Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1912-01-31
SOLID GOLD RINGS
Some Are Stamped Gut With a
Die, Some Cut From Tubes.
BUT MOST OF THEM ARE CAST
AZ . Rule, They Are Formed In MoIds
of CuttIefish Bone. Into Which the
Pattern Sinks AZ Though Pressed In
to Wax-M aking the Molds.

Cuttlefish bone Is familiar to most |
people. rs 1t is seen thrust between the |
bars Of a bird cage for birds to peck at |
Birds clean their beaks on il. and they !
ike to eat It. But cuttlefsh bone has
other and more interesting uses. II
Is used In the manufacture of tooth
powder and OF polishing powder and
In the making Of n prepared food for
birds. but perhaps the most interest
Ing OF Its uses is In the making or
molds in which to cast gold rings
Some gold rings are east I'm tiny
TASKS containing molds Of fine sand:
others are stamped out with a die.
Wedding rings are made from dra WIN
tube of gold in which the rounded out
er shape OF the ring is produced on II
mandrel. the several sections thus
formed being then sawed of even
when finished and polished to form :;
perfect ring. Eut of the vast number
of solid gold rings produced by manu-
featuring jewelers.. including rings to
be mounted with stones. % per cent
arc cast in cuttletish bone molds.
Such mold can be used but once.
and so the manufacturing jeweler uses
lot of cuttlefish bone. The molds
may be made In two. three. four or
five parts. according to the elaborate
ness Of the ring 10 he nodded. The
bone serves both rs flask and as mold
ing material.
Suppose the molder Is to make for a
ring comparatively simple in shape a
! three part mold. He sits at a bench
on which he has brass patterns of the
/ rings TO be nodded The manufactur-
ing jeweler has hundreds. many hun
/ dreds. Of these pattern rings. to which
he is continually adding designs
Handy by the molder has box of
cuttlefish bone. Only bone of the finest
quality and finest texture il used. and
such bone serves for this purpose ad-
mirably. Under pressure of an object
upon ii this bone breaks down perfect
ly and with no surrounding fractures
or assures. 1t takes an impression prac
tically as perfect as u plastic mate
rial would do. while at the same time
1t stands up perfectly around the i'm
preston made.
The moldcr takes a cuttiefSh bone
In its familiar oval shape and with q
little sharp toothed saw saws OF tn,
tapering sides and the ends. leaving
Keystone shaped or an OblOng block
Then straight across he saws off on,
end OF this block about n quarter o.
its length from the end. and then tn,
larger piece he 81 VS. through from sid,
to side midway of its thickness Nov
he has the original block OF bone d.
vided into three parts.
He rubs the face OF each of theS,
parts perfectly smooth on metal plat
set before him conveniently In tn
bench. and then the material is read.
for use ak mold. The molder turn
one Of the TWO bigger blocks over Ol
the bench with the smoothed surfac
up and picks up the model ring. ar
with defJ. sure touch he presses thi
model down for half its thickness a.
around into the delicately fragile bu
evenly textured bone-this IN IN
} cnse OF Il three pie-e mold at one en-
OF the block. leaving the head or ca
Of the ring projecting beyond the en-
= edge Next he picks up the other hal
! of this block. turns lis smooth fac
t down and presses that down upon th
1 i ring "a IL lies with half its thickness
! projecting shove the surface Of III
: lower block. and now he has a mold {
d the ring complete except for the pr,
:. jecting head.
D AT this stage he picks up that en-
: piece nf the bone that he had sa we
a or and presses that with its smoot
face down upon the rings head. so tai
, t,,.w 81 @I,,N
= has the mold complete. but with Il
= model ring Inside Of IL.
o Now he scores lightly this model on
n side. across Its side edges. and he scor,
lines from the top block 10 the side
70 that when he has taken the mo
N apart he can put II together again pr
l. cisely rs II should be. and then
opens II and takes ont the pattern. al
II anywhere the nodded form shou
require IL touch OF smoothing he do
that. and then. beginning small III
opening out wider. he cuts out in Il
inner sides OF the two halves OF Il
big block from the bend OF the Ri
mold out 10 the end OF the block
opening. the gate. through which q
molten gold will be poured when {
, ring is NEEDED. Then he puts {
pieces OF the mold together again al
binds them with soft wire. and Their,
. your cuttlefish bone mold perfect a.
complete.
a Sometime, they bind half a dozen
s a dozen OF such molds together a
}. cut little channels inside from the "a
TO each one of the separate mods wit
- In. and then when they pour the &C
y they mold half dozen or a doz