Moving up (down?) to GOLD...

Post all non-opal carvings and creations here!

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Artfldgr
Posts: 399
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:46 pm

Moving up (down?) to GOLD...

Post by Artfldgr »

hey
trying to see if i can set my own stuff... be dead before i get anywhere otherwise given the help i get

anyway... here is my first recent attempt...
two stones, two carvings, hope it comes out pretty easy
still a lot to do, but then maybe inspire the uninspired...

glaring errors welcome to be commented on.. :lol: :lol: :roll:
Artfldgr
Posts: 399
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:46 pm

Re: Moving up (down?) to GOLD...

Post by Artfldgr »

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Artfldgr
Posts: 399
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2015 1:46 pm

Re: Moving up (down?) to GOLD...

Post by Artfldgr »

using foredom Tx in a drill press unit.
basically level the wax i cut off a block, then the other side
place stone, use dental tool to create a groove around the stone (vertical)
then use the press with a stop to insure about .5mm wax bottom
fit stone...
if you don't want a bottom, slice it with a scalpel (i use scalpels. they are the BEST and cheapest option. takes me years to go through boxes and not even try to save them, just change them when not good enough and they often stay good enough for a long while - some will send you a handle with a box of blades. i only keep three types. a sharp tapered blade like a sharp triangle, a rounded curved blade (rarely used), and a kind of hook blade (which i use the most as it puts the tip angle you should hold the sharp triangle, but you don't have to hold it that way))

once the stone is all fit, i take a divider and measure out how thick to make that collar around it (you can use a cheap compass and sharpen two pieces of metal, like sharpen hangar metal, cut to 1" put in math compass, and voila, a good enough to work in wax divider and you saved cause you didn't need super hard tips (my mistake, will have to sharpen mine to a needle.. sigh)

once that is marked out, adjust the press, and carve away the wax up to the line...

how thick and such is a design choice.. of course.
and whether your going to add gemstones or not... (flush mounting is actually easier than setting i have learned! but a setting is nice)
the above shield shape will be able to take flush mounted 1mm diamonds (any suggestion?)

do note that i am going to wing it (i haven't done any wax like this ever, the only wax i did was cut out charms in sheet wax for a few bucks on the side in the summer. ie. a small jeweler at great adventure tagged my art skills (ignoring my inventive one), and paid me for wax designs for the kids to buy in the park. lightning was popular. he didn't like sitting there and cutting them out to spin cast them. neither did his wife. so he said a quarter each... i went home, took a small piece of metal and with a dental drill, basically made a tiny lightning bolt cookie cutter. drilled holes in the back and soldered it to a short brass tube.. you press it into the sheet wax, use a toothpick in the hole to push the wax out... .25 cents each... process can be everything!!)

and making most of my tools except the foredom (of course) and cheap flea bay burrs of which a few go a long way
once you have that, you can make a lot of stuff...

for the flush mounting i will need to make a burnisher
i have a few small steel axle rods from some small machines...
i will just take one of them around 1/8, put them in the foredom and
hold a cheap carb wheel up to it or sand paper to put the angle on it and round the tip
go to lighter and lighter paper... in short while you have a nice burnisher tip that you will finish polish and will work great.

once i get it all cleaned up i will then take a hart diamond tip for 1mm (diamonds go down as small as .8)
i will drill holes for light, and i will put the set places in... once i am all done with that...
flip it over and carve out the excess material that would just add gold cost, and block light from behind

then i guess take a small piece, carve till thin and flat, heat up some wax, dip the thing in and put a part in place for a lock ring and bail (or bale?)
I will drill the hole later...



then for the first time ever, i will send this puppy out to some foundry...
anyone know a good one? and pay them to convert the wax to gold using material that does not shrink much (1%)
when done, they send me a bill and the item which has to be finished off (back to the foredom)

so its quite an ambitious plan...
but i figure the carving is the hardest part...
for other stones i have i ordered some sheet wax..
with that you can basically cut out settings with the right techniques.

i hope to make a nice wax tool out of an old soldering iron..
take the tip, flatten the end a bit. drill a very tiny hole, and place a small piece of nichrome wire (fleabay)
and a bit of silver solder too... bit of a trick but you can do this at the stove

i don't own a torch nor in an apartment want to use any so am working other skills to similar ends... actually, using sheet wax, and a hot thin needle and candle, you can make the same setting you can make with a piece of sheet metal, a saw, and various solder. but its more forgiving, wont burn you, cant start a fire, etc.. and the messy part which some like to do themselves, and that's fine, can now be done easier and cheaper by a foundry service.

yes, all you tiny workers out there, you CAN do settings and stuff (with some limitations) this way
(the limitations come from avoiding using a torch or having the cash for a laser unit which i am wishing to save for!!! then you get a different set of limits but you also get a humongous set of benefits (in terms of making hollow parts too))

so this is where i am at after finally having a bit of time in between things to grab a forgiving stone (jade and petrified wood) and one unforgiving stone, a opal i have... the jade and wood will not have backs and the opal will as its small and can help protect the stone)..

even simple settings can make anything one does more sellable
i would dare say simple settings that showcase the higher quality stone and its shape and so on, are very much more selable
often simplicity sells easier than complex... and a gorgeous stone shouldnt always compete with the setting for attention.
but this isnt even a tendency let alone a rule... :)
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PinkDiamond
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Location: Ozark Mountains

Re: Moving up (down?) to GOLD...

Post by PinkDiamond »

Nice going Art! Thanks for sharing your work, and telling us your tips and tricks on how to do it, and the process you used. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished products, and kudos on making some money on the lightning bolts. Pretty ingenious the way you're 'mass producting' them. :)
PinkDiamond
ISG Registered Gemologist


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