Pyramid Bead Cap

I've got these beautiful lampwork beads sitting here, but the only problem
is they're cubes. I thought it would be quite cool to wire them with a cap
above and below except for the obvious problem that they're square, and not
the more usual round.

so I think to myself I'll make them, then they'll be exactly how I want.
I've come up with three options.

1. Casting from a wax model. Pro: Can get future caps made the same for
little effort. Con: Haven't found a caster here in the UK and I'm not that
great at carving yet.

2. Assembling from four triangle shaped pieces. Pro: Nice even finish and
smooth look. Con: Not that great at soldering and my efforts would probably
fall apart as I solder other seams!

3. Using a mould similar to a doming block made from wood, and using a punch
made from wood. Pro: Boyfriend could probably make the mould for me. Con:
Not sure if I'd get the sharp edges I want.

So which one would you choose, or would you do something completely
different?

Charlie.

On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 11:43:58 -0800, in hõ "Charlie"
wrote:

I've got these beautiful lampwork beads sitting here, but the only problem
is they're cubes. I thought it would be quite cool to wire them with a cap
above and below except for the obvious problem that they're square, and not
the more usual round.

so I think to myself I'll make them, then they'll be exactly how I want.
I've come up with three options.

1. Casting from a wax model. Pro: Can get future caps made the same for
little effort. Con: Haven't found a caster here in the UK and I'm not that
great at carving yet.


A "mixed" option is fabricating a single piece, in whatever metal you like, then having
a rubber mold made. Your fabricated model might be more precise than a carved wax, if
you're not sure of your wax carving skills. A mold can be made of the fabricated model
as easily as from a cast one. You still have to find a caster, though.

2. Assembling from four triangle shaped pieces. Pro: Nice even finish and
smooth look. Con: Not that great at soldering and my efforts would probably
fall apart as I solder other seams!

Avoid the "falling apart" scenario by using a single, well laid out piece of metal, not
three. Make paper models, if you like, of how you'd fold a piece of paper to get the
cap. Lay this out, and score the corner seams with a square profile needle file, filing
almost all the way through, but not quite. Then this can be folded along the scores,
giving you a single piece of metal in the corner shape, with one fully open seam, and
two scored ones. All three need to be soldered up, but the whole will hold it's shape
while you do this. Pretty simple once you figure out the scoring bit, especially with
small pieces like this.


3. Using a mould similar to a doming block made from wood, and using a punch
made from wood. Pro: Boyfriend could probably make the mould for me. Con:
Not sure if I'd get the sharp edges I want.

You won't get sharp corners. Your right about that. especially with a wood die, rather
than steel. And a wooden one wouldn't last very long, either, if it needed to punch a
sharp corner. If you did get a good sharp corner shape, petrhaps with a steel punch, it
would tend to tear out the tip of the corner. This sort of thing CAN be die struck, but
ti's not fool proof or all that easy to get if you really need a good sharp cube corner.
And I'd guess you'd likely need a steel punch, at the least, and probably a steel die
too. Such a die, even in wood, however, would be a decent way to true up the shape of a
corner cap made by the other two methods, if angles didn't come out quite right. Or,
simply use a good square corner on some steel block, etc, and a light hammer, to true up
the shapes by tapping them from the outside, onto that corner. No die, just the "punch"
on the inside. Only good for truing up an existing corner, not making one from a flat
blank.


Peter

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

]So which one would you choose, or would you do something completely
]different?

i'd probably go with making the mold and then making multiple waxes and
casting them, Charlie . . . .

how many are you likely to need over time?


--
@vicki [SnuggleWench]
(Books) http://www.booksnbytes.com
(Jewelry) http://www.vickijean.com
(Metalsmithing) http://www.snugglewench.com
[it's a Callahan's thing]
yahooID: vjean95967
-----------
"How many ADD kids does it take to change a lightbulb?"
...........
"Let's go ride bikes!"

"Charlie" wrote in message
...

1. Casting from a wax model. Pro: Can get future caps made the same for
little effort. Con: Haven't found a caster here in the UK and I'm not
that
great at carving yet.


1. Go to Birmingham

2. Go to the Jewellery Quarter

3. Wander around and find a casting house and get a quote

4. Find another and get another quote

5. Repeat item 4 until happy.

6. Order castings

7. Return to items 3 and 6 and delete 'casting and insert 'Polishing' and
restart the process.

--
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

Well, I have been meaning to go for a day out shopping in Birmingham with
the boyfriend. How close to New Street Station is the Jewellery Quarter?
Walking distance?

Charlie.

"William Black" wrote in message
...

"Charlie" wrote in message
...

1. Casting from a wax model. Pro: Can get future caps made the same for
little effort. Con: Haven't found a caster here in the UK and I'm not
that
great at carving yet.


1. Go to Birmingham

2. Go to the Jewellery Quarter

3. Wander around and find a casting house and get a quote

4. Find another and get another quote

5. Repeat item 4 until happy.

6. Order castings

7. Return to items 3 and 6 and delete 'casting and insert 'Polishing'
and
restart the process.

--
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

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
Well, I have been meaning to go for a day out shopping in Birmingham with
the boyfriend. How close to New Street Station is the Jewellery Quarter?
Walking distance?

About a mile and a bit, all up hill.

Take a cab.

You'll need it going back as well. If you've never been before you'll find
yourself buying jewellers 'toys' at Sutton's tool shop, and the inevitable
vast and heavy Cookson's catalogue...

But if you want to start doing your own casting Walsh's shop do a better
range of pro casting equipment.

--
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

Mile and bit up hill isn't bad! (I pretend to be an aerobics instructor and
lifeguard in my day job...)

Suttons tool shop sounds like I could spend far too much money on things I
don't need! Hang on, I already do that via the cooksons web site! I can't
wait until I can find someone willing to loan me a garage to work in. Then
I can buy lots of kit that I really don't need!

I'd love to do my own casting, but I certainly don't have room at the
moment. But we are possibly moving to a cottage in August, rather than a
first floor flat. How much floor space does a casting kiln take up? Could
you have it indoors, or would you need a proper workshop? I've just had a
thought, can you get kilns that are suitable for both casting, and for
annealing lampwork beads in? Would save floor space eventually. What's the
learning curve like for casting?

Charlie.

"William Black" wrote in message
...

"Charlie" wrote in message
...
Well, I have been meaning to go for a day out shopping in Birmingham
with
the boyfriend. How close to New Street Station is the Jewellery
Quarter?
Walking distance?

About a mile and a bit, all up hill.

Take a cab.

You'll need it going back as well. If you've never been before you'll
find
yourself buying jewellers 'toys' at Sutton's tool shop, and the
inevitable
vast and heavy Cookson's catalogue...

But if you want to start doing your own casting Walsh's shop do a better
range of pro casting equipment.

--
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

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 07:42:10 -0800, in @õ "Charlie"
wrote:


I'd love to do my own casting, but I certainly don't have room at the
moment. But we are possibly moving to a cottage in August, rather than a
first floor flat. How much floor space does a casting kiln take up? Could
you have it indoors, or would you need a proper workshop?

You should have some sort of ventilation. If you're doing this infrequently, a fan in
the window can work. But burnout of the wax does get smelly and smokey, sometimes. So
this is not a totally minor issue. In your own cottage it's a good deal more feasable
than in an apartment where the building houses close neighbors to object to smells. On
the other hand, when I was at your stage of the game, workshop wise, a corner of the
livingroom had my workbench, and the casting kiln was in the kitchen. It worked.
Actually more of an issue than the kiln is the casting machine itself. if you use a
centrifuge type, this can take more room than a kiln.

"" I've just had a
thought, can you get kilns that are suitable for both casting, and for
annealing lampwork beads in?

Yes.

Would save floor space eventually.

Well, eventually is when you'll likely have seperate equipment, along with the seperate
outbuilding(s) for the extensive factory and shop (grin)
But for now, things can easily be doubled up.

What's the
learning curve like for casting?

Depends on how fast you learn, how precisely you can follow directions, and how well you
can read and understand things, or do you need to be actually shown things. Casting is
more a process to be done precisely, following proven principals, than an esoteric art
to be mastered on some emotional and zen level (though it can be that, too, for some)

Obtain a copy of Murrey Bovin's paper bound book, "Centrifugal or Lost Wax Casting, for
schools tradesmen and craftsmen". I think that's the title. Close enough. Originally
written in the 60s or 70s, updated a couple times since. Not the sexiest book around,
but very complete, economical, and accurate. Read it, and you'll have the info you need
both to evaluate the process for your use, and to do it well as time goes on.

But seriously. if all you wish to cast are caps for beads, with bead making your
primary activity, it will make more sense to job out the actual casting process. You'll
find the fees you pay someone to do the actual casting for you are not that much more
than what it would cost you to do it yourself, and that's NOT counting the cost of
setting up a casting shop in the first place.

On the other hand, if you're planning to do significant amounts of custom jewelry
making, then casting can be useful. Doing your own can be quite fun, even, and some
things you can play with on your own are difficult to do with an external firm doing
your casting.

Peter

"Charlie" wrote in message
...

Suttons tool shop sounds like I could spend far too much money on things I
don't need! Hang on, I already do that via the cooksons web site! I
can't
wait until I can find someone willing to loan me a garage to work in.
Then
I can buy lots of kit that I really don't need!

Suttons are usually about 10% cheaper than Cooksons (and stock all the newer
cleverer toys that Cooksons only get in their catalogue a year late, if at
all) and they do a teeny tiny casting kit that you could use on your kitchen
table, if you had a big torch to melt some silver/gold in a crucible or a
table top enamelling kiln.

There's another tool place you actually walk past when going from one to the
other (a walk of almost 100 yards). I can't remember what it's called, but
it has loads of dead classy gear as well.


--
William Black

Who has moved into his shop
And is building shop fittings for the next two weeks...

"Peter W.. Rowe," wrote in message
...

Depends on how fast you learn, how precisely you can follow directions,
and how well you
can read and understand things, or do you need to be actually shown
things. Casting is
more a process to be done precisely, following proven principals, than an
esoteric art
to be mastered on some emotional and zen level (though it can be that,
too, for some)

I'm sad - I like following instructions. Well, I like not reading them,
getting it wrong and then reading them. I take after my Dad.


Obtain a copy of Murrey Bovin's paper bound book, "Centrifugal or Lost Wax
Casting, for
schools tradesmen and craftsmen". I think that's the title. Close
enough. Originally
written in the 60s or 70s, updated a couple times since. Not the sexiest
book around,
but very complete, economical, and accurate. Read it, and you'll have the
info you need
both to evaluate the process for your use, and to do it well as time goes
on.

I shall have to add this to my expaning libry!


But seriously. if all you wish to cast are caps for beads, with bead
making your
primary activity, it will make more sense to job out the actual casting
process. You'll
find the fees you pay someone to do the actual casting for you are not
that much more
than what it would cost you to do it yourself, and that's NOT counting the
cost of
setting up a casting shop in the first place.

I want to cast all sorts of other things too eventually! I've got a
sketchbook full of ideas that I can't wait to get started on when I get the
skill and equipment.

Anyone in the UK want an apprentice?

Charlie.


On the other hand, if you're planning to do significant amounts of custom
jewelry
making, then casting can be useful. Doing your own can be quite fun,
even, and some
things you can play with on your own are difficult to do with an external
firm doing
your casting.

Peter