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What Is the Purpose of a Crucible in Jewelry Making?

What Is the Purpose of a Crucible in Jewelry Making?

When you create jewelry, you work with many different materials to make the perfect piece. Jewelers use various types of metal to create everything from bangle bracelets and rings to clasps and chains. You may have wondered, what is the purpose of a crucible in jewelry making? This special piece of equipment allows you to melt down your metal. In the information below, we’ll dive deeper into this tool and how to use it.

What Is a Crucible?

Jewelers use crucibles to melt metals or metal scraps so that they can make jewelry pieces. Some even combine different metals to form alloys. As you shop around for one, you’ll find ceramic, clay graphite, silicon carbide, and steel crucibles. Ceramic crucibles are among the most common, and jewelry makers have relied on these for centuries.

How Do Jewelry Makers Use a Crucible?

So, what is the purpose of a crucible in jewelry making? Since this tool can hit such high temperatures, creators use it to hold their metal while they heat and melt it. Once the metal becomes a liquid, you can pour it form the crucible into a casting to create shapes. This process is also known as casting.

Tips for Using a Crucible

Before you can use your crucible, you’ll need to lock the centrifuge and allow your crucible to preheat. This will make the crucible warm for when you put the metal inside it. Additionally, experts recommend weighing out the metal you put in it to avoid wasting materials.

Next, pour your weighed-out metal into the flask, then place it into the crucible. Stir the metal as it melts. Once every bit of metal appears melted, allow the centrifuge to spin for a minute. Finally, remove the flask containing your metal with tongues.

Pro Tip

Remember to wear gloves throughout this process and use the appropriate tools. Your crucible will hit extreme temperatures to melt down the metal. The last thing you want to do is burn yourself.

Buying a Crucible

As you shop for this piece of equipment, it’s important to look for a high-quality option so that you can make beautiful pieces. Cutting Edge Supply sells both clay and graphite casting crucibles. If you often work with gold, we recommend a graphite crucible keeps those high temperatures consistent. With the best equipment, you’ll easily create the beautiful piece of jewelry you envisioned.

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