The process of making jewelry is divided into many kinds, in which the casting process is considered to be the more common method of making jewelry.Among them, the lost wax casting method is a casting method that is used more often in daily jewelry production. Lost wax casting method has existed for thousands of years since it was invented. Today, we will be lost wax casting method is divided into seven steps for you to explain it clearly.
Preparation of materials and tools
Before we begin, we need to understand what tools are needed for the lost wax casting method.
Wax Mold: You can start by imagining what the parts of the jewelry you want to make look like and then slowly carve them on this wax mold.
Metal: What kind of material do you want your jewelry to be made of? Is it gold, silver or some other metal? Here it is recommended that beginners choose metals that are not so expensive such as silver or bronze.
Plaster or rubber: as a material for the subsequent inclusion of wax molds.
Casting machine: here you can choose some casting machine with melting function, vacuuming as well as casting function. This way you can save a lot of time and energy. And generally speaking, it will also configure some related accessories for you, such as crucible, vacuum cover and other tools.
Flasks: Flasks are intended to hold gypsum and play an important role in the molding of metal castings.
Some necessary safety equipment: in the process of operating the lost wax method, it is necessary to operate the melting of metal. And the temperature of metal melting is very high, so you'd better put on leather gloves and wear protective glasses. It is important to take protective measures, after all, safety comes first.
Let's start making it!
Step 1: Making a wax sculpture
The reason the lost wax method is called that is because the molds for the jewelry are made of wax to begin with. You can make wax molds from different materials of wax, after all, wax as a material is all pretty much the same in nature. It is still quite easy to carve on a material like wax. Because wax is soft compared to metal, it is easier to carve detailed textures on wax. You can try to use your imagination to make wax molds. You can even hollow out the wax molds if you want.
Step 2: Make a gate for the wax mold
You can use the extra wax material to create something that looks like a mold base and then tape this base to the underside of the wax mold you just created. Next, take out the base of the flask, heat the wax base and tape the wax mold one whole to the base.
Step 3: Make a mold
You can choose to make the molds from pure gypsum, or you can choose to mix gypsum and silica together to make the molds. At this time, you can use a special weighing instrument to mix the proportions of the molds if you have the means to do so. However, even if you don't have a specialized weighing instrument, you can still mix the plaster liquid. As long as the plaster liquid can present a viscous and creamy texture, it will be fine. Because subsequently this mold is also going to re-solidify. The mold is then placed in a vacuum chamber and evacuated. This process should last about 30 seconds.
Then, take out the flask and slowly pour the blended solution into it, being careful not to go too fast with this process. Otherwise there is a chance that the vacuuming step you just took will be in vain. Take out the lid with the wax mold again to cover it and let it sit overnight to ensure that the plaster ends up in a dry state.
It is important to note here, however, that you should ideally perform this step in a ventilated environment. If you really can't find one, you can wear a respirator.
Step 4: Casting the flask
Take your flasks that have been sitting overnight and place them in the kiln for firing. I can't give you an exact answer here as to what the temperature and time of firing is like. You'll have to make appropriate adjustments depending on the size of the flask. At this time, you will likewise need to wear gloves and goggles to ensure your safety.
Step 5: Melt the metal
It is best to synchronize this step with the previous one. This is because if the temperature difference between the plaster's and the metal is too big, the plaster can easily break. Take out the metal that you have prepared in advance and we are going to start the important step of melting the metal. You need to preheat the crucible and then pour the weighed metal into the crucible. What you need to do at this point is to take out a special stirring rod and stir the metal from time to time, this is to ensure that the metal is heated completely during the heating process.
Step 6: Hardening
After pouring the molten metal into the flask, the temperature of the flask may be very high. So you need to wait until the flask has cooled down and is no longer red, then clamp the flask with pliers and place it completely in a special quench bucket. Make sure that the flask is in a horizontal position (this is to prevent the castings from falling out). How can I tell if the process is complete? As soon as there are no more bubbles in the quench bucket, the process is complete.
Step 7: Final Wrap-Up
Remove the metal part and cut the base of the metal part off with a specialized jeweler's saw, leaving us with the part we need. If at this point, you notice some small imperfections on the metal part you made, or if you want more small details on your metal part. You can take out your engraving tool and do a secondary process on the metal part. Of course, you can also perform steps like polishing and sanding to give your metal parts a more glossy look.
