After dinner, Yang Sichen began to think about making a mask for Zi Xiao.
Yang Sichen first thought of Azurite, but he immediately shook his head.
In this era, the glass was made with ancient methods, also known as glazed wax. It is made purely by hand using the bronze wax casting technology. After more than ten hand-crafted refinements, it is naturally condensed into a noble, gorgeous, and self-made glass after melting the crystal glass in a high-temperature furnace above 1,000 degrees Celsius. Its color is naturally like flowing clouds, beautiful and beautiful; The quality was also crystal clear and dazzling. It was indeed very beautiful.
However, the materials used to make the ancient colored glaze were special, and the production process was quite complicated. It took dozens of processes to complete, and some of them took ten to twenty days to make, and they mainly relied on manual work. It was difficult to grasp each link, and the difficulty of controlling the fire could be said to be half dependent on skill and half on luck. Just the production rate was only about 70%. More importantly, the ancient glass could not be recycled. In other words, if there was a small problem, dozens of days, dozens of processes, and the efforts of a large group of people would immediately be in vain.
This thing was beautiful, but from the conception, design, sculpture, firing, fine repair, polishing to the final completion, it needed to go through 47 delicate and cumbersome manual processes to complete. Not only was the process complicated and time-consuming, but it was also brittle. If it was worn on the face and fell, it would be a big deal. At the very least, it was unrealistic to make a glazed mask for Zi Xiao.
The ceramic mask had the same problem. It was not that he had never thought of making a jade mask, but the problem was where to find such a large piece of jade to make a mask!
Casting a mask with pig iron or tin copper would be too shabby. Moreover, because the material was too soft, it had to be thickened to ensure its strength. This would be too heavy, and it would be difficult for the little girl to wear it.
Using porcelain to make a mask was light, durable, and also beautiful. Enamel was also called " Enamel " in this era. China started to develop " Enamel " in the middle and late Tang Dynasty. It was only in the early Ming Dynasty that the art of making " Enamel " became more and more mature. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the art of making " Enamel " products reached its peak, and the finished products were the most exquisite and beautiful. Since Jingtai was the emperor," Enamel " was also known as " Cloisonné." However, the main steps of making porcelain were glaze preparation, body preparation, coating, drying, firing, inspection, and so on. In this era, porcelain was still based on pig iron. It was estimated that to achieve the required strength, the weight would not be much lighter than pig iron. Moreover, Yang Sichen was not familiar with the production process at all. It was not something that could be done in a short period of time.
He would make a steel mask. In this era, steel was made from hundreds of types of steel. There was no such thing as carbon steel, mn steel, or stainless steel. Yang Sichen didn't know where to find a suitable one.
It was too troublesome to carve the wooden mask one by one. Moreover, in order to ensure its strength, the thickness was not small. Although the weight was not as heavy as pig iron, tin, and copper, it felt too heavy when worn. The little girl did not look good wearing it, and it was also uncomfortable.
Then there was only gold and silver. Among them, large-scale gold products could only be publicly owned by the imperial clan and noble children. If their own family did not have enough, they naturally could not exceed the system. Otherwise, they would be beheaded. Life first, safety first…
The only thing left was silver, but the silver mask was also suitable. It was not too expensive, and adding other components to make an alloy could guarantee its strength, and there was no problem of over-production. As for the cold metal, it was fine to use a layer of flannelette under the mask. Although flannelette was relatively rare in this era, it was not difficult for the Yang family to get a small piece.
The next question was how to make the mask. Yang Sichen knew that the main methods of making small metal objects in this era were: punching method, casting method, folding method
As the name suggested, the wire folding method was to melt the block metal, press the wire, and draw it into a metal wire of the required diameter. The wire was twisted and flattened. Then, according to the pattern on the drawing, the wire was twisted into various patterns with tweezers. The various patterns were closed, and the welding powder was sprinkled over the fire to obtain various overall patterns. The black tire was pickled. Sometimes, it was silver blue, and after burning the blue, it was plated with gold or silver. Some of them even had to be inlaid with gems. This kind of craft had a rich surface shape, and the layers were like embossed. It could be used to make jewelry and other small objects very exquisite, but if it was used to make a relatively large mask, it was obviously too time-consuming.
The casting method of the sand casting method and the lost wax method were already relatively mature in this era, so it was not difficult to apply them.
The sand casting method used clay bonded sand as a molding material to produce casting. It was a long-standing process and also the most widely used metal casting process. Speaking of its long history, it could be traced back to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. In terms of its scope of application, it could be said that there was no place in the world that did not use it. It was worth noting that in terms of mold materials, even after 400 years, clay green sand was still the most important molding material. Its wide range of applications and large consumption were incomparable to any other molding material. However, the surface of the metal objects cast using this method was very rough. They needed to be carefully polished before they could be used. Yang Sichen had a lot of things to do, and so did the girl. They didn't have the time to carefully polish them, nor did they have the time to ask the craftsmen for help. Therefore, Yang Sichen had no choice but to give up.
The lost wax method was a precision casting method used for bronze and other low and medium-melting point metals. Usually, the specific method was to first use wax to make a casting model, and then use other fire-resistant materials to fill the mud core and apply it to the outside. After heating and baking, the wax mold melted and disappeared, turning the entire casting model into an empty shell. Finally, he poured the solution into it and cast it into an object. Artifacts cast with the lost wax method could be exquisitely carved and have the effect of hollowing out. However, a mold could only be used once under normal circumstances. It wasn't a big problem to use it as a mask.
The lost wax method was still a common casting method in later generations. First, the hard material was used to make the mold of the work piece, and then the wax was injected into the mold. This step was called "waxing". Then, after the wax cooled down, the wax model was taken out. This step was called "withdrawing the mold". At this time, the wax model was the same size as the real thing or slightly larger.(Considering the thermal expansion and contraction), after the wax mold was carefully modified, the surface of the wax mold was covered with sand to a certain thickness. This step was called "dipping sand". After the casting sand on the surface of the wax mold adhered, the wax mold covered with sand was put into water to boil. Finally, a sand shell was left. This step was called "boiling wax". Finally, the sand shell was buried in the casting sand pit, and the melted liquid metal was poured in. Finally, the liquid metal in the sand mold was cooled and solidified, and the sand shell was knocked off. After taking out the casting and polishing it, everything would be fine.
It was too troublesome to carve the model by hand, and it could not match the little girl's face.
Yang Sichen paced around the room and thought for a quarter of an hour. He then took out a candle and stared at it for another quarter of an hour. Finally, he put the candle aside and sighed. He looked at Yanhong who was standing at the side and said,"Go to the kitchen and get a big iron spoon for soup. Bring a piece of flannel that is half a foot square. When you come back, find a pound of beeswax and send it over.”
Yang Sichen nodded uncertainly and said,""You can wait at the side after you take the things. I can't tell if I need your help with this matter.”
When Yanhong found a big iron spoon, Yang Sichen broke off a piece of the candle and placed it in the big iron spoon. Then, he placed the big iron spoon on the oil lamp to roast it. After less than a cup of tea, the wax melted into liquid.
When the wax was half-solidified, Yang Sichen carefully touched it with his fingertips. It felt very hot, probably around 80 degrees. So he took the teapot and poured some water on the wax. Then he put the big iron spoon back on the oil lamp to roast it. After a while, the wax melted again. Due to the different specific gravity, the water had already seeped into the melted wax, but there was no sign of boiling.
Yang Sichen shook his head. This was obviously not possible. The white wax's freezing temperature was too high. This kind of half-solidified white wax was still too hot. If she directly stuck it on her face, the girl would cry for her parents.
After a quarter of an hour, Yan found a piece of beeswax from the storeroom and said to Yang Sichen,""Young Master, our residence doesn't have much beeswax, use it sparingly.”
Yang Sichen nodded and placed the beeswax on the table. He melted the wax in the big iron spoon and poured it away. He washed the big iron spoon clean and put a small piece of beeswax in it. Then, he put the big iron spoon on the oil lamp again and baked it. After about half a cup of tea, the beeswax was completely melted. Yang Sichen waited for the beeswax to cool down and turn into a semi-solid state before carefully touching it with his fingertips. This time, he only felt a little hot, probably no more than 65 degrees. It was not as hot as he had expected.
Yang Sichen heaved a sigh of relief. That was enough. As long as he could ensure that the melted wax did not come into direct contact with the skin, he could roughly outline the girl's face. As for whether it would be better to use wet rice paper or wet cotton cloth, he would have to let Yanhong try it out before he knew the result. If it still didn't work, he would put some half-solidified beeswax on the girl's face and press it into shape with his hands. It wasn't difficult, but he had to be quick. However, the mask couldn't be too thin. Otherwise, bubbles might be left behind during casting. It was also possible to add a certain amount of other metals such as tin and tin to the silver. This would allow the liquid metal to flow better, but it would affect the luster of the mask. However, Yang Sichen didn't know the exact situation. He could just ask the craftsman when the time came.
After a quarter of an hour, Yang Sichen used a bottle of beeswax to perfectly shape the back of his left hand. Because it was covered with a layer of wet Xuan paper, Yanhong did not feel much discomfort. In the end, Yang Sichen still insisted on instructing Yanhong to put her hands in cold water to freeze them. To avoid any problems.
Since the lost wax method was feasible, the next step was to consider what kind of mask to make. A full-face mask? Eliminate! Yang Sichen didn't want to see an expressionless face with a silver mask all day long. Just thinking about it made his heart tremble and he felt uncomfortable all over. Moreover, that little girl might be muffled when she spoke with it on, so she probably wouldn't feel very comfortable either. Half a mask? Forget it! He might as well get a black cloth and tie it in front of his eyes with two holes. Then, he would take a pair of three-pronged forks and pose. Heh! Ninja Turtle! A mask that only covered the right side of his face? No matter how the thread was strung, it wouldn't be fixed securely unless the mask was glued to the little girl's face. A mask? Go to hell! Was this a helmet or a mask? It was just to cover that small red spot. Did it have to stuff the entire head in? Wearing it was probably more boring than wearing a full-face mask. Besides, the weight of pure silver was heavier than pig iron. It was probably difficult to turn one's head when wearing it. If he really did that, it would probably not be long before the little girl smashed the mask into pieces of silver to exchange for money to buy candy and snacks...
Yang Sichen thought about it for a long time and realized that only a one-eyed eyepatch mask like the ones worn by Western pirates was suitable. There shouldn't be much difference between covering one eye and covering one eye and the surrounding part of the face. At most, he would wear a monocle with one foot on his ear and the other on the bridge of his nose. Then, he would use a hairpin to pin it on his hair.
Thinking of this, Yang Sichen took out two silver coins from his sleeve pocket, stood up, and handed them to Liu Lan, who was on duty for Yanhong."Tomorrow morning, go out and buy half a catty of beeswax. I'll just send it over after I get up and eat.”He then pointed at the big iron spoon on the table and said," Don't keep these things. I still need them tomorrow."”
"Young Master, what are you doing?" Flowing Mist asked curiously.”
Yang Sichen rolled his eyes and said,""Make a mask for Zi Xiao, that girl. At least cover those red spots. When I saw her face, my heart trembled and goosebumps rose all over my body.”
"Young Master, you're regretting it so quickly?" Flowing Mist laughed. It had only been a few days! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place!"
Yang Sichen pretended to be angry and said,""You little b * tch, how dare you slander your young master like this! Tomorrow, this Young Master will sell you to a brothel!”
Flowing Mist quickly pretended to be very afraid and pretended to beg,"Young Master, you have always been magnanimous and compassionate. Please spare this servant this time. This servant will not dare to do it again…"
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