Lost wax is the art of carving a model in wax using special tools and embedding it in a high temperature resistant compound called Investment. The compound resembles plaster of paris and is poured in around the wax model that is propped up inside of a metal cylinder called a Flask. The process is called Investing. When the Investment hardens, the Flask is placed in a kiln and is gradually run up to a very high temperature and then slowly cooled until it arrives at the casting temperature. This procedure is called the Burnout cycle whereas the wax is "lost" from the Investment by vaporization thereby acquiring the name "Lost Wax". Sometimes a heat cured rubber mold is made of an existing metal piece or model and hot wax is injected into the rubber mold using a pressurized wax melting pot. This is called "shooting a wax".

Wax Models From A Rubber Mold

 

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