About Dr. Ari Roark Expertise Metalsmithing, Goldsmithing,Jewelry Making, Gemology,Metallurgy,Art Jewelry,Jewelry Appraising,Metal Mill Work,Jewelry Education,Group Projects Adaptable to Special Populations as well as ordinary groups,Ethnobotany,Metal Clays, International Jewellery Law,Trade Law,Rock hounding,Industrial Health and Safety Assessment and Education as it pertains to Jewelry Studios (of all sizes and manufacturing concerns relative to the Trade, Jewellery Trade Organisations,Objective US Jewelry School critical Analysis,Applied Anthropology,goldssmithing,lapidary,metals,refining
Experience More than 35 years experience in the Jewelry Industry, Juris doctorates, PhD's in Anthropology, Cultural History, Cultural Geography, Mining Locations Assessments, Industrial Health and Safety Inspector to the Jewelry Industry, Montessori Educator, Occupational Therapy, Natural Historian, Scholar of Jewelry Evolution, PhD in Creativity ( the analysis of the divergent genres of thought on the process and impetus of the essence of creativity as a state of being expressed tangibly),Extensive Fieldwork with populations of Traditional craftsmen worldwide, former Peace Corps volunteer, Former VISTA volunteer, Etc.
Organizations too numerous to list
Publications prefer not to answer for reasons related to plagiarism
Education/Credentials PhD Anthropology( Applied(1), Cultural(2)Ethnobotany(1),PhD -Physics (Metallurgy 1)( Wave and Particle Dynamics 1),,JD,MD,MFA-Metals/Jewelry,,MFA-Printmaking, MFA-Sculpture, Extensive undergraduate degrees, extensive post doctoral work, Montessori Educator Certification (Primary and Secondary)..many, many Degrees, Grants, and Awards in my past as an Academic turned Jeweler, OSHA Certifications
Awards and Honors too numerous to list including 3 Honorary Doctorates, Two Humanitarian Related Awards, and Service on Many Boards of Directors
Question QUESTION: I would like to make a spiritual piece for a necklace. I have a friend who is in the recycling business and has some silver. How to we go about this process?
Thanks, Julie
ANSWER: Hello Julie,
If you can get a crucible, some borax,a torch ( a butane torch is all that you'll need),large pieces of cuttlefish bone( at least 5 inches long and 3inches wide at the widest part) , some masking tape and tongs, and a bucket of water, carving tools, and a cast iron skillet, or separate bucket filled with sand, clay etc. you're in business! ( the cuttlefish is from any pet store that sells bird supplies, or a jeweler's supply store.Sometimes you can find it on beaches. If you can't find cuttlefish in your area I sell a complete direct silver casting kit with everything necessary including a crucible and torch for $50.00 plus S&H. It is reusable except for the cuttlefish bones, which are only good for one maybe two pours, each design and contains the metals, chemicals, instructions, and tools necessary to complete a couple of rings or a mid-sized pendant ( 1 oz worth of fine silver with the materials and instructions on how to combine metals to make sterling silver alloy) )!
For a crucible you can use a block of charcoal at least 2 inches deep x 5 inches.If you can't find charcoal Harbor freight tools sells crucibles of graphite 3 for 8 dollars plus S&H. Carve a depression about a third as deep as the block, and about an inch and a half in diameter into one end leaving about a half inch from the edge to create a pouring channel with a dowel, or any tool that will make a depression that is cleanly and clearly delineated and allowing room on the opposite end to grasp the block with tongs as you pour the molten metal.
Presuming you want to make a fairly small object, measure the length of your design and multiply it by 11, that will give you more than the projected weight in grams of metal that you will need.also keep in mind the width of the bone and center the carving on that line. Don't extend it all the way to the edges in any case. You need to have a design that is compact and allows a half inch margin all round. Orient the design accordingly with the heaviest part at the top and the least heavy at the bottom as that will fill with metal first. Remember to allow for hanging or mounting when designing the piece. A bamboo skewer makes a small hole and the bone will burn so make it slightly larger than you desire to allow for shrinkage when molten metal contacts the cuttlefish bone.
After rendering the design, cut the cuttlefish bone down the center into halves and rub them together until they are smooth over some newspaper or other disposable container outdoors as it's messy and smells like a fishery! cut the top smooth with a box knife or coping, or hacksaw ( it is very soft material and anything mentioned will cut it flat on the top, which is where you will be pouring your metal) with an awl, sticks, palette knives, clay tools, or any sharp objects carve your design into one side of the bone for a flat backed object. Blow the carving clean with canned air or your own breath.If you like the detail the cuttlefish bone lends to your design go over the inside of the carving with a fine sable paintbrush as is used for watercolour paintings. This will reveal the fine lines in the bone and give texture to the item.Blow the dust out again.
Take 4 pieces of bamboo skewer or dowel pegs ( the smallest diameter you can possibly obtain) and insert them into the corners of the other half of the cuttlefish bone- these are your registration points that help you line up the halves correctly,then tape them together with one strip of masking tape or a piece of light wire - you will be removing it so not too tightly at this point. Mark a line around the two halves with any sharp instrument or a permanent marker to assist your lining it back up correctly. Remove the tape or wire.
From the top , flat edge carve a well as wide as your design. Do not go too close to the edge or the molten metal will leak out and ruin the project.With a pencil carve a line as deep as the pencil is round where the lead protrudes from the bottom into your cuttlefish bone from the well to the design . This is called a "sprue" and is the channel from which the metal will fill your mold . With the tip of the pencil or an awl scribe some very lightly impressed lines away from the design that will allow gasses to escape.Carve the same diameter well on the other half.
Realign your two pieces using the dowel or toothpicks as a guide. make sure your channels are clean and the permanent marker line around the whole lines up exactly. Tape it all together tightly with masking tape go around it a few times in a few spots. It can't be too secure!.Set the whole with the channel end up in a cast iron skillet with play sand or pumice or clay around it to not only hold it upright securely but to catch any molten metal that may accidentally be misguided.
Melt about 2 tablespoons of borax into your crucible, swirl the crucible to coat the inside. If using charcoal as a crucible ( not the briquettes for bar-b-que pits, but solid charcoal block from a jeweler's supply or a large piece of burned hardwood from a fireplace) you won't need to melt borax. It coats or 'seasons' a crucible and allows the unit to absorb impurities ( copper oxides) from the metals, and allows for a more even pour.Introduce the silver cut into small pieces, to hasten the melting time. Sprinkle the metal with a few pinches of borax ( small pinches).This helps catch any particles that may contaminate the silver, and allows it to flow more easily once molten. It is ready to pour when it looks like a white-hot mirrored ball swirling rapidly in the crucible. Keeping the torch on the crucible held with tongs ( that's why I highly recommend a manufactured clay crucible unless you have experience with charcoal and direct pouring metals) pour the molten metal into the well you have carved into the cuttlefish bone. It should not leak out the sides if they were properly rubbed together so that you could see no light when held in place with the pegs. It will burn a bit and smell horrid- that's why I recommended doing it outdoors, in the beginning! After pouring the metal, with your tongs quench the whole thing in the bucket of water for a minute. Or wait until it all cools down when you touch the widest part with your hand (as long as twenty minutes for a heavy piece).Then unmold the piece and scrub it with an old toothbrush or tumble it in a rock tumbler with stainless shot (should you have access to one) and burnishing compound to remove any ash and bits of bone that may have stuck to the outside. If you didn't make a hole for hanging in the design, drill one and attach it to a chain with jump rings. If it is a ring, set stones or what ever it is you have designed it to be and give it all a final polish.
I hope this is detailed enough for you to complete your piece. If you need more assistance don't hesitate to ask! I Also, i don't usually like to promote my own business, but I do have kits that have everything you need and full instructions ( with photos!) should you have any trouble finding the parts necessary to making your project- feel free to contact me should this be the case. Have fun, be careful as molten metal is over 1400 degrees Fahrenheit and nothing to play around with. I presume you are over 18. If not you'll need your parent's permission and assistance to undertake this form of jewelry making.
Again, if anything requires further explanation don't hesitate to contact me again..
Good Luck , Ari
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Ari, I would like to buy the silver casting kit. Please send me the info on puchasing it. Do you know anyone in the Gettysburg area that has experience with one of those kits, I am nervous doing it myself.
Thanks, Julie
Answer Hello Julie,
Yo u caught me on vacation! If you are still interested in the cuttlefish casting kits write me at my personal email: vieuxcarrejewelrs@gmail.com and I'll be able to send one out as soon as you are ready,.and don't hesitate to do it yourself - assuming you are over 13! it's so easy and I furnish complete instructions with the kit ( and would walk you through it on line if necessary!) . It's a matter of whether or not you have access to a torch or need one ( one of the kits has one included that is good for any silver jewelry making and uses butane as the fuel . It's is a far cry from those tiny pencil torches abounding and it will even melt small amounts of platinum.
I'm getting ready to open my newest website www.CuttlefishKing.com and have an opening special for Fall 2009 so when you contact me off this forum, if you supply your address I'll send you out our promotional special with the discounts that you can use if you decide to order.But believe me you can do it yourself.Just get some sand and a bucket of water ready and with the kit you'll be ready to make anything original or reproduce anything that doesn't have undercuts in the original ( like an engagement ring with a basket setting: the undercuts are the bottom of the stone's setting that is not flat but has parts that curve back on themselves or are azured to let light in) in any metal you wish. If you have video conferencing installed on your PC I would be there for you at a set time if necessary.But to give you an idea of how easy it is I just did a project with 30 girls scouts on Saturday..everyone finished a ring or pendant and some even set stones in their project successfully never having made any jewelry before in their lives, much less casting silver !.. You Can Do It
Best Regards,Ari
