Does anyone out there know how to size a wax ring model once you cut
the tube? I am using the ferris green wax for modeling wedding bands.
Once I finish the band, I have been having trouble sizing the wax
using a matt wax ring sizer. I keep breaking the wax and I have to do
the job all over again.
Help.
I always establish the ring size first then procede with the pattern
part.
Lorri
ok try this on for size
Size the tube blank that you cut off before you start to carve it.
John,
I always size the tube with the Matt ring sizer before I carve the wax.
Try sizing the band before you start the band; also try working on a
step mandrel once you size the band-less pressure the better.
Try sizing the wax first and then complete your model. Joel
Joel Schwalb
@schwalbstudio
http://www.schwalbstudio.com
Size the ring BEFORE you model the band, right after you cut the
width of tubing. I really don’t like using the green wax. Try the
blue or purple. Wendy Newman
This may help I hope about sizing wax rings. I am very careful
especially with the green wax. Have you tried using either heated
intruments to scrape or gently heat the inside and then use your ring
carver. It is just a thought. I learn new things everyday when
carving waxes. Sometimes free form evolves from a mark made wrong
but evolves into something great. Good Luck
Pat
Garfield, Ar
Does anyone out there know how to size a wax ring model once you cut the tube?
When using the max sizer it is easier to size the ring before you cut
the band to size. Also if you start out with a solid block you can
drill the hole using a wood bit. There is a very large selection of
them which covers alot of sizes and you can grind down the bits for
sizes not available. I use a drill press to keep things straight.
Good luck.
Bill Wismar
www.wismargallery.com
John, I have been using the MATT green ring tubes and the MATT ring
sizer and have been getting good results. I am not familiar with the
consistency of Ferris green but I can think of three things that might
be causing you problems. First, where are you? Cold working
temperatures could make your wax brittle. I am in Hawaii and it rarely
gets below 75 degrees F. Also, you could be taking too much at once- I
find that scraping a little, then turning the ring around works
better. And finally, I usually size it first and do the outer carving
second- that way you have thicker wax to withstand the sizer’s blade.
Hope this helps.
Mike Bowles
Hello up there,
I’d some problems a long time ago,but since a start using my dremel
tool in a drill press and those wax burs,sizing means nothing anymore
to me.
1.You just setup your drill press in the upright position with the
bur pointing downwards.
2.Drill a hole in your wax big enough to pass your cylindrical sized
wax bur.I have a small flat plate with a hole in to keep my wax from
maring on the drill press.
3.Position your dremel downwards to cover the full thickness of your
wax ring.
4.Start the dremel and hold the wax,since the vibrations of the
dremel will move your wax.
5.Then gently cut out the size by following the contours of your
drawing leaving a rim of approximately 1 mm.If you have to cut of lot
of wax,use a rough bur and don’t use a high speed (on my dremel I use
the # 1).
6.For the final and exact sizing switch over to a fine wax bur and
cut off the last mm.
With some experience you get this far that you don’t need to polish
the inside of your wax shank.A big help is …LIGHT. You could make
your own drill press with your flex shaft,but I use the dremel
because my wife bought it for me. have fun and I hope you get
there.Another solution might be this CAD/CAM designing machine but
you’ve got to have some small change to buy it.
Regards Pedro
Palonso@t-online.de
You need to cut the wax to width, then size it with your reamer, then
proceed to carve the model. Mark
Before I did the ‘waxmasters’ workshop with Yanna Blacy (and found a
better way) I used to heat up an old steel mandrel and slide the wax
ring down to size (then flip it over and do the other side so as not
to get a taper). That’s ok if you’re wanting a larger size. or you can
do a silicon mould of your wax and get several copies back in the
softer pink wax and resize those easily.
Barbara
Speaking of carving waxes…For years I have used Kerr brand carving
waxes (mostly blue and green) and the last two or three times I have
ordered it I noticed the wax seems to be contaminated with dark spots
all throughout. It becomes a real pain when trying to get a good
finish on the wax only to discover these little inclusions that show
up as bumps in the finished pattern. I sent two samples off to Kerr
about 2 months ago and havent heard back from them yet. So I have
switched over to Matt wax and the problem disappeared. Anyone else
experienced this?
Ken Sanders
Generally, the idea is not to have to size the fully carved design.
Start with the cut off slice of tube, and the first step is to ream
out the hole, which usually starts out as about a size 4.5 or so, to
the desired size. Matt makes a sort of ring mandrel shaped scraping
tool which does this quickly, or you can use half round files, burrs,
triangular scrapers or whatever. Only once the blank has been reamed
out so that it has a nice round (or whatever shape you want) hole in
the needed size, do you then start laying out and carving the rest of
the ring.
If you must size a carved model after you’ve carved it, you need to
use, at the least, the purple wax. Green is too hard and brittle.
Purple will do it a little. Blue is pretty flexible, and can be sized
fairly easily. But even so, it’s then often not quite round, so your
casting will need more rounding up. So again, if possible, it’s better
to have the size right from the beginning.
Peter Rowe
Aloha John, Normally, what everyone is saying is correct. In your
case, it is not, as I know you are using a CNC mill. Changing to the
blue wax tube, may help, if you want to continue using the Matt
reamer. The blue is somewhat flexible, the green is brittle (though
it machines very well). You could presize the wax and put it in the
three-jaw chuck with a collet. The problem with that is you will
probably gouge the collet, upon machining the ring. The best way
(after machining your ring), is either, use an appropriate sized
spade drill (wood type) in a jacobs chuck, in the tailstock of the
rotary table or, on a manual lathe, using a boring bar. Care must be
taken during either operation, as it sizes the ring and separates it
from the rest of the ring tube. The finger hole will be parallel to
the outside of the ring as well, by this method. I can furnish the
measurements for a set of the spade drills, if you like (I will post
it, if there is an interest). Hope that helps, see you in Vegas.
Best Regards,
Christian Grunewald
Precision Modelmaking Technologies
Hawaii
(808) 622-9005
http://www.modelmaster.com
John and all, Listen this is not a problem at all, in fact it is the
easiest part of any ring model made in wax. The VERY first thing you
do with a wax tube if figure out the width of the piece to be cut off
the tube. Then what you need to do is figure out the size you need.
Ok, the wax tube itself is a size 4 1/2. If you took a digital caliper
and measuerd the inside width of the wax it would be 15.3mm. I have a
chart that tells me what the inside diameter should be for every ring
size from 1 to 13 1/2.(thanks to Kate Wolf)… So lets say you need a
size 7. First the ring tube should be squared up with flat sides in
order for you to get a proper size… then tkae your digital calipers
again and open it to 17.3mm. this is the inside diameter of a size 7
ring. then place the pointy end of your calipers equally across the
hole in the ring tube. Make a mark on both sides of the hole. Take you
dividers and go around the side of the ring drawing a circle to eqaul
the marks you made… then take out the wax with whatever you use, this
is absolutley fool proof… If anybody would like the chart. Let me
know. I use a digital caliper because it is obviously alot more
precise than reading a regualr set of calipers… Believe me when I
say this works, I have made a gazillion wax models…
Marc Williams http://www.marccogold.com/
If anybody would like the chart. Let me I use a digital caliper because it is obviously alot more precise than reading a regualr set of calipers.. Believe me when I say this works,
Marc, Yes, that is a lovely offer. Where would I get a copy of this
chart. That is wonderfully easy and fast. Thank you for the tip!
Sincerely, Debbie
Size it before you shape the outside of your tube sizing the wax is
the first thing you should do after cutting it from the stock if you
are using a mandrel type wax sizer or use a double ended wax file and
count how many times you file around the inside of the ring ten on one
side flip it ten on the other this gives you and even inside on the
ring.Regardless you should size the ring before you shape the outside
of the tube.Happy Trails J Morley
Coyote Ridge Studio
“Before I did the ‘waxmasters’ workshop with Yanna Blacy (and found a
better way)”
Barby - where is this WaxMasters workshop, and what is the better
way?