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Wax work and casting techniques

Jewelry Discussion
#1

Hi,

I’m new to the jewellery community and was looking for some advice.

I am trying to make gold caps for teeth and I am struggling with which wax is best too create a wax mould and which casting process is the most efficient.

So far I have used green ferris wax and melted it onto the plaster mould of the teeth and used a dremel tool to shape it however I feel like there must be an easier way to produce more standardised caps. I have also used red mould a wax but found that did not hold shape enough.

The casting techniques I have tried are lost wax casting and delft clay casting, neither of which were entirely successful.

Please help me !

All advice regarding this topic and just jewellery in general is highly appreciated!

Thankyou,

Pippa

#2

I have a related question. I’ve been pulling textures of natural objects with a 2 part silicone mold material, and I’ve been experimenting with mixtures of waxes. I’ve been using an aqua colored casting wax from Rio, and I’m sort of satisfied with it although it tends to be more brittle than I’d like. Does anyone have advice for MIsspippa and me about the best wax to use?

#3

What exactly are you trying to do, Pippa? Are you trying to cast your own gold crowns, which are essentially artificial teeth that are glued to the ground-down stub of a natural tooth, or are you making “grillz”, which are ornamental coverings for perfectly good teeth? These are two entirely different sorts of things, so it’s important to differentiate them.

The dental world has its own ecology of products that’s entirely separate from that of the jewelry world, usually sold in smaller quantities for more money, but more specialized for particular tasks. Here’s a guide to some of the choices in waxes: https://www.dentalcompare.com/Dental-Lab-Products/4776-Dental-Casting-Wax/Compare/?compare=40165,40164,40167&catid=4776

1 Like
#4

This is something I’m a lot more familiar with, having made hundreds of molds of various natural objects and cast wax into them. Usually I prefer brown sculpture wax (Victory Brown) as a base, mixing other waxes in to change the working properties as needed. Beeswax makes it a little softer and stickier, while also making it smell better. Purple inlay wax makes it harder without making it brittle.

Various injection waxes can also be used to make alloys, but try a small quantity before committing to a big batch, because sometimes it makes something that’s not useful at all. A little mineral oil will also make wax softer, but again use caution when trying this out. There’s also cheese wax, which is very soft and not much use for casting, but it can be used for direct modeling or as a softening agent in combination with other waxes. I’ve had poor luck mixing carving or machinable waxes with other types, since they contain plastics (usually LDPE), melt at a higher temperature, and often make an unworkable mess.

#5

‘ grillz ‘ I’m attempting to make grillz, Thankyou for that link I will look into it. If you have anything more about the techniques of grillz though that is appreciated !

#6

Thanks, Andrew. Your experience agrees with mine.