Jewelry Making with Brad Simon

Recycle Hard Wax Scraps

You can use your rubber mold vulcanizer to recycle hard wax scraps.  Place a mold frame on a mold frame plate and fill the mold with clean scraps of wax.  Make certain all the scraps are the same type of wax.  Then place the frame with the wax scraps in your vulcanizer and set the temperature to the melting temperature of the wax.  When melted carefully remove the frame and allow it to cool.  Once cooled pop the wax from the frame, and you have a new sheet of carving wax.  The wax sheet will be thicker on the edges, but that can be easily trimmed if you want an even sheet.  Be certain to remove all traces of wax from the frame before making a rubber mold.

Brad

wax carving,jewelry making,jewelers tools,jewelry casting

Let The Light Shine

To hollow out wax patterns it is best to judge thickness of wax by holding up to a light and judging the color of the wax.  The deeper the color the thicker the wax.  The lighter the color the thinner the wax.  To assist you while carving buy a light box from an art supply store or crafts store.  These are used for tracing drawings.  By holding the wax on this you can judge the thickness of the wax while you are carving.  (It also comes in handy when making sketches for customers)

An alternative to the light box is to use a small florescent light fixture made to mount under a shelf.  Lay the light on your workbench with the light shining up and use the diffuser as your work surface.  To cut down on the glare from the light cover the diffuser with a shop towel leaving an opening for your work area.

Brad

Wax Carving File

Take a piece of a spiral saw blade and place in a pin vice leaving about 2 ½ to 3 inches protruding, and file the end to a point.  This makes great file for wax carving as it gets into corners and other areas that are not accessible with other tools.  It can be left in the pin vice or mounted in a wood handle.

Brad

Jewelry Making: Tips for Working with Wax

Tips for Working with Wax

To size a wax ring blank, heat an old ring mandrel with your torch or over an alcohol lamp.  Then slide the wax ring blank down the warm mandrel melting the wax until you reach your desired size.  Slide the ring blank off, flip it over and slide it back down the mandrel to size the other side.  Remove the blank carefully and wipe the excess wax off the mandrel with a paper towel or allow it to cool and peel the wax off.

Brad

Jewelry Making: Hand Carving Waxes

Hand Wax Carving

with Mark Grosser CMBJ

Session 1

Thursday April 24th & Friday April 25th

With all the emphasis on CAD-CAM is it still practical to carve waxes by hand?  In this demonstration you will learn all about Hand Carving Waxes.  From wax selection to proper tools and more will be discussed and demonstrated.  You’ll learn the fundamentals of layout and how to apply different finishes.  Plus, you’ll learn tips and tricks to making wax carving fast, efficient, and accurate.

Session 2

Saturday April 26th & Sunday April 27th

With all the emphasis on CAD-CAM is it still practical to carve waxes by hand?  In this demonstration you will learn all about hand carving waxes with particular emphasis on stone setting.  You will see demonstrated both channel and half bezel mountings carved and learn proper proportions to make your wax to ensure the stones will fit the mounting after the jewelry is cast. You’ll see first-hand wax carving techniques and tools that can save time and improve product quality.

These seminar are part of the program at the Bench Jewelers Conference & Expo, April 24 – 27, 2008 in Los Angeles.  For details on all the seminars offered, more conference & expo information, and to register go to: www.BenchConference.com.

Brad