Lost Wax Casting
Nov. 20th, 2011 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starstreakerSo, the past two weekends, I have been taking part in a class on Lost Wax Casting. While there are many ways out there to do it, this was pretty simple.
I started with hard wax that had been extruded for rings. The hole was already started, so I just had to expand it, and cut it down to the shape I wanted. Since I was going for a signet ring, the top of the ring is flat, with a carving in it.
For those that know me, you know my artistic ability, in drawing at least, is not all that great, so this was a bit of a challenge. I ended up crafting the design on multiple test pieces, until I could reasonably reproduce it, then had to shrink in down to fit the ring. This turned out to be the easy part, as I still had to carve the details in, and getting it even and symmetrical did not happen, but I am still please with it.
After the wax was carved, a wax sprue was added, and it was attached to a rubber base. From here, investment (the casting material), was added, and allowed to harden. Once hardened, the rubber base was removed, and the investment fired in a kiln. This burned out the wax, and left a negative in the investment. It was then allowed to cool to about 500F degrees, and molten silver was forced into the mold via a centrifuge. The whole form was them dunked into water, where the investment disintegrated, and the silver positive remained. A bit of polish, and I have my first piece of jewelry.
The symbol used is that of the Jedi Order. I may be a bit of a Star Wars geek.
Pictures after the cut
Wax Positive
Front Profile
I started with hard wax that had been extruded for rings. The hole was already started, so I just had to expand it, and cut it down to the shape I wanted. Since I was going for a signet ring, the top of the ring is flat, with a carving in it.
For those that know me, you know my artistic ability, in drawing at least, is not all that great, so this was a bit of a challenge. I ended up crafting the design on multiple test pieces, until I could reasonably reproduce it, then had to shrink in down to fit the ring. This turned out to be the easy part, as I still had to carve the details in, and getting it even and symmetrical did not happen, but I am still please with it.
After the wax was carved, a wax sprue was added, and it was attached to a rubber base. From here, investment (the casting material), was added, and allowed to harden. Once hardened, the rubber base was removed, and the investment fired in a kiln. This burned out the wax, and left a negative in the investment. It was then allowed to cool to about 500F degrees, and molten silver was forced into the mold via a centrifuge. The whole form was them dunked into water, where the investment disintegrated, and the silver positive remained. A bit of polish, and I have my first piece of jewelry.
The symbol used is that of the Jedi Order. I may be a bit of a Star Wars geek.
Pictures after the cut
Wax Positive
Front Profile
