By The ARTnews Recommends Editors

The art of lost-wax casting has been industrialized and updated with digital technologies since it first originated thousands of years ago. But the process still begins with the same step: the creation of a wax model. This can be used to make a mold or used directly for casting, which results in the loss of the model. There’s a lot to consider when browsing for waxes, including stiffness, melting point, and quantity. We found five great options for all kinds of projects below. 

Freeman’s wax block is our top pick for casting wax because it’s extremely workable, clean, and consistent. Sold in half-pound blocks, which you can purchase pre-sliced for convenience, this medium-hard wax takes well to carving by hand. Achieve smooth edges with ease without worrying about unintended breakage.

Firmer and more brittle than our top pick, this bright red wax is an excellent pick for creating molten wax for lost wax carving. It has a low melting point and liquefies to a low-viscosity, easy-flow consistency. This is the best way to use this wax because—despite its name—it is a little challenging to model by hand and can even be tricky to carve.

This diverse set of wax pieces is a smart pick if you want to try different kinds of casting projects. It includes a large square piece, eight circles of different sizes, three thin rectangles, and two precut pieces for making rings. Also represented are a range of hardnesses and melting points. While not made of top-grade wax, with pieces showcasing inconsistent surface finishes, this is an economical way to experiment and familiarize yourself with the various properties of different waxes.

If you need wax for casting rings, look no farther than this pack, which includes six tubes of wax that are ready for sawing, filing, and carving. You get a variety of shapes to make different designs from simple bands to signets: four tubes with flat tops and two round ones, including one with an off-center hole. The wax is hard and resistant to flexing—perfect for capturing your most intricate engravings.

For casting using precise wax injections, consider using these wax beads. They melt to an extremely fluid consistency to fill complex cavities so you can achieve very accurate reproductions. Though tough, they have a low injection temperature of 155 to 160 ˚F. We also like that they have a long shelf life, so leftovers can be stored without pressure to use them up quickly.

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