[Jewelry making - Article 00274] - Re: [Orchid] [Source] Allot of Wax!

[Kate Wolf]

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>      The carving clay was nice and all but the smaller and finer the
>     shapes the details would soften in my hand. Would green be the
>     best to start with rather than purple?

    Greetings Guy, I have been carving wax for 24 years now (I started
    when I was 3  ;-> ) I'm pretty sure I have used every wax on the
    market. My preference is Ferris Purple File-a-Wax to carve with. It
    allows me crisp details and minimal cracking when I work it thin.
    This wax is primarily made to be worked with cold (using files, burs,
    milling machines, lathes and scraping tools). I prefer  Ferris
    File-a-Wax because it cuts nicely AND is easy to build up when I need
    to repair the wax (which is pretty often, as I tend to work
    serendipitously allowing myself to make 'mistakes' and revisions). 
    When I have areas to build up, I use Ferris Green File-a-Wax for my
    repairs. (When the purple wax is melted and cooled the consistency
    changes - it's like filing across a knot in a  board of pine. When
    the green wax is heated and cooled down it has a consistency almost
    identical to the purple, making it the perfect repair wax). It is
    important to make sure the wax you are adding onto is molten when you
    add the new wax to it (if you just drip the wax onto the surface it
    will peel right off). While the wax is molten look carefully for
    trapped air bubbles and coax them to the surface with a hot tool.
    Also be sure to hold the piece still while the wax is solidifying or
    you will end up with a weak bond. A candle is too sooty- an alcohol
    lamp with denatured alcohol works well- make sure you heat up the
    shank of the tool, not the tip of the tool- as you don't want to ruin
    the wax consistency by overheating it.   When my piece is near
    finished, I use an inlay wax to fill in slight surface imperfections
    such as pits, divots and hairline cracks. Wax is a delightful, fun
    and forgiving material. HTH, Kate Wolf in Portland, Maine - in full
    bloom finally! http://www.katewolfdesigns.com

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