How to prepare VERY LARGE WAX BRACELETS for casting => 27 photos

 These ongoing essays on 'wax casting' have been in my collection for many years. If I don't discuss them, all this important casting information will be gradually lost & forgotten.

==============================

 All of these bracelets are made with multiple sections. Many of the sections should be individually cast, this is a time consuming ordeal but this what 'we' are dealing with in our profession.

 This bracelet has very large & bulky links for casting. I chose to drill the diamond holes AFTER STONE SETTING, if it was warranted.

 In this 'busy' looking bracelet, there were no holes drilled for stone setting. I decided to make this bracelet more interesting by placing one stone in each raised section.

 Instead of setting stones close together, I (carefully) inked for 6 stones per link. I didn't cast them as the cost would have been just prohibitive for my pocket.

 It is best to 'mark and drill' the diamond holes before casting, but this is your choice.

 Each link has to have a rivet joining each link to the other. After casting then the difficult work of polishing each link and then doing the stone setting.

 I would prefer if the joining and subsequent assembly be done AFTER STONE SETTING. 

 The reason is that there would be too much Onglette cutting if the diamond sections are too close together.

  Each link must be polished thoroughly before assembly, not afterwards!

 If there are any defects (as seen) that need to be attended to, PLEASE do them in the wax stages. The ongoing option is to set the stones at 'one link at a time' or in 'small groups'. Each of these links needs much metal cutting.

  I thought that Flush setting would work, but look at the problems. Polishing of the metal is nearly impossible with the stones already set. There are 'remnants of wax' around each stone. 

E

                                 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

               

  "WAX SPRUES FOR THESE BRACELET LINKS"

  Every link needs to have a process just to be cast, but how are these going to be accomplished?

 Each link needs to have an adjoining wax sprue attached. The purpose is that the hot flowing metal must be given a chance to move through the investment cavity.

  The wax sprue must be thin, but not too thin, so as not to allow the metal to flow easily.

  Once the casting has been completed, ensure that the metal has joined the many links.

 These wax sprues must always be joined to each link. Here you can see how this has been accomplished on each side of the links. For these thick links, I chose to use a (moderately) thick sprue. There is much metal to flow around these 4 links.

 With your heating pen, let the joining wax melt from the link to the sprue.

 In this photo, you can see the heating pen tip start to melt the wax where it's absolutely needed.

 I'll gently shape the sprue to conform to the curves of each link.

  Before any attachment of any wax sprue, I'll shape the soft wax to enable the round wax to easily join the link. This simple action will enable a more fully formed wax sprue.

 Here are three sizes of sprues. Why three? It all depends on where the links will be resting against the main wax shaft. BTW, the top link hasn't been well joined. WOOPS!

 The wax pen is again melting some wax just to ensure an even flow of metal during the metal casting.

 Always be prepared that every link is fully joined to the sprue. If it isn't, there won't be any flow of metal to going to that link.

 I'd attach a new sprue where the original was designed for.

 These joinings were not well made, scrap them and start again. This will lead to catastrophic problems for you. Plus, the holes were not sufficiently drilled, thus leading to a real YUK!

  I thought of this idea of joining these three kinks into one solid group.

 For these ultra-large-sized links, it's best to use many sprues to allow the metal to flow everywhere.

 You can see where I squeezed the wax sprue to enable the metal to flow from one side to the other. NEVER ASSUME THAT THE METAL WILL FLOW EVERYWHERE. It has to be made & created to flow everywhere.

 Here is another photo of how I hand-shaped the wax sprue to gently flow around the link.

 On this link is where I will insert a metal wire to attach the link when it's resting on the person's wrist.

  REMEMBER, not to set any 'pre-set' stones before any metal casting. You can easily see the slight curvature of the wax sprue.