Greenhouse: Cattle Panel Hoophouse, Part 2, 1 by mulchmania

mulchmania wrote:
In lost wax casting, sprues are the pathways through which the molten metal travels to fill the cavity which is the hollow form of the ring or whatever. These sometimes are fairly large, even when the finished piece may not be particularly large. They have to be big enough to carry the molten metal everywhere it needs to go before it freezes up.

The more time I have spent on the original wax, the more heavily I am inclined to sprue it, particularly large flat items like this belt buckle. I figure I can saw them off, but it is a major pain if the piece miscasts due to a shortage of sprues. I rarely have a miscast.