Sand, for the most excellent lead of all, for large and small reliefs

I took white lead and crushed it dry on porphyry, to make it very fine. Then I moistened it a lot with very well beaten egg white, so that it became like a paste, by making it stick together perfectly with the flat of a knife. I let it rest for a while.

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Mix it well with the knife

and place it on a flat well—clean table, and since it has a desiccative quality, I knew it would dry out. I left it to dry for a while to reduce it to a powder and mold it with sand, it having been ground into small pieces with my fingers and the sharp side of a knife. I oiled my medal because oil cleans it without damaging it. And after cleaning and drying the medal with a cloth and small bristle brush of pork skin, I lightly oiled it once more with clear walnut oil, and gently swiped it with a cloth so that [the medal] would not be too oiled; having already considered that in this way [the medal] should come out easily, because the white lead, wet with glair, which would not damage the oil. This worked very well. I molded a medal very cleanly in high relief, without it having any lumps, which a lot of good sands such as felt, burnt bone, and iron dross failed to do on the first attempt. I re—cooked it and my mold became hard like marble. And then I knew that sands used to mold big relief must be very moist with some kind of water, which gives body and firmness, like egg white, gummed water, [or] one [water] boiled with elm root. And lightly oil your medal. It can take as many firings as you want because it is as hard as glass. But soft lead and sour tin must be cast at a very hot temperature.

Since that moment, I have realized that even though this sand is excellent, can be cast often and molds very neatly, it is fat and it makes bubbles. In this way, the soft lead does not suit the mold well. But I have tried to mix it with lean sand, such as pumice, metal scrapings, and similar things, in order to give it body, and to help it come off easily, because lean sand [alone] does not come off easily; and yet it takes metal well.

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Try to mix white lead or minium with other sands.

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Oil and smear with aspic oil, which will disappear when reheated, because the oil causes bubbling.

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It is necessary to mold with egg white, and then mix it well. And once it is in the box mold, beat it well on the top with a pestle, or something else clean. This helps to make molding better and come out more easily.

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It is best to fill the box mold in one go, because the mixture made of several sands, and the one from mines, that you use to fill the box mold, damages it.