149v - - - - - Molding vases in several pieces
Goldsmiths who make large works and crockery use a turning lathe to get the model they wish in wood. Then with some wax, the goldsmithsmodel on top of this the masks, festoons, or anything that they wish. Then they mould the model in three, four, or several pieces.
Gold solder
They take on a gold penny a small pinch of refined aloc, as you would find in old sous.
Molding flies
Large flies can be molded & cast. But you must apply underneath their wings some wheat oil, which dries quickly and firms them up & gives them a little thickness. The same thing can be done with butterflies, cicadas, grasshoppers & similar things. But to cast them more easily, you must set them on some leaf or bouquet. The others should be placed by hand on a very slender silver blade. You cannot keep your insects when they are dead, since they will dry out and their legs will break.
at left bottom margin
Wheat oil should be put underneath delicate things to make them more rigid & firm, & to make them hold their natural posture, since being weak & delicate, the tempered sand, adding weight to them, would change their form.
Bats
They have very thin wings and if they are large & dry and the wings are extended, you need a very big mold & it is not certain that the metal will run sufficiently; thus, when you want to mold some, choose the medium—sized ones & and arrange them so that they have their wings are half folded, since in this way they will come out better. But be sure to apply, as you known, some wax on the side of the wings, so that the cast flows well.