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If you want to cast gold, silver, copper or brass, it is necessary that they be perfectly red, and fired on the inside when you cast, and perfectly reheated twice, if there is something inside to be burnt and cleaned.
The molds of animals that you burn must be reheated in such a manner that the animal burns up. But if it has big bones, it is frustrating to take out and ☿ often breaks delicate things because of its heaviness. One does not put ☿in molds that can open. It is often molds for flowers that do not open because they are cast in one go.
When you want to reheat your molds, fix cramp—irons on the joints, so that when they reheat they will not bend, contract or break. This is done once the cast is made.
The scrapings of the mold can also be used instead of bricks after being reheated, and also the leftover bits of the mold that have already been used. You can also pat it over important things, like works in gold or silver. You can also reheat it and blend it with water diluted with sal ammoniac, like spar from Germany, and is excellent sand for box molds for all metals.
The molds with things that need to be burnt out inside them, those ones will not open until the thing that is inside is burnt, like the molds for crayfish, crab, great—horned beetles. Do not open the molds in which you will burn something, not before the thing is burnt, it could be crayfishes, crabs, stag beetles, pictures, and pieces of wax and black sulphur, which do not come out of the mold easily.
You must not mold on brick or wood because they absorb and attract water too early, and do not allow the sand to set. The best place for the sand is on a fresh layers of clay. And yet, I have experienced that grey earth dries out the mold too quickly. Yellow earth is better.
at left middle margin
For medals, and flat things, the sand must be quite thick and moistened so that it sets quickly. And when the sand is thusly thick, you can shake and move the table where you mold lies, so that the movement makes the sand go everywhere. But when the sand is clear, as for flowers and herbs, you cannot shake it, nor can you do it when there is something attached to wax or other things which are prone to come off, such as the legs of crayfish or other similar things. And if by chance your sand is too thick, you must quickly add some water. And having put the sand in the water, examine it until it is thick on the bottom and clear on top. The clearest is thrown in immediately and then bubbles and the thickest is thrown in at the end so that it strengthens the mold.