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Cast vs hand-made



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 16th 05, 06:39 PM
A & L Lane
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Default Cast vs hand-made

Can anyone give me some advice on the differences between jewellery that is
cast and that which is hand made - obviously the hand made item is always
more expensive but does it wear better, is it stronger, etc? Someone
recently told me that that cast items sometimes have bubbles and such inside
making the item wear more and weigh lighter - comments on this?? Is there a
rule of thumb on what kind of premium should be paid for a hand made ring
(for example) over a cast one given that there is a much higher labour
content within the cost of the handmade item.

thank you
Andrew Lane
www.aussiesapphire.com.au



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  #2  
Old July 16th 05, 09:27 PM
Andrew Werby
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"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...
Can anyone give me some advice on the differences between jewellery that
is
cast and that which is hand made - obviously the hand made item is always
more expensive but does it wear better, is it stronger, etc? Someone
recently told me that that cast items sometimes have bubbles and such
inside
making the item wear more and weigh lighter - comments on this?? Is there
a
rule of thumb on what kind of premium should be paid for a hand made ring
(for example) over a cast one given that there is a much higher labour
content within the cost of the handmade item.

thank you
Andrew Lane
www.aussiesapphire.com.au

[Perhaps because I do more casting than fabricating, this question irritates
me a bit. It reflects a prejudice I've come up against before. There's
nothing about the casting process per se that disqualifies a product made
that way from being called "hand made". One can carve a ring from wax with
files and gravers, invest it and cast it without using any power equipment
at all (although it can help). Once a piece is cast, it can be embellished
by having material soldered or otherwise attached, be finished (by hand),
and have (hand-cut) stones set in it (by hand). Conversely, jewelry can be
fabricated with machine tools, and never be touched by human hands. If it
is, this doesn't automatically make it any better, heavier, stronger, or
even more expensive. While there are processes like forging and planishing
that will compress the metal somewhat, and make it denser and hence wear
longer than a cast piece, jewelry can certainly be made by hand without
using these processes. It's true that modern sheet and wire goods are
generally stronger and freer of imperfections than castings, but the
metallurgical properties of hand-made sheet and hand-drawn wire won't
necessarily be as good as those of a well-made casting. There can be a lot
of skill and artistry in a cast jewelry piece, which is not necessarily a
mass-produced item; casting is used for unique pieces and small editions as
well as large runs. On the other hand, much "hand-made" jewelry is
fabricated without a whole lot of skill or art involved; in the factory it's
a mechanical matter of cutting, bending, and soldering large numbers of
parts as quickly as possible, usually by underpaid workers in 3rd world
countries. I don't think anybody's paying much of a premium, if any, for
this sort of stuff. And I don't think that "bubbles", if any, inside
finished castings really have much effect on weight. If a casting does turn
out to be porous, that's the result of a casting mishap, and these pieces
are generally scrapped - it's not usually possible to polish them
cost-effectively. Casting and fabricating are both equally valid methods of
constructing jewelry, but they're good for different things; the choice of
which process to use should depend on the sort of results desired.]

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com



  #3  
Old July 16th 05, 09:27 PM
William Black
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"A & L Lane" wrote in message
...
Can anyone give me some advice on the differences between jewellery that

is
cast and that which is hand made - obviously the hand made item is always
more expensive but does it wear better, is it stronger, etc? Someone
recently told me that that cast items sometimes have bubbles and such

inside
making the item wear more and weigh lighter - comments on this?? Is there

a
rule of thumb on what kind of premium should be paid for a hand made ring
(for example) over a cast one given that there is a much higher labour
content within the cost of the handmade item.


It depends on how long it takes.

I charge customers £20 an hour plus materials.

For a simple ring (because stone setting and engraving all that other clever
stuff all take about the same time)

Cast items have to be cast, the investment medium washed away, the sprue
cut off, the ring cleaned up, tumbled and then polished.

Hand made...

Cut the appropriate length of stock bar.

Form around mandrel

File ends, solder, pickle, file off excess solder, polish.

If you're making only one then the cast item takes longer with a lot more
waste metal.

Casting makes 'economies of scale' because it's the same labour cost to cast
up a couple of hundred to the 'rough' state and you can do a lot of the
cleaning up and basic polishing in large industrial tumbler type polishers.

--
William Black

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe
Barbeques on fire by chalets past the headland
I've watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off Newborough
All this will pass like ice-cream on the beach
Time for tea




  #4  
Old July 22nd 05, 03:07 AM
vj
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vj found this in rec.crafts.jewelry, from William Black
:

]Casting makes 'economies of scale' because it's the same labour cost to cast
]up a couple of hundred to the 'rough' state and you can do a lot of the
]cleaning up and basic polishing in large industrial tumbler type polishers.

trying to manufacture one of my pinecones would take a lot longer than
casting one does.


--
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
(Metalsmithing) http://www.snugglewench.com
[it's a Callahan's thing]
-----------
vj -- "Just who put 'day-people' in charge?"

  #5  
Old July 22nd 05, 03:07 AM
vj
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Default

vj found this in rec.crafts.jewelry, from "Andrew Werby"
:

]Casting and fabricating are both equally valid methods of
]constructing jewelry, but they're good for different things; the choice of
]which process to use should depend on the sort of results desired.

thank you for saying that so well.


--
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
(Metalsmithing) http://www.snugglewench.com
[it's a Callahan's thing]
-----------
vj -- "Just who put 'day-people' in charge?"

 




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