Thursday, April 12, 2012

how do you do that?

a lot of people have been interested and asking how i make my jewelry.  in my world, the term "lost wax method" is something of the norm and occasionally i forget that not many people actually know what it is.      well, today i'm going to give you a glimpse into this method and how my jewelry is created! 


 here's my bench with some of my tools very neatly laid out (usually it's a big disaster zone).  my saw, some files in various sizes and grit, dividers, wax working tools, flexshaft hand piece (most people would refer to it as a dremel), burs, a wax pen.... --- my set-up is very basic at this time, but it gets the job done.



wax.  my preferred wax is green.  there are other colors, which all have a different consistency.  i learned on green, so i have never strayed from it.   It's really hard and easy to add fine detail with.
  

measure, cut, file all edges of wax perfectly flat and perpendicular, create reference points, and begin.

here are 3 of the pieces in my shop in different stages of their creating in wax.


top left: knit. bracelet bar (you can still see reference points since this is in the early stage)
top right: zipper pull fob (almost there, but still needs to be thinned out and fine tuned)
bottom:  button charm (done, minus the top loop)





here are all the pieces finished in wax and ready to be molded and cast!



here's a video on youtube i found of a guy who takes you through the molding and casting process.  it's not the greatest video quality, but it's short and to the point.  **also, please note that at the beginning of the video he is using a resin model whereas my models are wax.



if you don't want to watch the video (which i would highly recommend you do because it's pretty cool!) i will describe the process briefly here:

rubber mold is made of original wax model. 
wax is injected into the mold to create a copy of the original model.
model is put in a flask on a wax "tree".
plaster of paris or "investment" is poured over model in flask.
flask is placed in a kiln where the wax burns out and plaster hardens over the course of hours.
metal (silver, gold, platinum...) is melted.
flask is placed in a centrifuge and molten metal is shot into the flask.
flask is then dunked in a bucket of water, plaster falls off and you're left with the casting.



cast, cut off the sprue, filed, sanded, polished and assembled.



hope that helps you envision it a bit more!  it's a lot of work and takes much longer, a ton of training, education (I'm constantly learning new things) and more skill than most people would think.  one thing i can absolutely vouch for is that there is nothing like having the ability to do this with your bare hands. to me, there's just something extra special about a  handmade piece of jewelry that you can feel versus something that was computer created.  though, i may just be partial!  

hope you all have a great day!

love, aimee.

15 comments:

  1. This is awesome, Aimee, thanks for sharing! How in the world do you get that wax button to look exactly like a button?!

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    1. No problem, Lisa! The button: There's a tool that works like a compass except without the pencil called "dividers". It's pointed on both sides. I can draw a cycle on the wax with them, cut out the circle, file around the edges so they're smooth. and then use different burs (with my dremel type-tool) to create the dip in the center. to make the holes i use a little drill and then small round burs to make them look a little cleaner. It sounds easier than it is. :) Keeping things perfectly round is probably the hardest part because it's really easy to over-file and then you can end up with flat spots.

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  2. Such a great post and definitely interesting!! I had no idea that was how your jewelry was made!!

    xox,
    karen

    www.rubytuesdayfashionanddesign.blogspot.com

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    1. Believe it or not, the lost wax method dates back to Ancient Egyptian times. And all the jewelry you see at Tiffany's, Cartier, Bvlgari... this is how it's made. Just on a larger scale and a lot of the prototype work is now done using CAD instead of by hand. The guys who taught me used to make original prototypes for those large companies. They even let me make a few special charms for Disney! It's amazing all the things you can learn about the jewelry industry!

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  3. Aimee,

    What a beautiful method! I am so glad that you are continuing with it. I can't wait to save up enough and buy my own button charm. Absolutely love it.

    Cheers,
    Bethany

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    1. Thanks Bethany! I have to save up myself because unfortunately, it's also an expensive method :) haha! I'm so glad you love it. Oh, and BTW - for anyone reading this comment: this here is the wonderful girl who made my awesome packaging!

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  4. WOW! This is crazy cool. I don't know if I could get all the steps down to that but it's amazing to see the process. Thanks for sharing this! I feel enlightened :)

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    1. The steps are pretty overwhelming at first, but my master/teacher drilled them into my head so much that even now (almost 6 years since my apprenticeship) i can still hear him in my head telling me what to do next. Anyway, I'm so glad this was interesting to you! It really is one of those things that when you first learn about are like, " it's so weird that I never knew this before!" --- at least that was my initial reaction :)

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  5. Wow, Aimee! This is so impressive! You're SO cool!!! Thanks so much for sharing! :)

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    1. I'm so terrible at describing things, so I'm glad this was adequate. It truly is the coolest thing when you see it all in person the first (or first 1000 times). :) I always feel so blessed to have had the apprenticeship opportunity that I did. There's nothing like being able to do this. (in my humble opinion)

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  6. awesome and love your jewellery xxx

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    1. Thank you for your kind words, Collette! And I really appreciate you stopping by.

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  7. wow - this is not a quick process! Very interesting to read, and I think we can safely say you are "hand making"!!

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    1. Haha! Yes, I definitely am! Thank you so much for your comment. I'm glad to facilitate a learning experience :)

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