Pendant casting newbie

[Sage37]

Hi all -
Hoping someone can help. I’m relatively new to the whole jewellery thing, but have taken a couple of courses and keen to develop my skills further. I would like to make a ‘blob’ pendant, and have invested in a lot of tools and materials to do so.

Having looked around I’m still unsure of what the best way of casting this sort of piece would be. If it achievable by casting into a charcoal block mould, or am I better off doing it in a clay mould, or cuttlefish?

Photos attached for reference of what I want to achieve. Any advice is really helpful!
Thanks in advance.

[Dennis]

The blobs can be made by melting in a depression in a casting block, the hammering the result flatter.
If you like the bone pattern of cuttlefish, you can use that, and create an almighty stink.
If you would like to reproduce the first one more precisely, then Delft clay is your choice. Dennis

[Sage37]

Awesome! Dennis, this is super helpful. Thank you so much for your response. Really appreciate it.

[misspond]

I make pendants like this quite a lot, I usually just melt some scrap on one of my blocks, allow it to cool, place it on a steel bench block and then hammer it flatter with a large hammer. If there is a lot of unwanted texture on the underside then i rub it along a sanding stick until it's smooth.

[Caro]

I am currently making a couple. They need some hammering and shaping though still

I melted down my 1977 Silver Jubilee pendant (which I never liked) as the raw material. I've since been given another couple to recycle in this way.

[Sage37]

Thanks everyone for your replies! Super helpful.. it’s a great way to use up scrap metal. I’ve experimented this weekend and have used a steel hammer end to quickly (but gently) flatten when the metal is still molten. Helps to produce a more organic shape and adds texture from the block which I like! Thanks again!

[Ruedeleglise]

Yes, I have found melting scraps and making items quite satisfying. So far I haven’t hit them with a hammer but just chose the pleasing shapes. I usually cast into depressions or holes on a charcoal block. I have just called them “organic”.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210712/711493f688f5e1d07652ca142fa76948.jpg
On the pendant I have soldered a small sphere of gold to give a high light.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Sage37]

They are all so beautiful! I also love the organic shapes that this technique makes.. looks like you’ve mastered it. These have certainly given me a lot of inspiration! Thanks for sharing!