The technology of making jewelry 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 the item
Before the finished jewelry appears before the eyes of the creator or customer, a lot of time passes. According to the sketch of the future jewel, the jeweler first creates a wax model, according to which the shape of the future jewel is made. Previously, the craftsman had to cut the model out of wax manually. With the development of technology, it became possible to mechanize this procedure. According to the product made of wax, a mold for casting is made. The wax then melts away, leaving voids. Precious metal is already poured into the finished mold, and after solidification, the product is sent for final revision.
The process of creating a wax model is called waxing. Thanks to the waxing technique, products are cast with the smallest details. Modern technologies make it possible to manufacture jewelry wax formodeling geometrically complex patterns that cannot be done by hand. For this, special machines are used to replicate products and perform the finest work.
Composition and properties of jewelry wax
Special material is used for waxing. It is of several types. The main properties that a quality wax should have:
- Sufficient strength after curing to withstand fine detail post-processing;
- should melt without residual ash during mold annealing;
- The surface of the jewelry wax model must be even and smooth and must not stick to molding materials;
- The melting point must not exceed 100°C and the softening point must not be lower than 35°C.
The composition of the jewelry wax base 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;
- melt fluidity;
- interaction with molding materials;
- setting speed;
- shrinkage;
- wasteless;
- melting point.
Depending on the goals, the jeweler selects the necessary wax for work. There may be cases when the master mixes several types, for example, fusing small pieces on a rod of softer wax for modeling.hardened parts.
Types of wax
There are two types of wax for jewelry: foundry and modeling. Modeling wax is more durable, it is hard like wood. It can be drilled, planed and ground on the machine, even the smallest details will be durable. Casting wax is softer and more plastic, no machine is required to work with it, you can cut out the shape with a minimum set of tools. Small parts made from such wax are more fragile, most often foundry wax is used for waxing. With casting wax, it is recommended to start working with beginners, as it is more plastic, pliable and melts faster.
