
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~106r~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For casting

Asphaltum is, which is found in Germany,
is the most excellent sand one can find for molding in a frame,
because it is appropriate for silver & for gold, &
the more you use it and the older it is, the better it is. One molds in
it very thinly & finely.


Making gold run for casting

Because gold cools down very quickly, one ought to give it a
mix when melted q it is well melted which maintains
the heat. Sublimate softens it nicely. But, because it goes up in
smoke, it does not continue to help. Therefore mix this composition when
you want to cast: sal ammoniac, the best verdet
that you can find, a little borax & saltpeterqui li. And this, by keeping it warm, it
will come out neatly. Saltpeter clarifies it &
p heats it. But the most important thing in this
mixture is the verdet, which has to be good. This
mixture softens the goldqui so much that it
becomes treatable like lead, even fine gold.

For sand for molding flowers & leaves & delicate things, mix
in well-ground raw plaster, brick & alum de
plume.

To moisten sands, eau de vye is excellent, for it
grinds the sand finely & evaporates que when one
reheats the frames.

Sal ammoniac water is very good, is excellent for moistening
sands, but for lots of water one only needs a little sal
ammoniac.

A lump of iron, for lack of crocum ferri, is
exce good for gold.

The snakes or lizards you want to mold should not
be kept for a long time, for if they are alive, they get
thin, and if they are dry il dead, they wither.

Plaster of Paris is as firm as stone &
very good. When you will want to choose some for your sand, take it raw,
the hardest possible & which does not make any powder. The
transparent one and the one that thusly makes powder retracts,
Ce which is not good for this work. A sign of the
one that is close to perfection is that it is hard & made of
lustrous grains nearing the shape of sugar. Finally, to mix some
into the sand to cast gold, it is necessary that it endures the
fire twice, & is reheated twice.

+ When gold is very fine, it is so dry that it
can hardly endure a hammer, but this mixture softens it like
lead.

