"ONCE CAST. Once cast, the item must be finished. It simply does not come out of the plaster pristine and ready to go. The metal gates(sprues) need to be removed then the item sanded and finished by buffing. A excellent casting will still take finishing time and a bad casting might require all sorts of repairs… or a new model and a new casting". From the site below. Many others describe the same process and mention the same terminology.

An improved wax master tree used for precision casting is provided. The tree comprises a sprue rod and a plurality of wax masters attached to the sprue rod by fusing. In the improved wax master tree of the invention, the sprue rod is made of a substantially rigid material having a sufficient mechanical strength and withstanding to retain its integrity during the dewaxing step, and has a contour of generally tubular shape with the wall provided with a number of pores and covered with a wax covering layer. The rigidity of the tubular member ensures easy handling of the tree without the fear of damage during the handling operations. By the provision of hollow core portion internally of the tubular member having a wall provided with a number of pores, the risk of cracking of the ceramic shell mold applied on the wax master tree at the dewaxing step caused by the adverse affect of thermal expansion of the wax can be avoided. In the preferred embodiment, the tubular member is made of a magnetic material, such as iron, to have a capability of being heated selectively by high frequency heating to enable easy withdrawal thereof at the initial stage of the dewaxing step to provide a flow passage for the molten wax as well as means for transferring heat from the inside of the ceramic shell mold, whereby the risk of cracking of the ceramic shell mold is further diminished.