Casting Jewelry Basics

Would you like to know what really goes into casting jewelry?

I find that in most cases we look at something and feel that it is not in our realm of abilities to do. We constantly talk ourselves out of trying new things because we simply feel that whatever it is will simply be to difficult for us.

Well casting jewelry is one of these things as well. It seems like it would be extremely difficult and take years and years of practice and large sums of money to make something really cool. However this is simply just not the case. Of course you'll need to purchase or create a couple of essential tools to get started. For instance a furnace for melting metals, and a crucible to melt them in. But as long as one is frugal these can be acquired for very little money. A lot of people will build there foundry in a back yard as well. No need for a special art studio, all you need is a little space and some passion.

So, exactly how hard was it to make that favorite pair of earring's of yours you might ask? Or maybe your interested in making a cool ring. Honestly it's not to difficult. You see the first step is to make a mold of the item you would like to make. There are numerous ways to do this. One of the more popular ways is to use sand. Sand is extremely easy to use and very cost effective. All you have to do is take a replica of the item you want to make (this can be made of wood, metal, plastic, etc... really anything that can stand up to moderate pressure. The replica or pattern is placed into a flask, the flask is just a box with just sides, no top or bottom, and sand is then poured in. As the sand is poured in it is compressed around the pattern. When fully compacted the pattern is taken out of the sand and yo are left with a mold of the item. Molten metal is then poured into the mold and allowed to air dry, and there you have it.

There is of course more to the entire process of casting jewelry, and this is just one of many techniques that can be used to create castings. However this basic example will give you an idea of how that ring on your finger was made and hopefully give you the desire to try it for yourself.

If you would like more information casting jewelry please visit the Casting Jewelry Blog!