146v - - - - - Moldingturtles
This page is the continuation of the preceding second page.Since you have cleanly uncovered the part of the belly of turtle, its underparts, its throat, and its legs, and having cleaned it all well, do not forget to neatly uncover the cavity that these animals have in their shell between the neck and the shoulders. Turtles do not have as deep of a cavity as tortoises, which are more scraggly, and even amongst those, there are some that have a deeper cavity than others. Do not therefore forget to neatly uncover all of this in order to better represent its likeness. But if there is a cavity which spirals too much inside, and is not visible, nor releases well, apply some small lumps of wax and with heated needles of thick iron and work the aforesaid wax. Then plug the entrance to all of these cavities with soft clay. Put the circle of clay around the mold, which has already been made of two pieces and contains the back of the turtle. And to mold its belly, you must separate it in three as you can see. That is to say, you will put a roll of clay on top of the throat and another one on the edge of the shell of its tail, so that only the shell of the entire stomach will be accessible to be molded on its own. Having oiled the shell of the belly and having rubbed it with spirits, thrown you slightly thick sand, which has been tempered with hot water as before. Having taken hold, remove the rolls of clay, then uncover the front and back legs, that is to say the bottom bit, and the throat and the tail, and remove the clay of all the cavities in one go if you can, because this will show you if the cavity will release well. And if the removed clay carries with it some of the wax you have applied, put it back into the places that did not release well, as has been said. And if some bit of the turtle has come away with the clay, or fallen off, attach and rejoin it to the mold with some wax, using a heated iron needle. Do not forget to put some melted wax at the edge of the turtle’s nails when you cast. Having molded and uncovered the shell of the belly, you will see the mold in this way.#
Figure at left middle margin
Figure at left bottom margin
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