[Jewelry making - Article 00250] - Re: [Orchid] [Source] Allot of Wax!

[geraldlivings]

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    Guy, You did not say the size of the items you will be carving.  If
    your going to be carving very large sculptures that take several
    pounds of wax  then a search on YAHOO! should give you some
    suppliers otherwise I get my  wax for jewelry casting from "Rio
    Grande" or "Gesswien" (search YAHOO! ag ain for their webs)I would
    suggest starting with blue and purple Matt wax if your just starting
    to carve.  Try to avoid fancy or detail heavy carvi ngs at first. 
    You must get the basics of having smooth flowing lines and uni form
    surfaces on your waxes before you try adding detail.  A ring that is
    lops ided and covered with beautiful detail work will still be
    lopsided.  the peopl e you show it to usually will not be able to say
    why they don't like it but their eye WILL pick it up! again,their
    eye WILL pick it up! I can't hammer that point enough. When you start
    doing fine detail then the purple wax will hold good detai l for
    example, a lot of Art nouveau designs.The green wax is for really int
    ricate or exact designs, just except the fact you will be making
    repairs on the green as very thin pieces will be very brittle. I
    found that the best way to carve a wax is to make a sketch so I can
    wor k out the visual elements before I spend hours working on
    something that wi ll go into the trash. You must have this sketch in
    front of you when you are carving. try drawing a sketch and then
    carve it with the sketch in a drawer, put that wax away, pull out the
    sketch and then carve it again.  You will be amazed at the
    differences in the two pieces.  it will mainly be very subt le
    differences but it will be enough to make them very individual. 
    Also, if you make a design change then stop and make a new sketch as
    a small chang e can be a big problem later that makes you start
    over(not like I would hav e done this last week, eyes looking
    sideways). In the way of tools and files you want to have a separate
    set for working on waxes so you don't get metal filing in your wax
    which will cause probl ems in your castings. I get many of my tools
    from my dentist (be sure to let him know you will soak them in strong
    bleach, boil them and soak in bleac h again, and be sure you do it!).
    a lot of times your dentist will throw ou t tools due to dullness or a
    small chip in the metal.  these are still more then perfect for
    working on wax.  I sharpen many of these into still smal ler cutting
    edges and scrapers as I do a lot of fine detail and filigree.  I find
    the wax tools in the jewelry tool catalogs tend to be way to big and
    bulky. The one thing I find that I can't do without is a digital wax
    pen.  if yo u plan to do waxes on a regular basis then this is
    something you must have. You will feel faint and dizzy when you see
    the prices as the cheapest on es you should consider will end up
    starting about $300.00 US.  I did waxes for years with an alcohol
    lamp before I bit the bullet and got one.  I will NEVER use a lamp
    again.  It will double your work quality due to few er repairs getting
    out bubbles and carbon flecks and speed you up at least by a factor of
    three. It will pay for itself in no time at all. The last thing you
    should get is a good piece of oak or hard maple that is about 2 feet
    by 1 inch thick by 4 inches wide. Cut about 6 inches up to make a good
    handle. Occasionly a wax or design will just not want to work, so
    take it outside and give it a good windup and toss in the air and
    hit it as hard as you can.  You will not belive how much of an
    attitude adjus tment this is as you watch your problem sail into the
    distance.  jewelry and wax work in particular can be stressful so
    take plenty of breaks. Well that is my .03 cents worth, I hope that
    you can use this info and good luck on carving, 


Jerry. 

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