{ "products": [ { "available": true, "title": "Advanced Jewellery Diploma", "vendor": "London Jewellery School" }, { "available": true, "title": "Diploma in Silver Jewellery (summer intensive)", "vendor": "London Jewellery School" }, { "available": true, "title": "NEW Diploma in Silver Jewellery (1 Year)", "vendor": "London Jewellery School" } ] }
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13 Nov, 2016 · By jewelleryschool· courses , evening class , Jewellery making , Jewellery Making Classes , london jewellery school , lost wax carving , lost wax casting , wax carving , wax carving evening class , Wax Model · Comments

Adventures in wax carving – Week 3!

13 Nov, 2016 · By jewelleryschool· courses , evening class , Jewellery making , Jewellery Making Classes , london jewellery school , lost wax carving , lost wax casting , wax carving , wax carving evening class , Wax Model · Comments

So if you have been following my weekly diary of my 5 week Wax Carving Evening Class at the London Jewellery School you will know that after week 1 and week 2 we are getting close to finishing our first projects and spent most of week 3 refining and finishing our designs so our waxes were as perfect as possible before being cast!  Apparently it takes 3 times as long to fix any imperfections in silver as it does in wax so tutor, Sophie Arnott, spent a lot of time this week checking our waxes and helping us make those minor improvements that would save us precious time later!

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There were lots of busy hands this week! 

In the case of my design – I had to burr out some of the wax underneath to reduce the weight of the final piece.  That was pretty hairy as I was using a burr in a pendant motor.  Now whilst I have used a pendant motor many times before over the years, I have only ever scooped out the underside of waxes by hand (and I typically use burrs in a pin vice and do by hand too) so using burrs in a motor was a new experience for me and it was very easy to slip!  I was worried about burring out too much wax but Sophie assured me you can usually take away lots more than you think.

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My 1st Finished Wax

Once I had finished burring out the wax it was time to refine the finish of the wax so it was nice and smooth.  To do this we used many grades of sandpaper (haven’t met anyone who enjoys sanding yet and this class is no exception but it is necessary!) to smooth the surface and remove any scratches or imperfections.  I then finished off the surface with steel wool for a really nice smooth finish.  Finally, as I had a few curls of wax left on my piece that I couldn’t quite reach with the sandpaper or steel wool I wafted my piece over a flame which melted the excess and left a lovely smooth finish!  It is easy to overdo it and you do need to watch that you don’t melt your piece (or burn your fingers) but boy does it make a difference!

And as promised, here are some shots of my fellow students amazing waxes!

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Aren’t their designs stunning!?  Quite extraordinary that 7 people taking the same course are using the techniques learned in such different ways!  I just can’t wait to see what everybody does for their second project!

Until next time!

Author: Karen Young

London Jewellery School Blog_Karen Young Bio