[Jewelry making - Article 01133] - [Orchid] Hard wax fixture?

[Loren S. Damewood]

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    I'm working on a new knot (well, it's probably ancient, if one but
    knew) and I need to find a material that will do certain things for
    me.  What I'm looking for is something that is hard and durable, but
    capable of being removed from inside the work with a minimum of
    trouble.  It occured to me that some of that requirement describes
    lost-wax production, where you have to hold a shape long enough to
    make another shape around it, then get rid of it. 

    I haven't touched the type of wax used in lost-wax casting in so
    long that I can't remember what it's like, but it seems like a good
    possibility.  It has to be really hard, though, so I can bend wire
    around it and pull it tight. 

    Are there grades of wax, in hardness or melting point or solubility?
     I want to be able to get it out without going anywhere near red
    heat, so I won't have to go back and temper the metal after getting
    the wax out of it. The last traces have to come out and leave the
    metal clean and bright, preferably, so maybe something that would
    yield easily to an appropriate solvent? 

    What about something that can be tough and unyielding, but which can
    be made frangible and broken into dust with minimal effort?  I don't
    know if anything like that exists, but it's another notion that might
    work. 

    I hope this makes sense . . .  if anyone has suggestions, I'd be
    very grateful. 

Loren
http://www.golden-knots.com/

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