Faculty Syllabus

WAX MODELING FOR JEWELRY:

Students will learn wax modeling skills to sculpt wax models for casting jewelry objects. The subtractive (carving) methods and the additive (build-up) methods will be emphasized. Students will create wax models to meet specific design criteria using the assigned projects and student created projects.

 Students will gain a basic understanding of the techniques used to create wax models.  In addition, more advanced concepts and techniques for planning designs, and stone setting will be introduced.

 Satisfy degree requirements for a certificate or an Associate of Applied Science degree in Jewelry.

Through a series of classroom assignments, students will gain proficiency in wax carving.

Attendance and participation will each account for 50 percent of your grade.

Jewelry technology courses are practice-intensive and require that you develop skills progressively throughout the semester.  If more than 10% of the total 80 clock hours for this course are missed (8 hours or 3.2 classes) you could be dropped with a grade of “W”, or after final semester withdrawal date, with a grade of “F”.

Jewelry technology courses are practice-intensive and require that you develop skills progressively throughout the semester.  If more than 10% of the total 80 clock hours for this course are missed (8 hours or 3.2 classes) you could be dropped with a grade of “W”, or after final semester withdrawal date, with a grade of “F”.

Your final grade will be based on your progress throughout the the semester.  Grades will be given in accordance with the following:  Attendance, effort, and participation.

Partial list of required supplies:

Magnifying Visor. (if needed)

#2 and/or #4 needle files:  barrette,  round,  half round   (do not buy the "wax carving" needle files)

gravers: at least one flat and one knife edge (line) traditional graver. Preferably without handles.

A wax pen tip, compatible with Dura-Bull or Arbe brand wax pens. 

Students will  need to buy additional jeweler's wax for their projects.

Students will most likely need to buy additional small tools such as drill bits, files, gravers, etc. as the class progresses as needed.

[Every student will be asked to sign this policy as a condition of enrollment.]

1. We have literally thousands of objects to keep track of in the Jewelry Lab, some of them so small they look like debris when scattered.  Notice where things come from, and put them back exactly in their proper places.  If you don’t know for sure where something goes, don’t put it away-- put it on the instructor’s bench.  Sometimes a tool can be lost for weeks, only inches from where it belongs. 
2. Your instructor will assign you a workbench at the start of each semester.  Students may switch or trade seats, as long as they update the seating chart with their instructor. 
3. Your bench will be used by several other students.  Please leave it clean.  Clean-up time is ten minutes before the end of class.
   1. Return all tools to their proper places. 
   2. Throw away used sandpaper and other trash on the bench or in the drop trays.  Leave nothing but sweeps in the lower tray.
   3. Brush off your bench top into the lower drop tray. 
   4. If there are any sweeps in the upper tray, send them down the hole to the lower one. 
   5. Use the magnet to separate steel, such as sawblades, from the sweeps, and discard or recycle it. 
   6. Brush the sweeps through the hole into the plastic container beneath the tray.  Once the sweeps go down the hole, they belong to ACC—no scavenging. 
   7. Please report any missing tools to the instructor.
   8. Surrounding work areas must be cleaned bythe combined efforts of all students.
4. If there is an equipment malfunction, please inform your instructor immediately to that it can be returned to service as soon as possible.
5. If you make a mess somewhere else in the lab, please take care of it yourself.  Note to casting students: This includes investment messes. 
6. At the soldering stations, if you find something missing or depleted, don’t borrow it from another station.  If you don’t know how to fix or replenish the item for yourself, ask your instructor to show you.
7. Smoking and eating are not permitted in the laboratories or classrooms. 
8. Please do not use your cell phone in the lab. When it rings, please take it outside. 
9. Please keep conversations quiet, so as not to distract the instructor or students. 
10. A Lost & Found box for small items is located in the instructor’s bench.  Larger items will be kept wherever is convenient.  At the beginning of each semester, any unclaimed items will be disposed of. 
11. While you are registered for a jewelry course, you may occupy an empty seat in another class in the jewelry lab, providedyou have the permission of the instructor whose class you sit in on.  You are a guest outside your own class time, however, and must defer to the students in that class in choice of seats, use of equipment, and the instructor’s attention.  You may be asked to relinquish a seat you have occupied for some time to a later arriving guest student.  Please yield graciously, in any case. 
12. Do not enter the lab while under the influence of, or while suffering the aftereffects of, any recreational drug, including alcohol, or any prescription drug that impairs your ability. No tobacco products may be used in the lab.  Caffeine is allowed!

[Every student will be asked to sign this policy as a condition of enrollment.]

Jewelry processes can be dangerous if proper procedure is not observed.  Stay alert.  Be present in your surroundings.  When it involves the safety of you and others, learn to pace yourself and move cautiously and deliberately. Most accidents occur when people get in a hurry, so don’t get in a hurry and please use your common sense. ACC strives to provide you with proper training and a safe environment, but you also must do you part. Think ahead to possible outcomes of what you’re doing.  The students are vital participants in a safe lab. 

Learning a hand skill, especially one as fussy as jewelry-making, is inherently aggravating.  When you feel emotionally distraught for any reason, e.g., getting in a hurry, frustration with the project/teacher/yourself, etc.--take a break.  It’s time well spent if it prevents an injury to you, or even just damage to your workpiece.

1. Before using any piece of equipment, get a qualified person to explain its proper use.
2. Report all accidents (and near misses) to your instructor without delay. If you suspect an unsafe condition, bring it to your instructor’s attention immediately. 
3. Use of first-aid supplies, even band-aids, must be entered in the log located in the first-aid kit.  Instructors are not allowed to give medicines, such as OTC pain relievers, to students, even when these are recommended for treating a given condition. 
4. If the campus police are needed, their emergency number is 223-7999, or 222 from ACC phones.  The Riverside non-emergency number is 223-6044.  
5. Know the locations and proper use of fire extinguishers.
6. Wear your safety glasses at all times when you are exposed to flying particles, as well as harmful chemicals and solutions.
7. Wear earplugs in the presence of high noise levels.
8. Wear a dust mask when sanding, buffing, investing or in other situations where respiratory hazards are present.
9. Tie back long hair, loose sleeves, dangling jewelry, and anything else that could get caught in rotating machinery such as polishing motors, flex-shafts, rolling mills, or the casting centrifuge.
10. Learn the operation of the ventilation systems used in the Jewelry Dept.
11. Torch safety:
    1. Never walk away from a lit torch, even for a moment.  Turn it off and relight. 
    2. Don’t leave flammables (except firecoat) on the soldering benches, e.g., paper towels, books, plastic bottles and cups, etc.  
    3. If you smell propane, don’t assume someone else will take care of it. 
    4. Be sure that both oxygen and fuel valves are closed on unlit torches.
    5. Be aware of the direction of the heat plume from a lit torch. 
    6. Keep your hair out of the flame.   
12. If you are melting metal to pour an ingot, make sure your metal and mold are dry.  Molten metal can pop and splatter if it comes in contact with even trace amounts of moisture.
13. Wear proper eye protection when using the torches. Most soldering is done without dark lenses, but if a process is causing you to have afterimages, you should wear a #3 shade lens for that type of work.  A #3 lens will also be enough protection in most casting situations. A #5 lens may be needed when casting metals with higher melting points (bronze, brass, and copper) and for prolonged melting of larger volumes of metal (50 grams or more). A #5 to #11 lens would also be needed for platinum work.
14. Throwing hot metal into the pickle solution can cause spattering, dispersing toxic and corrosive particles into the air, which can harm your skin, lungs, eyes, and clothing.  So do it carefully.
15.  Always wear the proper attire when working with fire (torches) and hot or molten metal. Clothing should be natural fiber. Synthetic fibers melt and stick to skin when heated, making burn injuries far worse than otherwise.  Your legs should be covered to the knees, and shoes should completely cover your feet.

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