Hello everyone! My name is Amanda. I have just gotten into teaching
myself lost wax carving. I am mostly interested in making signet
style rings with designs on them. My main source of inspiration is a
guy who makes the same type of thing. His name is Julio Cuellar. You
can check out his work at http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep825s
I’ve carved some signet rings and I wish to engrave designs on them,
but the tools I have or just too crude to get the look I’m going
for.
I have a million questions, but for now I’d like to know what shape
and size gravers I should start with if I wanted to create designs
like the ones attached. I don’t have any experience engraving and
only have the budget for push gravers. I don’t have the equipment to
install my own handle so I was thinking of getting the adjustable
handles. Also, do any of the gravers come pre-sharpened and ready to
go? Any info would be excellent. Thank you!!
I do this all the time, for a start I suggest that you get hold of a
copy of Lawrence Kallenberg Modelling in wax for Jewelry and
Sculpture, you can get second hand copies relatively cheaply.
Next, work in green hard carving wax, easier to put fine detail in,
(I work under a microscope for very fine detail but you shouldn’t
need to). An Optivisor will help though.
Kate wolf’s tools are very good, you would probably need the
smallest ones, I make my own, I started with dental excavators and
soon discovered that since you are forever reshaping them, a piece of
tool steel rod is not that hard to reshape, and cheaper. I mostly use
spoon shaped ones, and use them on the pull stroke, you are scraping
towards you rather than chiselling away from you.
I got the microscope when I was given a job with tiny celtic
knotwork, and couldn’t see it. The first thing I discovered was that
my tools were too large and I made ones with smaller tips out of
needles, softened in a flame and then bend and ground on an oilstone.
I have dozens now but do most of my work with about 5.
A good handle helps, I use 6mm aluminium rod, drill a hole in the
end, superglue the shaped tip in and slide a piece of silicone tube
over the ally, this gives a good grip and stays clean.
