62 makingjewellery.comTIPS & TECHNIQUES
- Press the two halves back together so the
pins placed in Step 4 locate and the two crosses
marked in Step 6 line up. This means you know
that both your carved shapes on either side of
the cuttlefi sh will be lined up perfectly inside
the shell. Wrap some binding wire around the
outside, keeping everything tightly together.
Place the bound cuttlefi sh into your casting
area, making sure it is securely propped up. It is
now ready for the liquid silver. - If you have a brand new scorifi er (heat
tolerant dish), you need to prep it before
smelting. This is simply done by painting a
layer of borax into the bowl, heating slowly to a
high temperature and leaving to cool naturally.
This forms a glassy layer on the surface of the
bowl, meaning your silver won’t stick. Add
casting grain to the bowl (or use off cuts of silver
- it’s a great way to use up scraps). You need at
least double the volume of silver to the shape
you are going to cast. Place the bowl into the
scorifi er tongs to hold it securely and then heat
with your torch until the silver turns to liquid.
Keep the fl ame constantly on the surface of the
molten silver as you pour into the cuttlefi sh.
- Wait until the cuttlefi sh has cooled down.
Cut the binding wire away and open up the
two halves to reveal the blackened silver shape.
PHOTOGRAPHS: LAUREL GUILFOYLE, TANSY WHEELERHOW TO MAKE
- A dead cuttlefi sh has a hard shell on one side
and is very soft on the other side. The soft side
is the side that you always use to carve shapes
into. Depending upon the size of your piece you
can use two whole cuttlefi sh soft side to soft
side. This is ideal for casting long shapes, for
example a bangle. - Alternatively, for smaller shapes you can
use one cuttlefi sh and cut it in half, across its
width. It’s easiest to cut it soft-side up using
a hacksaw or similar tool with a thick blade
rather than a piercing saw. - Place one half soft-side down onto a piece
of coarse sandpaper and rub back and forth to
obtain a perfectly smooth surface. Repeat this
step for the other half of the cuttlefi sh. - It is good practice to push small pieces of
wire into one side of the cuttlefi sh as this
provides a secure fi t, especially when you
are carving both sides out to make a three-
dimensional shape. - Manipulate a piece of wire into the shape
you want your bead to be and place onto the
smooth surface of one half of the cuttlefi sh,
approx. 2cm away from the top. Press it into the
surface lightly so it doesn’t move.
6. Now press the other half of the cuttlefi sh
over the top so the wire pins push into the
other side and the wire shape squashes between
the two pieces. It is also a good idea to mark a
small ‘x’ shape on top of the cuttlefi sh at this
point as this will visually show you that you
have the two halves perfectly lined up.
7. Open up the two halves and carefully remove
the wire. You will see that the wire shape has
made a perfect impression onto both sides of
the cuttlefi sh.
8. You can now carve into both shapes using
either specialist crafting tools or simply use a
smooth pointed object such as a crochet hook
or knitting needle. When you have the desired
shape, use a soft watercolour brush to brush
away excess cuttlefi sh dust. This will really
bring out the texture.
9. You will need to carve out a spout on both
halves. Make sure the hole isn’t too small
otherwise you may get an air bubble trapped
and this will make pouring the liquid silver
very tricky. Finally, and very importantly, you
need to make small thin lines radiating away
from the shape to the edges of the cuttlefi sh.
This allows for trapped gas to escape, avoiding
bubbles in your cast.
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