Annotation Field Notes

[Add a link here to annotation plan draft II]

Name: Charles Kang
Date and Time:

2016.12.01, 03:00 pm

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Measuring White Wax

I measured out two batches of white wax: Approximately 200 ml each, in a 250 ml beaker. 200 ml of white wax weighs 98.0 g

---

Name: Charles Kang & Isabella Lores-Chavez
Date and Time:

2016.12.05, 01:00 pm

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Handling Wax Blocks for Jewelry & Pouring Wax with No Additives

1. Handling Wax Blocks for Jewelry

• We manipulated purple and blue wax blocks (courtesy of Donna - thank you) alongside a small amount of "untempered" - i.e. no additives added - yellow beeswax
• Tools: jeweler's saw, a selection of files, a selection of carving tools, wax soldering pen
• Actions: cutting (saw), smoothing flat and over curves (files), scoring and carving (carving tools), soldering, hand manipulation
• Observations
  • Purple wax block
    • Cutting: The saw went through very easily, and the "sawdust" looked dry (easily blown away).
    • Smoothing: Similar to the cutting - overall a dry feel, with fine "sawdust."
    • Scoring and carving: Difficult to cut deep lines and difficult to carve away large chunks. Shallow lines were relatively clear, and the tool did not drag any wax with it.
    • Soldering: Did not try.
    • Hand manipulation: No response.
  • Blue wax block
    • Cutting: Stickier feel than when cutting the purple wax block - the heat created by the saw made the cut pieces to stick to each other as the saw went through. Larger grains of "sawdust" - looked wetter and was difficult to blow away.
    • Smoothing: More giving than the purple block.
    • Scoring and carving: Slightly easier to cut deep lines and carve away large chunks. When scoring deeply, the tool dragged some wax with it.
    • Soldering: Hard to melt large quantities, but with patience, it was possible to attach two pieces of wax to each other.
    • Hand manipulation: No response.
  • Untempered yellow beeswax
    • Cutting: Very sticky - the cut pieces stuck together as the saw went through. The "sawdust" looked heavy and almost wet - not easily blown away.
    • Smoothing: Did not try.
    • Scoring and carving: Easiest to score and carve. When scoring, the tool dragged significant amounts of wax with it.
    • Hand manipulation: With enough heat of the hand, the wax become slightly malleable. Possible to smooth the surface with the flat part of a thumb.
• Thoughts: When testing black sulfured wax, I might use the block wax as comparative examples.

2. Pouring Wax with No Additives

• I measured out 25 g of white beeswax and heated it in a small pot (hot plate mark 3). It took less than 4 minutes for the wax to melt.
• The molten wax was cast into the cavities of the two molds. It took about 7 minutes for the center of the exposed surface to turn complete opaque.

---

Name: Charles Kang & Isabella Lores-Chavez
Date and Time:

2016.12.08, 11:00 am

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Coating Copper, Taking Wax (No Additives) Out of the Molds, Pouring Sulfur-Passed Wax and Black Sulfured Wax

1. Coating Copper Foil with Wax (No Additives)

• I cut out three pieces of copper foil (1.5 x 1.5 in. each) using shears
• I put on PPE and set up all the materials and tools inside a fume hood
• After melting 15.0 g of beeswax in a small pot, I dipped one copper foil square in it. After swirling the pot for a few seconds, I took out the copper square using chopsticks.

• The wax solidified quickly - I could observe the material becoming opaque within a few seconds out of the pot.

2. Taking Wax (No Additives) Out of the Molds

• I had left the cast wax in their molds on 2016.12.05. It was time to take them out
• Observing the wax in their molds, I noticed that the wax had filled in the cavities nicely; except for a few narrow parts, there was no gap between the wax and the interior walls of each cavity. (This won't be the case with black sulfured wax - see below.)

3. Making and Pouring Sulfur-Passed Wax

• With PPE on, I first measured out approximately 12 ml of sulfur in a 50 ml glass beaker inside a fume hood. The weight came up to 10.7 g.

• After setting up the rest of the materials and tools, I melted 200 ml (98.0 g) of white wax in a small pot set over a hot plate. While the wax was melting, I also set another small pot (used earlier in the semester for melting sulfur - see bread molding field notes) on and off the hot plate to warm it up.
• Once the wax completely melted, I transferred the wax into the other pot. Both pots were removed from the heat source.
• I then poured in the sulfur. Both PHS and I mentioned how tempted we felt to stir the mixture, but we resisted. The sulfur quickly sank to the bottom of the pot in a formation that looked like a stalagmite in a cave, or perhaps a cloud. I did not see any difference in the color of the molten wax through which the sulfur had passed.

• About two minutes after the sulfur was added, I poured the wax - avoiding the sulfur at the bottom of the pot - into the cavities of the two molds. The sulfur-passed wax flowed differently from wax with no additives. The best way to describe it is that it looked and felt more unctuous. The flow was consistent and unbroken, but just thicker. During the filling, the exposed surface of the poured-in wax was noticeably more convex. When full, the surface rose well above the rim of the cavity.

• Once the second mold was filled, I covered it with a ceramic plate. The exposed surface of the wax in the uncovered mold took about 3 minutes to turn completely opaque.

• I then poured some of the remaining sulfur-passed wax over a copper square (set at an incline). The wax was too thick to cover the square in a single pour, and it hardened quickly. Different pours were thus visible on the surface of the copper square. In the meantime, wax was hardening as it flowed out of the pot, forming a growth that reminded me of a stalactite in a cave.

• I decided to pour the rest of the sulfur-passed wax into a metal can. The "stalactite" grew as wax continued to trickle down on it.

• At this point, we broke off a small piece of hardened sulfur-passed wax and played with it with hands. It was very malleable, but probably because it had not completely set.
• Looking inside the small pot (this was about 10 minutes after we started pouring), I noticed that the wax had solidified along the inside wall leading up to the spout. The wax peeled off the side (metal) easily and cleanly. Would this have been the case with the molds that the A-P used? In addition, the time gap between pouring into the mold and pouring over the copper square allowed the wax to form two layers. The layers could easily be separated by hand. The surface was lustrous. Not very shiny, but definitely with higher reflectivity than wax with no additives.

• About half an hour after the cast wax had solidified, we took individual pieces out of the cavities. One piece had a bubble on the exposed surface. There was no difference between wax that solidified under cover and wax that solidified while exposed.

• When solidified, sulfur-passed wax looked evenly milky across different thicknesses. By comparison, the thicker parts of the cast no-additive wax looked yellower.
• Perhaps not for this annotation, but it may be worthwhile to do a "simultaneous text": melt equal amounts wax - take them off the heat source - pour sulfur into one pot - wait - and then pour from both pots into molds at the same time.

4. Making and Pouring Black Sulfured Wax

• It took about an hour to grind and sift 100 ml (43.75 g) of charcoal.

• Melted wax first (around 3.07 pm). Halfway melted by 3.12 pm. Sulfur on at around 3.12 pm. Sulfur was kept below 130 C for the most part. Wax was kept around 75 C.
• 3.20: Both pots came off the hot plates. While Isabella partially removed the parafilm cover from the charcoal beaker, I poured the molten wax into the pot containing molten sulfur.
• 3.20: Charcoal went in. Lots of dust. The opening was too small for the charcoal to go in quickly. Ended up making a larger opening. Charcoal was fully added by 3.21. With one hand I kept stirring the pot while everything was happening (except for the brief moment when I pulled back the parafilm cover from the charcoal beaker).

• Black sulfured wax: very thick, and hard to know whether everything was evenly mixed. Felt "chunkier" even though there was no large clump. At first some of the charcoal powder remained on the surface, appearing very matte. Within a minute (3.22), surface charcoal powder was incorporated and the surface of the mixture looked glossy. I kept stirring. Hard to see any lines. And definitely no smoke - the pot had been off the heat for a couple of minutes by now. When the A-P mentions "smoke" I wonder whether he's referring to charcoal dust? I am pretty certain about the A-P's description as a cooling process - I don't think I was supposed to put the pot back on the hot plate. I did notice a film forming on the surface. Is that what he meant by lines? Possible. I may have to redo this.
• 3.22: I started pouring black sulfured wax into the molds. The mixture felt very different from the other two materials. It definitely felt thicker and flowed very differently (as the A-P mentioned). One way to describe it is that it felt like pouring thick gravy. The flow was not even - cutting intermittently. The material also landed inside the mold cavities differently - reached the edges more slowly. The exposed surface rose even higher over the rims (compared to sulfur-passed charcoal), and it also looked uneven in texture (probably coarser pieces of charcoal showing). I covered the second mold with a ceramic plate (3.23). Because the material is black and opaque, it was difficult to observe how quickly it was solidifying.

• 3.23: I poured some of the remaining black sulfur wax over a copper square. Very thick. Flowed even more slowly than sulfur-passed wax, and it formed an even thicker layer. The material also solidified as it flowed out of the pot, "growing" from the spout outward. Possible that this "growth" was helped by strands of fiber that I remember seeing when grinding (I had decided not to sift the powder again).
• 3.24: I broke off the "growth" and played with it in my hand. Much harder and broke easily.
• Around 4.00: I took black sulfur pieces out of the covered mold. Although the material had risen well above the rim of the mold when first poured, I saw that it had "contracted" while cooling - very little overflow over the rims. I wonder whether black sulfur wax, when first mixed, expands a bit. I keep thinking of certain doughs and more liquid mixtures whose volume decreases as it cools. Or perhaps I'm just imposing my culinary knowledge on this. Hard to tell.

• One thing definitely noticeable is that cast black sulfur wax does not register details well. It turns out that some of it did not enter finer grooves of the cavity (NB the lines framing the profile portrait). It also did not reach some of the narrow parts of the cavity. This is very different from what the A-P said. Is this because we used small molds? Because small, I couldn't cast black sulfured wax "little by little" as the A-P said. If cast little by little, would it have entered some of the finer grooves and narrower edges? He's certainly right about the material "running" differently. I just had not expected that it would run this slow, thick way.

• Nice color, though. Evenly black. But the surface is not smooth compared to sulfur-passed wax. And lines are not quite sharp. I think the coarseness of the charcoal may have something to do with this. Definitely not for medals, and definitely not neat! Also, not soft and pliant and friendly at all. Did I do something wrong? Would this behave differently if I were to make a larger batch of this? So many more questions than answers.

---

Name: Charles Kang & Isabella Lores-Chavez
Date and Time:

2016.12.12, 10:10 am

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Testing

1. Cutting

• Took a winged cherub piece and cut it in half using a small kitchen knife (lightly serrated blade)
• Tried 2 types of cutting action: see-sawing the blade; pressing the blade downwards
• Wax with No Additives (WNA): very giving, easier to cut, but some flaking
• Sulfur-Passed Wax (SPW): harder, but very clean, almost no flaking
• Black Sulfured Wax (BSW): hardest and messy. The blade slanted during the process, cutting unevenly. More noticeable flaking.

2. Rubbing

• Used the brown textured cover of a sketchpad
• Rubbing action: back and forth in a short line
• WNA: Some residue visible on the paper surface
• SPW: No white residue, just a bit of waxy surface left
• BSW: More like a crayon - clearly marks strongly with charcoal

3. Carving

• Three different carving tools were used on the flat reverse side of the diamond piece
• WNA: Giving but also flaky
• SPW: Very clean, even the exposed surface looks more lustrous
• BSW: Very flaky and matte

4. Inscribing on Coated Copper

• Lines inscribed: straight, curbed, angled closed form, round closed form, cross-hatching
• WNA: Easiest
• SPW: Thicker layer, very difficult - especially cross-hatching
• BSW: Thickest, most difficult. Harder to control the stylus, directions more often determined by the unevenly coated BSW

5. More Carving

• Carving a tiny inverse conical cavity on the cast surface of a diamond-shaped cast
• WNA: easiest but not simple. Flaking
• SPW: more difficult but clean
• BSW: most difficult and messy

---

Name: Charles Kang & Isabella Lores-Chavez
Date and Time:

2016.12.15, 01:30 pm

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Melting Black Sulfured Wax I

We tried to melt the leftover BSW in the heating vessel from the pouring

• In order to ensure safety, we kept the heat mark to minimum.
• By about ten minutes after we turned on the heat, BSW became softer but barely melted. We noticed only a tiny amount of liquid wax. The temperature remained around 57 C

• While stirring BSW to facilitate melting, we found two solid pieces of sulfur. We took them out and noted that both pieces followed the bottom contour of the heating vessel. In other words, sulfur had sunken to the bottom and solidified while or soon after we had mixed BSW on 2016.12.08.

• About twenty-five minutes after the beginning of the trial, we increased the heat to mark 1.
• About forty minutes after the beginning of the trial, BSW showed little change. We decided to conclude the experiment and plan a new trial with higher heat.

---

Name: Charles Kang & Isabella Lores-Chavez
Date and Time:

2016.12.18, 05:15 pm

Location: Making & Knowing Lab
Subject: Melting Black Sulfured Wax II

1. Melting the leftover BSW in the heating vessel from pouring

• We repeated the procedure from 2016.12.15 with higher heat at mark 3.
• By about 10 minutes after we began the trial, most of the wax in BSW melted, leaving large clumps of charcoal.
• About 15 minutes after the beginning of the trial, we concluded that all of the wax melted. We stirred the pot to reconstitute BSW. Some of the charcoal resisted stirring and remained in clumps.

2. Pouring the reconstituted BSW

• Immediately upon reconstitution, we poured the compound into the silicone molds and onto a white ceramic plate. The reconstituted BSW (minus most of the sulfur) flowed much more freely and evenly compared to the original BSW.

• The reconstituted compound hardened quickly. The exposed surfaces turned matte.

• When we took the cast pieces out of the molds, we noted that they registered the details of the mold cavities much better than the original BSW.

3. Melting cast pieces of BSW

• After cleaning the heating vessel, we melted - separately - two cast pieces of original BSW from 2016.12.08 at heat mark 2.
• Each cast piece melted from the bottom up - i.e. from the surface in contact with the heating vessel.

• Each cast piece took about 5 minutes to completely lose its shape. It is notable that the relief surface resisted melting, and that the surface ultimately disintegrated rather than melting. We concluded that near the relief surface the compound had more charcoal than wax.

4. Testing the reconstituted and cast BSW

• We tested with the same method as that used on 2016.12.12: carving and inscribing.
• While the material was not as smooth and easy to work with as WNA and SPW, it was less brittle than the original BSW.