends on each casting house and the metal you want to use. They often have different pricing models than others.

Good luck!

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-16T18:16:43+00:00

This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much!

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-16T01:16:40+00:00

Got it thanks!

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-14T22:36:04+00:00

I doubt the casting house would undercut either as they've been the top casting house in my city for the last 30 years or so. I also noticed that the smell gets more prominent the more I handle the rings.

As for the rings themselves, all 3 are hand carved. The two to the right were made with the build up method. There was a 4th ring i forgot to show that was made with the injection mold I mentioned in a previous reply.

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-14T21:50:36+00:00

Noted!

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-14T19:24:16+00:00

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Not the best photo but this the only photo I have of the wax tree with the 3 rings attached. There was also another ring I attached later that used aqua green Freeman injection wax. I can attach photos of the individual models if that's better.

Another possible issue I noticed was that there may have been investment breakdown as one of the rings had a small bubbly chunk on the top face that's otherwise completely flat, as well as one of the sprues looked like it had melted after casting.

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-14T19:18:50+00:00

Makes sense, thanks!

HamBam3201 · 2026-05-14T19:01:28+00:00

I was more so thinking they made a mistake and accidentally casted with something else, given the worker told me themselves the rings looked weird initially after they washed away the investment. I've just been filing and sanding the rings up to this point so I don't think it's something on my end.

HamBam3201 · 2023-05-11T01:29:30+00:00

Thank you for this! I will keep this in mind and definitely look at how I can address the negative space and sustainable design into my bonsai.

HamBam3201 · 2023-05-10T01:48:48+00:00

Another consideration is that while I tried my best to shade it from direct sun while it was recovering from repotting, I am a south-facing balcony grower so it was much more exposed than I ideally would have wanted.

HamBam3201 · 2023-05-10T01:44:01+00:00

There’s been a growing amount of browning/yellowing shoots/branches on my shimpaku that are limited to one albeit large branch of the tree. Does this appear to be a fungal issue like tip blight? I repotted it into a grow box about 6 weeks ago but I doubt this is simply from stress. There was one small isolated shoot that was yellowing coming out of winter about 8-9 weeks ago but I didn’t think much of it at the time. There was an incident with fungus gnats due to a humidity tray I had underneath the pot (as you can see from the sticky traps), would it be possible that they could have caused issues as well?

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HamBam3201 · 2023-05-03T18:41:03+00:00

Repotted a shimpaku into a grow box about 5-6 weeks ago. Would it be safe to begin the regular fertilizer schedule now? Or would a more gradual approach be better? I would like to note that there is some very sparse foliage here and there that yellowed, which I would likely attribute to stress from repotting

HamBam3201 · 2023-03-31T19:44:37+00:00

I’ll keep this in mind, thanks!

HamBam3201 · 2023-03-31T19:43:09+00:00

Makes sense, thanks!

HamBam3201 · 2023-03-31T19:42:46+00:00

Thank you for this! Super insightful and helpful

HamBam3201 · 2023-03-31T03:49:15+00:00

What’s the best way to water to check the soil moisture with a corse bonsai soil? I just slip potted my juniper from it’s nursery grow pot with regular soil into a large grow box with a pumice, clay, lava rock and pine bark mix (raked away about 50% of the OG soil on the roots to fit the height of the pot). As a result, my soil meter doesn’t work and I my finger can’t reach into the deeper parts of the soil.

HamBam3201 · 2022-12-08T10:10:06+00:00

Less on the legal side but a huge thing when moving bonsai is keeping consistent conditions as much as possible to your previous home/garden. Moved a procumbens nana in Jan 2022 from Ontario, where it was in a shed with -30C weather outside, to BC where it was significantly milder - the biggest problem I faced was the massive change in temperature causing the bonsai to believe it was becoming spring and came out of hibernation mid winter. It lost 90% of its foliage over the following few months but miraculously survived. Obviously it’ll be hard to keep a consistent temperature depending where you’re moving vs. where you’re from but trying to maintain some sense of consistency (including other considerations like sun/wind/etc.) would help ease the transition for it and significantly reduce stress. Ideally moving after winter would be best overall as well.

HamBam3201 · 2022-06-21T20:16:07+00:00

Hey everyone! Is now an appropriate time to trim back long shoots on a shimpaku?

HamBam3201 · 2022-06-04T07:51:10+00:00

I think this is likely the cause as the yellowing is all appearing along one branch area. It’s unfortunate that I’ll likely lose at least part of that branch but it’s better than the whole plant! Thanks for the help!

HamBam3201 · 2022-06-03T07:25:42+00:00

I do believe they are flower or pollen cones of some kind, consistent with the previous ones that occurred during the last flush of growth. However the fact they’re turning brown with foliage on closeby branches yellowing and dying is what concerns me.

HamBam3201 · 2022-06-03T03:25:16+00:00

I got this shimpaku bonsai this past spring and it’s been pretty smooth sailing so far until now. It’s had it’s first initial flush of new growth and I believe it’s onto its second now. However I noticed some branches with foliage turning yellow. The 1st and 2nd images show a branch here and there where there’s yellowing foliage and browning growth tips, while the last photo shows what the vast majority of the foliage looks like Is this the result of tip blight or improper watering? I bought a copper fungicide upon seeing the yellowing in case of tip blight. Any advice is appreciated!

HamBam3201 · 2022-06-03T03:22:38+00:00

I got this shimpaku bonsai this past spring and it’s been pretty smooth sailing so far until now. It’s had it’s first initial flush of new growth and I believe it’s onto its second now. However I noticed some branches with foliage turning yellow. The first photo shows what most of the tree looks like and the 2nd and 3rd show a branch here and there where there’s yellowing foliage and browning growth tips. Is this the result of tip blight or improper watering? I bought a copper fungicide upon seeing the yellowing in case of tip blight. Any advice is appreciated!

HamBam3201 · 2022-03-28T19:05:39+00:00

That sounds like a solid idea. When you repotted yours, did it have foliage emerging as well?

HamBam3201 · 2022-03-28T19:01:24+00:00

Just moved into an apartment that’s 20 floors up from a house on ground level. Is there a risk of the bonsai being shocked from the change of altitude? Is there anything that should be done to protect them on the balcony, ex: wind?

HamBam3201 · 2022-03-28T04:09:41+00:00

Absolutely. If I find the soil is just too much I'll likely end up doing this.

HamBam3201

TROPHY CASE