giving up on the wax.



the boys at milwaukee precision casting

so my jewelry making book came and i read up on the whole lost wax casting technique.  and for now, i think i am going to have to shelf the idea.  not only is it a complicated process, but i would need access to equipment that i not only cannot afford (unless i win the lottery or find some sort of sugar daddy) but that is also quite dangerous.  pouring hot molten metal into a tiny mold will probably result in massive injuries for accident-prone me, especially if i do it on my own.  i am one of those people who rushes through a process to get to the end product - usually with not very good results.  so i'm looking into a good wax casting course, if i can find one.  that way, i can make sure i learn properly, and don't kill myself along the way. 

i am reading up on a lot of more complex cold forging techniques - riveting, stapling, embossing - which not only is a little safer, but also a little more accessible.  but i think i'll get to where i'd like to be someday in this whole jewelry fabrication thing.  someday.

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lost. (wax casting)

photo - instructables.com

i've been researching the whole lost wax casting thing.  i figured that i would start there because it seems the most interesting technique - it would allow me some freedom sculpturally and make me stretch my imagination a little.


but now i think it might be a little over my head - especially in regards to equipment.  cuttlefish bone, vulcanizer, seriously, wtf?  star trek, much?  i'm going to keep reading up on it, but i am pretty lost and think that i am going to have to find a course to take.  it might not be something i can do at home - all the pictures i've looked at involve molten metal being poured into a crucible and then swung around to create centrifrugal force.  (hmmmm... i remember getting a 55% in grade 11 physics... this might spell disaster for me)

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