Embedding silver in wax for casting

Jewelry Discussion
1

Is embeding silver in wax before casting a good or bad idea? I’m
thinking prongs on a ring.

Charley

2 
Is embeding silver in wax before casting a good or bad idea? I'm
thinking prongs on a ring.

I tried it once, and the embedded silver just crumbled.

3 
Is embeding silver in wax before casting a good or bad idea? I'm
thinking prongs on a ring.

The cast metal will not bond to the wires, you would need a
mechanical interlock.

You will also have a world class fire scale problem on your silver
wires.

Best idea is to stick the wires into the wax, remove them and cast.
Drill the holes out to clean and then solder the wires in.

jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand

4

We have taken fine silver bezels and heated them enough to push into
hard carving wax. In this way, the investment holds onto the bezel
while the wax is being burned out, and the cast sterling ends up with
a perfectly fitting fine silver bezel attached to it. If the
mechanical bond is not perfect, solder can be flowed between the
bezel and casting margins, which is an awfully tight fit. We are
using bezels we make in the studio, preferring a heavier wall, maybe
22 ga. or thicker, which will probably hold up better during the
burn-out cycle than a thin commercial bezel stock.

This process has been done many times in our studio, and seems to
work quite well.

Jay Whaley
www.whaleyworkshops.com

5

If you want precise wires from the cast, you can purchase wax wire.
Or you can fabricate the metal model and then make a mold of it.

Mary Lu