Wax carving? Wedding Bands? I don't get it.

Are you playing with candles? What do you mean by "carving wax"? How does wax become a wedding band? I'm confused.

I get this sort of question all the time. I often forget that "my lingo" isn't what "normal" people typically say. So I thought for today's "ask Lisa" I would clarify what it means to CARVE WAX.

What I want to SHOW you is very basic wax carving. Making a simple, round wedding band. Many of my charms and more intricate ring designs are also originally carved in wax, but we can save that style of carving for another day!

Jewelry wax comes in many, many forms. It comes in many sizes and shapes and hardness. The wax I use to make my standard wedding bands is a round center hole tube which looks like this....

Then it needs to be measured carefully for the width and marked. These are my "handy dandy" measuring calipers!

The wax gets "sliced" with a saw or in a cutting box.

Viola! Now we measure the inside of the opening to see how much wax needs to be removed to get to the proper sized ring. I use this fancy, yet dangerous, tool in my flex shaft to slowly begin the wax removal process. I love this tool, but it also likes to eat my nails and finger tips. Did I mention my hands are not so pretty? :)








Once I know the inside is the correct size, I begin to remove the wax on the outside to get to the thickness I want for the overall band. This is the fun part, yet challenging! It's a constant checking and measuring. Sometimes it doesn't go well, but I won't bore you with THOSE pictures! 




Then I use files and sandpaper to smooth the wax to the finish I want. These particular bands will have a hammered finish when they are done. I add that texture AFTER they are cast, so they don't have to be perfectly smooth for casting.


Now these baby's are ready to be cast in sterling silver! Very exciting...well, at least to me! Again, this is completely rudimentary wax carving, but it gives you a small idea of the process.








And I'm left with this! On my bench, on my apron, in my hair, pretty much everywhere! {le sigh} But at least next time I mention wax carving, you will have a picture of what I'm doing!


For those of you that need "moving pictures" here's a tiny look at the process.




Now, this is a HUGE "ask Lisa" post. Typically I'll just answer your question, but this one begged for a visual. What do you want to know? What do you wish you could ask me? Leave a comment below, or send me an email at info@StudioJewel.com - I'd love to answer your burning question!


Have a fantastic day...and don't forget...


BE creative!
xoxo,
lisa