Wax carving is commonly used in jewellery to model a piece.
It is easier to carve into wax than metal, and it gives a good indication of the correct size and shape. An attraction to jewellers that is usually lost on the clients is that it can also be done when you don't have access to a well-equiped studio (I don't just ski when I am in France !).
Lost wax casting is the process whereby the wax is turned into metal or glass.
The initial piece will be the same size as the wax, but if copies are made, all the copies will be slightly smaller than the original wax.
I have used this process many times, but use the 'offal range' to illustrate it. It was a sore process when I rushed and didn't spend long enough on my inital waxes so the first metal piece took a long time to finish ! I only just managed to block my learned teacher from uttering the phrase "told you so" by distracting her mind (and mouth) with chocolates !
Life is changing again and whereas I would have previously have cried, or at best bleeted miserably, if someone wanted a piece 3/4 of the size of my original wax I now embrace the challenge and use my computer skills to speed up the carving process. |
