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Jewelry waxes for carving and casting

· Updated · 1 min read · Materials

Jewelry waxes (hard, soft, injection, sheet) are used to carve or model the original that will be cast; they burn out without leaving ash.

Illustration: Jewelry waxes for carving and casting

Jewelry wax is a technical wax designed to burn out completely inside a mold, leaving no residue. It is sold in blocks, tubes, sheets and wires, of varying hardness. Models that will be cast in metal are carved with it.

Properties #

  • Hard wax (green or blue): for carving with saw, file and burs.
  • Soft wax: for modeling with a spatula and the hand.
  • Injection wax: melted to inject into rubber molds.
  • Sheets and wires: for building bases, bands and details.
  • Colors: indicate hardness or use.

Uses in jewelry #

  • One-off models to cast.
  • Wax copies of a rubber master.
  • Prototypes tested before metal.

Pros and cons #

Advantages #

  • Carved with simple tools.
  • Melts away and leaves no ash.
  • Lets you redo the piece.

Limitations #

  • Fragile and deforms with the heat of the hand.
  • Very thin walls break.
  • The wax must be weighed to calculate the metal.

Care and cleaning #

  • Store it in a cool place.
  • Work with clean tools.
  • Avoid contact with grease.

See also #

This entry was drafted with the help of AI and is pending review by the author.