Cuttlefish cast ring (HBM126)
Cuttlefish cast ring (HBM126)
During the December 2020 Christmas MADE Makers event I did an Instagram LIVE demonstration of Cuttlefish Casting.
This is a lovely and fun technique whereby molten silver is poured into a prepared cuttlefish bone. The cuttlefish bone has a lovely texture which is then reflected in the metal. This is a ring made with this technique - every single one is completely different from the next. The bone is carved for each ring separately and cannot be re-used after the silver has been poured as the bone burns to ash.
If you’d like a completely one-off ring, this might be for you. Just let me know your ring size, or do get in touch if you’d like to know more about the technique. You can watch a recording of the Instagram LIVE demo here and see below for more images of the process.
If you don’t know your ring size, I can send you a ring sizer in the post.
Size: Width of shank - ~3 mm; thickness of shank - ~2mm
(HBM126)
Cuttlefish Casting a Silver Ring
Here some images of the Cuttlefish casting process. Note the lovely texture of the bone which is transferred onto the silver during the casting process. It is also an excellent way of recycling old or scrap silver. You can see the set-up for the casting process as well as an image of immediately after the casting process, when the silver has been poured into the mould - it is still red-hot! This is the moment when it starts to smell rather strongly of burnt bone … a reason for me to do this only outside.
The last image shows the moment of opening the mould to see if the process worked. The bone is completely charred where the metal was poured, which means that the bone cannot be re-used - each ring is completely unique. You can also see the sprue at the top of the ring through which the silver was poured. I tend to leave part of the sprue on the ring as I feel it is part of the whole piece (it can of course also be removed). Do get in touch if you have more questions!!
