adventures in casting: tooth mountain

22Jul10

spring went so fast! i took a casting class, and it was all i could do to tear myself away from the wax. i spent some free time riding my bike and collecting bits of nature to turn into jewelry. it gives me the feeling of make-believe objects come to life, and i certainly hope that translates. i hope to be able to reproduce these designs in order to sell a bit, and maybe pay for some more tools and precious metals and stones (as well as classes!) to take my work to the next level.

tooth mountain

so this was the second thing i made. it was 100% reductive carving out of a hard blue piece of wax. they come with little ring holes in them, all different sizes, extruded, so you can slice off a section that corresponds to the width of the ring you want to make. this was is hard. this is not like candle wax, heating it does melt it, but it also shrinks a little, i am pretty sure its more of a plastic wax. when really thin, it will soften a bit under your fingers, but can’t be squished or molded.

so i set out to carve god knows what out of a chunk of wax (as if so often my methodology) and all attempts at symmetry aside, this toothy mountain started to appear. i just kept carving away until it emerged in all its pointy glory, along with the dawning sun, indicating i had been up all night and should probably go to bed so that i could be mildly functional in time for class that evening. I was SO thrilled, i didn’t even notice how badly my hands and back hurt. this wax thing might be for me!

when you first carve these things, they are in candy color shades of blue, green, or purple (depending on the “hardness” of the kind of wax, i can’t really tell the difference yet, but i am pretty sure green is the hardest and therefore easiest to screw up). it’s very difficult to imagine what an object will look like in metal, so although i was really excited about my design, i wasn’t sure what on earth i would end up with.

this is what i ended up with:

objects back from the caster, after a trip through the tumbler. shown is the tooth ring, along with the bow ring (WOW is it tooooo heavy) and the very first object, le claw. which broke. and the bad sprue ruined the rest of it. which is why we will just keep talking about the claw ring

this ring can also be used for self defense, or to quickly open pesky packaging

tooth rings, and the mold to make more!

a close up of the tooth ring. i also think it looks like mountains

side view

top view

the ring can also be shiny! these issues are cast in white bronze, and yes, they turn your fingers green

i haven't decided what finish i like best, the oxidized, or the shiny

like any metal, it will tarnish, so cleaning and storing properly after each wear would prevent the oxidized finish… but i kind of like it. oh hell…
i love this ring!!!

who wants one? bronze $60, sterling $95… this is pre-order pricing, i can’t guarantee it into the future, if you want one at this price, TELL ME NOW!!!
it’s pretty much a one size fits all situation, if you send me a preferred ring size, i’ll do my best, its meant to be on a larger finger – middle or pointer (i just have huge hands
size shown is a 7

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