Introduction
Sanding the soft side of a cuttlebone
Cuttlebone casting is a wonderful and easy casting method. If you are planning on making small pendants or parts, cuttlebone casting can be done in a small studio in an apartment. Other methods of casting, such as lost wax and larger cuttlebone casts, require much more equipment and larger space and are not the focus of this series of posts. For the cuttlebones that I am currently casting all I am using is my small torch, a crucible I bought from Amazon and scrap silver.
But before you can start small-scale casting you need to start with prep work. First, where do you buy cuttlebones? Second, how do you prep the cuttlebones for carving? Then the last step is carving the cuttlebones to produce the right designs.
Buying cuttlebones
Sanded and raw cuttlebone
Cuttlebones come from cuttlefish. Cuttlefish are squid like creatures that live in the ocean. The cuttlebone is not actually a bone, because squid like creatures don’t have bones. The cuttlebone is a calcium back plate that forms as the cuttlefish gets older. The lines on the cuttlebone are similar to tree rings. The more lines that a cuttlefish has when it dies the larger and older it was.
You can get cuttlebones several ways. If you want to be hardcore and you live on the coast, you can collect them on the beach and dry them out. If you don’t live on the coast there are other and less time consuming options.
The first option is to go to pet stores. Pet stores sell cuttlebones in packages of 1 to 3 for a good price. They are sold for birds to nibble on in order to get calcium. Remember to inspect the cuttlebones carefully because some of them can be broken or quite small. Birds don’t care about that but artist should. Be prepared to get weird looks at the checkout when you buy 20 cuttlebones.
If you want larger and more structurally sound cuttlebones you can buy them from art supply stores. Remember that art supply stores that sell cuttlebones can be hard to find and they will be much more expensive then buying them from a pet store. I suggest sticking with the pet store route and saving money.
Prepping
Sawing the cuttlebone
The first step in prepping a cuttlebone cast is sawing it in half. You want to saw it the short way with a normal jewelers saw. This may take a few minutes and it will get cuttlebone dust everywhere. If possible do this step outside or at least directly over a garbage can. I usually walk straight to the tub afterwards and dust off.
After you cut the cuttlebone in half you need to sand the soft side flat. The best way to do this is to use a large piece of 300 sand paper to sand it down. Usually one piece of sand paper can sand several cuttlebones flat. After they are completely flat throw away all the dust and then use a paintbrush to clean off the cuttlebones themselves.
Carving
Cuttlebone ready for carving
Carving out the design you want is a bit tough. The lines that give the cuttlebone its unique shape are similar to a grain of a wood. That means as you carve out your design it will be easier to carve in certain directions. Also each cuttlebone comes from a living creature so there will be imperfections that the designer will need to work around.
Luckily cuttlebones are soft so you don’t need the same sturdy knives or super sharp exact knives required for wood. I always use the tools meant for doing wax work. These sturdy stainless steel tools are perfect for removing the soft material and giving the detail needed. It can save money because when you do wax work you can use the same tools.
When I first started working with cuttlebones I would sketch out designs. Now I don’t bother because each one is so unique. With the larger bones I might try to fit multiple pendants with different pour spots but in general I will do one cuttlebone per pour and sometimes if there is enough at the bottom I will do a second at a later time with the bottom part.
The first step to carving is to carve out the button or channel which you will pour the metal. Some designers make the button so that they can cut it off. I usually incorporate the button into the piece. Not only does it prevent miss-casts, because the metal has less area to pour down, it also allows for an area to place a finding.
After the button is carved out the second step is to carve the design. Metal can’t flow up against gravity so every design must have a downward motion to its design. The more space that the metal has to pour down the more likely it will fill with metal. These facts must be taken into consideration when creating the design. I stick to abstract designs because they look neat against the ridges from the cuttlebones. Many jewelers make real world objects pretty well.
Conclusion
Button carved and ready for a design
After you finished carving out the cuttlebone use the paintbrush to remove all the dust. The more dust you remove the more the lines will show up, which I think is the cool part behind cuttlebone casts. After all this work is done comes the casting! Which is the fun and dangerous part.
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