Wax Carving and Wax Modelling

About the course

This course is designed to give you an introduction into wax carving and modelling for jewellery. On the course you will produce one or a few wax pieces, that you will take to a casting company for them to cast into a metal of your choice.

We will start from exploring different types of waxes which are suitable for the lost wax casting process as well as handling a variety of wax carving tools, including files, Wolf carving tools, triangular scraper and wax welder.

If you have never worked with wax before, you will learn to carve a simple ring or a pendant. If you have some experience, you will be guided to produce more complex pieces. Depending on your design ideas, you will start out your piece using a wax block, tube, sheet or wire. You will also be encouraged to mix different waxes together and create interesting textures.

This course will cover all aspects of preparing wax pieces for casting- considering shape, weight and placement of sprues. You will learn how to calculate weight conversions from wax to metals and how to forecast costs of casting.

After the first day of the course, you will take your wax pieces to a casting company to have them cast in metal.

One the second day of the course, you will be shown how to finish your metal castings, including polishing to a high standard.

Who is the course for?

The course is for jewellery makers of all levels who want to develop or enrich their skillset in wax carving and modelling.

Who will be teaching?

This course will be led by Katrin Spranger. Meet the tutor here.