Jewelry making technology involves the use of wax. What is jewelry wax for and how to use it? To answer this question, you need to know the stages of creating jewelry.
Making a wax model of a product
Before the finished jewelry appears before the eyes of the creator or customer, a lot of time passes. According to the sketch of future jewelry, the master of jewelry first creates a wax model, which is used to make the shape of the future jewelry. Previously, the master had to manually cut the model out of wax. With the development of technology, it became possible to mechanize this procedure. On the basis of a product made of wax, a mold for ebb is made. Then the wax melts, leaving voids. Precious metal is already poured into the finished mold and, after solidification, the product is sent for final refinement.
The process of creating a model from wax is called waxing. Thanks to the waxing technique, products are cast with the smallest details. Modern technologies make it possible to make geometrically complex samples that cannot be made manually from jewelry wax for modeling. To do this, special machines are used to replicate products and perform the most delicate work.
The composition and properties of jewelry wax
For waxing, special material is used. It comes in several forms. The main properties that high-quality wax should have:
- sufficient strength after solidification to withstand post-processing of small parts;
- must melt without residual ash during the annealing of the mold;
- the surface of the model made of jewelry wax should be even and smooth and should not adhere to molding materials;
- the melting temperature should not exceed 100 ° C, and the softening temperature should not be lower than 35 ° C.
The basis of jewelry wax includes natural or artificial material with the addition of chemical components necessary to change the mechanical properties. The composition of the wax affects the following properties:
- hardness and softness;
- viscosity;
- elasticity;
- mechanical memory;
- molten fluidity;
- interaction with molding materials;
- solidification speed;
- shrinkage;
- non-waste;
- the melting temperature.
Depending on the purpose, the jeweler selects the necessary wax for work. There are cases when the master mixes several types, for example, fusing on a rod of softer wax for modeling small parts from a material of higher hardness.
Types of Wax
There are two types of wax for jewelry: foundry and for modeling. Wax for modeling is more durable, it is solid, like wood. It can be drilled, planed and ground on the machine, even the smallest details will be durable. Foundry wax is softer and more plastic, you do not need a machine to work with it, you can cut out the form with a minimum set of tools. Small parts from such wax are more fragile, most often foundry wax is used for waxing. Foundry wax is recommended for beginners to start working, as it is more ductile, malleable and melts faster.