Wax Carving

Master goldsmith Charles Lewton-Brain shows how to turn wax, like on a lathe, but with a flex shaft instead. Filmed in full HD 1080p.

Create DIY wax carving engravers made from everyday steel construction nails. When jewelers carve wax many of them will automatically pick up a normal engraving tool and carve wax as they would metal. But the problem is that wax is very different…

My first reaction when I heard about this book was, “It’s about time.” Think of it: If you tried to read every new book on jewelry-making, you would be reading most of the time. Yet, how many books can you name that concentrate…

While many jewelers work directly in precious metals, many also work with wax, carving models for casting in silver and gold. Working with wax often requires tools specialized for carving, sawing, filing, and finishing material that is softer…

This article provides a helpful tip on locating dead center on ring blanks and finding balance on an object. Free-form wax carving offers jewelers an unlimited number of design possibilities. However, one noticeable disadvantage of this…

These slow, quiet days of summer are always a good time to review your shop practices before the busy holiday season kicks into high gear.  To help you prepare to successfully cast all of the pieces you hope will be big sellers this year, we’ve …

While at the Atlanta Bench Jewelers Conference, my friend Elesa Dillon (the national sales manager for Southern Jewelry News and Mid America Jewelry News, which I also write for) asked me to help her pick out a gemstone to have made into a ring.…

Recently a customer requested that we make her an unusual mother’s ring. She chose a magnificent 3.56 ct. oval blue sapphire as her center stone and this design was made for her ring. The two bezel set side stones, one an emerald, the other…

Welcome to Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece of jewelry to our line. In this issue we will be working with our latest design. I’ll take you through every phase of production,…

Welcometo Stacey Rhodes Jewelry Designs, where we will detail all of the steps involved in adding a new piece ofjewelry to our line. In this issue we will be working with our latest design. I’ll take you through every phase of production,…

If you are accustomed to working in this additive fashion, the subtractive process of carving wax may be daunting to you at first. It challenges you to find a form, such as a ring, that is trapped in a block of wax. You must get an image of the piece…

Bill Holman uses modern technology to create his designed line of jewelry featuring Drusy gemstones. Wanting his jewelry designs to be unique but not competitive with the natural beauty of the freeform Drusy gemstones, he creates one-of-a-kind…

Euro Tool, Inc. has developed five wax tool kits and a cordless wax pen for the overall improvement of wax working projects..

Stone-in-place casting is growing in practice with manufacturers and retail manufacturing operations taking advantage of these labor saving techniques. Stone-in-place casting requires gemstones be properly set in the wax model prior…

Casting is the most important method of commercial jewelry production. Even for small workshops, lost-wax casting is often the fastest method for creating a jewelry piece, especially if there is any complexity to it. However, one of the things…

A drill press (either a full size, miniature, or Foredom) with an end mill or cylinder bur can thin down wax slabs quickly and accurately. Position the bottom of the cylinder bur or end mill slightly higher than the desired thickness of the finished…

This article features the manufacturing steps for a one-of-a-kind free-form pendant designed and created by Barney Jette. The center stone is a one-of-a-kind chrysoprase carving by Steve Walters, Ramona, CA and is highlighted by a cultured…

This article features the wax carving steps for this custom made pendant designed and created by Bill Holman. The center stone is a one-of-a-kind black drusy quartz carving, is highlighted by red accent gemstones and pave diamonds set in the…

This paper will describe how to turn a block of wax into a pottery of approximately 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 inches tall. The pottery was turned in two pieces. The lower section below the ring below the inlaid stones and the portion above the…

White, gummy Wonder Bread isn’t just for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It’s a fun tool for making hollow forms in carving wax.

I make all my own wax carving tools and hot wax tools.I have done this since the early 1970’s when I could find only dental tools ready-made on the market. I was told a bent nail would suffice, but thought I could do better. So my tools and techniques…

n this installment we present a mold cutting technique called a spiral cut, which is designed to facilitate the successful release of a cage-like wax model from a mold.