Hi Ken,
On youtube I watched a person carve a ring mould out of blue wax ring material, once every so often he wiped the piece with a fluid and than air cleaned it. Can anyone tell me what that liquid was? Also what is the advantage or disadvantage between the different hardness wax products? Lastly, how does one repair an over cut mistake on a the wax model?
I hope I’m not too late to chime in and be of some help.
I’m not sure what liquid was used on the video- I’ve used a number
of different solvents (some so bad for your health that I won’t even
mention them).
I don’t use solvents on geometric, hard edge pieces, just on
curvilinear or organic forms. Wax Brite and Wax Clean are both
solvents I use. They are made from the oil of oranges. You can also
find a full strength (concentrated) orange oil solvent in the
hardware store- I think Goo-Gone may be one brand- make sure you are
not buying the diluted stuff- it won’t work. Read the label and
follow the precautions! It’s organic, but it’s still a solvent and
can cause health problems. Also, make sure you rinse the wax off,
after using the solvent- or it will continue to attack the surface
of the wax. Also, use the solvent before you use any softer waxes
(such as Touch Up Wax or Relief Wax) on the piece, because the
solvent attacks softer waxes more aggressively.
Often I don’t even use solvent. My favorite tool for finishing the
surface of a wax is a knife edge felt wheel (the small ones that are
used to polish metal- but without the polishing compound), hand held
and rubbed on the wax. I much prefer this over silk or nylon, as it
is stiffer, and better at getting into groove. I cut these into
different shapes.
Many people prefer a medium formula wax for hand carving, and a hard
formula wax for lathe and milling work. The hard formula tends to
crack easier than the medium formula, but it machines a bit cleaner,
especially when it is machined at higher speeds, with finer cutting
tools. In two months I have a new, all purpose formula of my Gold
Tone Wolf Wax by Ferris hitting the market. It’s ideal for hand
carving and machining. I’ll put a post up on Orchid when it’s
available.
Repairing carving wax is easy, if you keep a couple of things in
mind. To make a good bond, when building up an area of the wax, or
fixing a crack, it’s essential to melt the wax well. If you drip
molten carving wax on the piece you are repairing, it will peel off.
One of the most common mistakes I’ve seen (and done) is to have the
temperature of the wax pen (or dental pick over an alcohol lamp) too
cool. If the wax you are applying is stringy that is a sign that it
is too cool- and you may end up with air bubbles in the wax. If your
pen is smoking, either you have residue from a lower temperature wax
on the tip, or the tool is too hot- and that is not good either. In
class, I say that the right temperature is in between smoke and
string. Also, always be on the lookout for hairline cracks, it’s
easiest to repair them when they are small, and before the piece
break in two.
There are some free wax carving tutorials on my website:
http://www.wolftools.biz/tutorials.htm
I hope this helps! Have fun carving!
Kate Wolf in Portland, Maine hosting wicked good workshops by the
bay. http://www.katewolfdesigns.com http://www.wolftools.com