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Sal ammoniac and alabaster

Sal ammoniac, well pulverizedmou &
ground dry on marble, molds very neatly & makes a
very beautiful, & once mixed with alabaster, pulverized
similarly, ii ℥ per lb of
alabaster, makes it release well. It sufficient to moisten it in
a cave or in the serain or, to
be done more quickly, in a piece of paper between a wet
napkin. Take heed that it does not stay for too long, for it
would become so wet that it would not be good for molding in a
frame, but rather in a noyau, in which you will be
able to use it well as long as dries well at ease & far from the
fire. Otherwise the heat makes it swell, & push the salt onto
the surface, which renders it lumpy. You can in smear the
medal with spike lavender oil, molding in
noyau. It is better to put in 4 ℥ of
sal ammoniac per lb, and moisten it in a damp
place for two or three days, & so that
when you take fistfuls, it holds together, without, however,
attaching itself & being pasted to your hand. You
will with it mold very neatly. But let it dry & reheat really well,
leaving the mold inside, so that it acquires strength by
reheating, for it becomes hard as stone, & and in this way is
more certain to release well. Otherwise if you release before having
reheated it, there would be danger of it crumbling in some place,
because of its delicateness & fineness, even if the medal of high
relief. Once you have molded with it, pulverize it as before and put it
back in dampness.


All sand that releases well has body & sticks well. Ammoniac
is fat and a va however, is areneux
which makes it release well. There is no better bond than salts
appropriate for metals, for once mixed in powder, they get moistened
together & dry &reheat together.


Glassmaker's white sand from the
mine, mixed with sal ammoniac

There is found in Cominge, near the town of
Aurignac, a sand, white mai, like
salt, and lean, that glassmakers &
potters use, which renders impalpable crushed on
porphyry & is easy to crush. And once crushed, it
resembles calcined alabaster. It molds very neatly, and I have
not found any that molds as delicately as this one for low relief. It is
excellent to mold en noyau without a frame, having crushed it
impalpable with gummed or pure water on porphyry,
then placing it, thick as mustard or a little more, on the medal,
smeared with a oil either olive, walnut, even
better spike lavender. But to do it better
mo, let it dry by itself, without fire, for one or
two days. Although, if you are in a hurry, you can
heat it well, & it will not crack, if it is not put on too lightly.
It is true, being thus suddenly exposed to heat all at once, it makes
some holes & bubbles, which it does not do when dried in the cold or
at ease, rather than being reheated. Once dry, reheat it & it will
withstand several casts. 

