My Journey in Technique

Soldering Mixed Metals

2011-10-31T08:40:00.001+02:00

Soldering Silver to Copper

pg. 103

Materials

Copper Disc (1"/2.54 cm diameter - 18 gauge/1.02mm)

Sterling Wire (14 gauge/1.63mm)

Soldering Equipment: flux, torch, pickle, tweezers

Hard Solder Pallions (silver)

Easy Solder Pallions (silver)

Mandrel

Needle File or Flex Shaft

Stainless Steel Binding Wire

Mallet

Cutters (super flush)

Safety Glasses

Steps to Success

1. Cut the silver wire to the desired length and shape it into a circle on your mandrel using your hands and mallet. Overlap the ends of the wire and then cut the wire so that the two ends sit flush against one another.

2. Place a pallion of hard silver solder under the seam, flux the join and solder your ring together.

3. Pickle your ring and make sure your copper disc is clean before proceeding.

4. Flux the copper disc and place the silver ring into position with pallions of easy solder under and inside the ring. - as you will see I used WAY TOO MUCH solder and ended up with a solder mess!! Take care not to put too many pallions inside the circle; placement under the wire is much better and keep the pallions small - please learn from my mistakes!!

5. Place the disc on the coiled binding wire (you can coil your binding wire with a pair of round nose pliers and then connect the two ends together to create a sort of 'nest' for your piece)

6. Heat the disc from underneath until the solder flows. Again - please learn from my mistakes here and do not heat the piece on the top or the sides as this allows the solder to create little pools of silver all over the copper disc!

7. Pickle - rinse and clean up the excess solder with your file or flex shaft.

Well, I surely did not master this one! I had a lot of fun though and am sure that my next attempt will be much cleaner in its finished form. I have not applied the resin yet, as promised; and may not do so seeing as my finished piece is not exactly what I had in mind as far as the look of it!!! See you next time!

art is sexy,

Forming Repeated Wire Units on a Jig

2011-10-27T16:40:00.000+03:00

Wire Formations

pg. 128

Materials

20 gauge (.812 mm) Copper Round Wire

Nails

Bench

Pliers

Hammer

Steps to Success

1. Draw your design and hammer the nails into your bench (or a block of wood)

2. Wrap the copper wire around the nails to form your desired pattern

3. Form loops at the ends of the wire in order to connect your pieces

4. Lather - rinse - repeat!

Well that was a simple technique to get back into the swing of things around here!

Please be sure to note the pattern sequence when wrapping your wire around the nails so that you can repeat - repeat - repeat! I am sure you will notice that I secured my loops in the middle by wrapping an additional piece of copper wire - this was due to the design I desired and is not a required step in this process. Once you have created your wire units - you can connect them with simple jump rings in order to create a beautiful bracelet or necklace!

I hope you enjoyed this one! See you next time!!

art is sexy,

Back at the Bench!

2011-10-04T19:05:00.000+03:00

Well, the dust has almost settled in the studio remodel and I am excited to get back to work with you! I have been reviewing our book 'The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques' by Anastasia Young and have compiled a list of which techniques we can still work on together.

Keep in mind, please, that there are many more techniques in the book that I will not be able to complete and share with you due to their use of materials/tools that I do not possess - and cannot afford to purchase at this time. You will find a complete list of what we cannot explore together on the page Limitations.

This will not keep us from exploring however!

Here is a list of which techniques we will be able to complete together:

Forming Repeated Wire Units on a Jig

Chain Mail

Catches : T-bar

Forging: Spreading

Multiple Joins Solder

Findings: Swivel Cufflink Backs

Sweat Soldering a Hollow Form

Findings: Hinged Earrings

Fold Forming: Hammering Multiple Forms

Soldering Mixed Metals

Findings: Simple Brooch Pin

Tube Riveting Mixed Materials

Riveting Mixed Materials with Wire

Flush Setting

Decorative Rivets

Forging: Squaring and Tapering Rod

Fusing Silver

Some of these techniques, I must be honest with you, are quite daunting to me. However, I will do my best to overcome my anxieties and sit myself at the bench and do my best to learn them with you.

As things have developed in my studio on other fronts, my postings will now be twice a month instead of once a week. If I can manage any more, I surely will post them, but I do not wish to promise anything more than twice a month at this point.

Coming this month: forming repeated wire units on a jig & soldering mixed metals - with a twist of resin painting as well! Stay tuned my creative friends!!

I would like to thank you for your patience in allowing me to tend to my 'other gardens' over the last couple of months and I am very excited about beginning our 'Journey in Technique' anew; re-energized and ready to explore!

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Studio Remodel

2011-07-12T11:14:00.000+03:00

Tick Tock Tick Tock!

Yes, I am remodeling the studio now! What was initially planned for the month of August is now happening in July. I am sure you will understand that when the workmen said they could come, I was not ready to say 'no'. I am very excited about the remodel as it will now provide a permanent studio space for all the media being taught at SC Studio.

Beginning in September, we will be offering classes in lamp work glass, metal clay, bead weaving, metal casting, chain mail, textile art, mixed media collages, metal smithing, resin and faux bone and more .... !!!

My apologies for our journey here though. Again, what had been planned as a break in August will now have to take place in July. Whilst the studio is under construction, there will be no further technique posts. I do not envision this remodel taking more that three to four weeks,

so I will be sure to see you in August!

I will post pictures of the development - keep an eye out for the changes!!

Very exciting times at SC Studio!

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Game Check Time!

2011-07-05T20:16:00.001+03:00

We began this adventure on 8 September 2010 ... almost a year now!

We have learned about some really interesting new techniques, revisited some old friends and met some that perhaps we will not be attempting again ... a bit of everything really!

Almost 4o jewelry making techniques so far ! ...

So, how many techinques do we have left? Quite a few!

Anastasia Young's book is comprehensive indeed!

Of course, there are some techniques that I will not be able to complete as I either do not own the tools or have stock of the materials - or in some cases, BOTH!

If you would like to assist me in attaining these missing elements so that I may complete ALL of the techniques, then PLEASE CLICK HERE - AND THANKS!!

Below you will find a list of the techniques we will be able to complete together with the tools and materials I have at hand in my studio.

Please check out the list and let me know if any ideas or inspirations come to you!

TECHNIQUES TO COMPLETE

Forming repeated wire units on a jig - F

Chain mail - M

Catches: T-bar - M
Forging: spreading - F

Prong setting a faceted stone - S

Multiple joins solder - CT

Findings: Swivel cufflink backs - M

Bezel setting a cabochon stone - Spectacle setting - S

Sweat soldering a hollow form - CT

Findings: Hinged earrings - M

Fold forming: Hammering multiple folds - F

Soldering mixed metals - CT

Findings: Simple brooch pin - M

Tube riveting mixed materials - C

Riveting mixed materials with wire - C
Flush setting - S

Decorative rivets - C

Laminating mixed materials - T

Stick feeding solder - CT

Forging: Squaring and tapering rod - F

Fusing silver - C

So, come back next week when we begin to explore

our remaining techniques in this adventure!

Until then, thank you so much for joining me

and I hope you have a creative week!

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Granulated Earrings

2011-06-22T06:00:00.017+03:00

Today's Technique

Forming Silver Granules

page 210

"Granulation is an ancient technique that involves the application of tiny balls, or granules, to a piece. The granules may be fused or soldered." pg. 210

Materials

Charcoal Block

Flex Shaft*

Round Burr Bit

Silver Wire Pieces

Flux

Pickle & Rinses*

Torch

Solder Paste

Tweezers

Silver Base

Steps to Success

1. Using your flex shaft, drill holes into your charcoal block. I used a 2.5mm round burr bit.

2. Flux your silver pieces and add them to your holes.

3. Heat these pieces with your torch (I used a #3 tip on my Little Smith Torch) until they form into balls.

4. Remove from the charcoal block - pickle and rinse.

5. With your tweezers, place your granules with a bit of easy silver solder paste onto the silver piece on which you wish to solder them.

6. With your torch heat the piece evenly, being careful not to melt the granules, until the solder flows. I used a #4 tip with my Little Smith Torch and heated the piece from underneath while resting on a birds nest of stainless steel wire. You can see that there was some movement of the balls during heating as this is a curved surface.

7. Pickle

I really liked this one - I have never created granules before and I can imagine many different applications for their use. I hope you enjoyed this one too!!

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Soldering an Earring Stud

2011-06-15T07:42:00.002+03:00

Today's Technique

Soldering a Post for Earrings

page 102

Materials*

Sterling silver rod (created for last week's post)

Sterling silver wire (earring posts)

Soldering Paste

Soldering Torch (Acetylene/Oxygen)

Pickling Solution & Rinses

Cross Lock Soldering Tweezers

*Notes on Materials

Anastasia Young secured her earring rods to her soldering block with soldering pins. As my earring rods are twisted, they do not roll so I have not used pins. Also, she uses a hard soldering pallion and required flux. I used an easy soldering paste that contains flux.

Steps to Success

1. Apply a drop of soldering paste on the rod where you would like to attach the earpost.

2. Heat the soldering pad around the rod.

3. Slowly heat the rod - being careful to avoid to the ear post.

"...start to heat the rod, which is thicker than the wire and will take more time to get up to soldering temperature." pg 102

4. When the "rod is glowing dark red, allow the flame to 'lick' the wire while continuing to heat the rod." pg 102

This is definitely where I made some mistakes ... below you will see my second attempt and the outcomes of my over heating and inexperience. A great learning process!!

freshly pickle ready for round two!

secured with heat sinks

soldered in place - finally!

5. Once your solder has 'flowed', remove the torch and quench your piece.

6. With your pliers, twist your earring post 1/4 turn to tighten the connection. I learned this from Thackery Taylor at Rio Grande when I was first learning about soldering.

7. Pickle and finish as you like!

So, a simple technique from last week and a little heat has wielded some pretty cool earrings!! I hope you enjoyed this - I really need to practice my soldering skills. Good lesson!

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Twisting Square-Section Rod

2011-06-08T07:22:00.001+03:00

Today's Technique

Twisting Thick Wire Stock

page 134

Materials*

Square Section Wire

Vise

Pliers

Adjustable Spanner

*Some notes on the materials
First, I do not have square silver stock so I used sterling silver rectangular stock (4mm x 2mm).
Second, I do not own an adjustable spanner, so I twisted the wire using my pliers - marking the end of my piece quite a bit in the process!

Steps to Success

1. Bend the wire at one end for a better hold in the vise.

"...this will prevent the wire from rotating in the vise when it is being twisted." pg. 134

2. Secure the bend in your wire in your vise. Please use a vise with soft jaws to better protect your wire.

3. Hold the protruding end of the wire securely in your adjustable spanner and rotate the spanner until you are happy with the design you have created.

Please remember to periodically anneal your wire if you must repeatedly twist the wire in order to achieve the results you desire.

A simple technique for our return from our respite. I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to check back next week when we will turn these two segments of twisted rectangular silver stock into earrings!

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Respite

2011-05-18T07:22:00.004+03:00

A small break ...

Due to an exhibition and a bit of holiday time, I will temporarily pause in My Journey in Technique. I will return with new techniques on

Wednesday 8 June, 2011.

We have journeyed through a good portion of this wonderful book by Anastasia Young and we have some very exciting explorations coming up - using a bit of fire and mixed media!!

I hope you enjoy the next few weeks, make them creative!

I will see you again very soon.

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Cuttlefish Casting - Free Casting

2011-05-11T06:24:00.002+03:00

Today's Technique

Free Casting into Cuttlefish Bone

(not in the book)

For this technique, the steps and materials are the same as last week - mostly! The main difference is that you will not secure your cuttlefish bone to a fire brick - you will slowly and carefully pour directly into your carved cuttlefish bone.

This is a bonus post of sorts - this idea came about while working on the post from last week and so I have decided to add a bonus technique!

To see the steps and materials - please visit the post from last week ...

This post is all about the pictures - enjoy!!

I hope you enjoyed our little side trip down cuttlefish road ... next week - back to the book!

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Cuttlefish Casting

2011-05-05T18:23:00.000+03:00

Today's Technique

Pouring Molten Metal into a Fishbone

page 161

"A simple two-part mold made from cuttlefish bone can be used to create castings with a unique texture. The cuttlefish can be carved, but impressions made from objects will work equally well."

Materials

Cuttlefish Bone

Fire Brick

Suede Ties

Torch System

Carvers

Brush

Mask

Filing Papers (120 or 80 grit)

Steps to Success

1. Using your filing papers (I have glued mine to a piece of wood to create sanding sticks in various grades), flatten the underside of the cuttlefish bone. The underside is the side with a groove down the center. File the bone until it is flat and you can see the natural wave design.

*Be sure to continuously remove any dust created by filing with your brush - wear your mask and keep a paper bag next to into which you can deposit the filings.

2. Using your carving tools (I like to use the metal ruler shown in the photo above to create even carvings in the cuttlefish bone) create a sprue (the hole into which you will pour the molten metal) and carve your design.

3. Create air vents leading down and away from the sprue.

*Be sure to continuously remove any dust created by carving with your brush - wear your mask and be sure to brush up and out of the sprue.

4. Using your suede straps, tie the cuttlefish bone to your fire brick and check for any light entering from the bottom. If you have light, fill in the gaps under the bone with some kiln fiber to prevent metal loss during casting.

5. Warm your crucible with the bushy part of your flame. Once warm add borax is necessary - this is fine silver and so does not require the use of borax during casting. Once warm add your metal and begin melting!

6. Pour the molten metal into the cuttlefish bone carefully - aim for that sprue!

7. Allow the casting to cool naturally.

8. Loosen the suede ties and remove the casting from the bone.

9. Wash with warm soapy water and a soft brush to remove any cuttlefish bone residue.

10. Pickle and rinse.

Now you can polish and finish your casting as you wish to create a unique piece of jewelry. I hope you enjoyed this one! Next week I will post a supplement to this technique - free casting into cuttlefish bone ... very interesting so far!!

Note: As you can tell, this is carved casting - not impression casting. With impression casting, the steps are the same with exception of Step #2.

Difference:

2. Embed your shape half way into one side of the cuttlefish bone and then connect the other cuttlefish bone on the locating pegs and push the object half way into the new bone. Carefully open the form and remove your impression object.

The rest is the same!

See you next week!

Keep creating!!!

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Polishing on a Motor

2011-04-26T17:36:00.000+03:00

Today's Technique

High Shine with Tripoli

page 113

Materials

Polishing Motor (I used my flexshaft)

Polishing Wheel

Tripoli Polishing Compound

Silver Ring

Steps to Success

1. Turn on your polishing motor and apply the tripoli to the polishing wheel.

2. Hold your ring against the lower third of the wheel and apply pressure gently.

3. Move the ring gently back and forth - reapplying more tripoli compound when needed - until you have covered the entire ring.

4. Wash the ring with a mild detergent and scrub with a soft brush to clean away any tripoli residue.

Simple! And shiny!!

See you next week!!

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Scoring & Folding Sheet Metal

2011-04-20T11:26:00.000+03:00

Today's Technique

Bending Metal 90°

page 117

"In order to make a sharp fold in metal sheet, it is necessary to score or file away from theinner surface of the fold."

page 117

Materials

Scribe

Metal Sheet*

Triangular Needlefile

Square Needlefile

Parallel Pliers*

*Anastasia Young recommends using 18 gauge/1mm metal sheet. I, however, do not have any at this time so I used 24 gauge/.511 mm sterling silver sheet. Also, I do not own parallel pliers so I used my long chain nose pliers.

Steps to Success

1. Scribe a line where you would like to fold the metal sheet.

2. Using your triangular file, slowly and carefully file a groove where you scored your metal sheet. Take care to stay true to your scribed line lest you wish to fold your sheet crookedly or you wish to mark your metal sheet. As you can see, I was not careful enough!

3. Place your square file in the groove and continue filing until you are have filed through one third of the metal sheet. Take care not to file THROUGH your sheet!

4. Place your parallel pliers along the groove and fold your metal sheet into a 90° angle. Do not force the fold, if you feel some resistance, file the groove again and bend with your pliers. Repeat this process until you have the angle/fold you desire.

pliers placed on groove

first folding

this took three filings and folds to achieve

Option:

I learned this technique using a jeweler's saw instead of needle files. Thackery Taylor at Rio Grande in New Mexico taught me how to 'file' the groove using slow meticulous strokes with my jeweler's saw. I find this way to be more precise for me - less slippage out of the groove and my metal sheet become less marked! Of course, this is my personal preference and both techniques are great ways to create sharp folds in sheet metal.

I hope you enjoyed this one!! See you next time!!

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Forming Tubing Using a Swage Block

2011-04-14T10:16:00.000+03:00

Today's Technique

Curving sheet metal

page 130

Materials

Swage Block

Mallet

Dapping Punches

Sterling Silver Sheet

Steps to Success

1. Place your sterling sheet in a curved depression on your swage block - a depression large enough to hold your sheet of course! Place the corresponding dapping punch handle on the sheet and strike with your mallet until the sheet curves in the depression.

2. Repeat in consecutively smaller depressions with consecutively smaller dapping punch handles until you form a tube.

3. "On a wooden surface, tap down the edges of the curved form so that they almost meet. Use a steel rod and the swage block to even up the curve. Once the edges are touching, cut through with a piercing saw, tap the edges together, and solder." page 130 (not shown)

4. Click here to see how to solder your sheet into a tube - post entitled "Pallion Soldering".

I hope you enjoyed this technique - I am looking forward to using my tube in conjunction with some resin to create a sort of totem painting .... hmmmm......

As you can see from my tube, you must take care not to mark your metal while striking the dapping punch handles. I was not careful and you can see the strike marks left on my metal sheet.

Also, I found that the metal stuck in the depressions sometimes ... a bit of a trick to get the sheet out with the pliers and I marked my sheet yet again!!! Any suggestions from anyone about this? All advice is much appreciated!!

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Show all

Dapping Metal Discs

2011-04-06T10:58:00.031+03:00

Today's Technique

Curving Metal

page 131

Materials

Dapping Block/Punches

Hammer/Mallet

Copper Disc

Steps to Success

1. Place the disc in the center of a block depression that is slightly larger than the disc diameter.

2. Set the Punch that corresponds with that depression size on the disc and strike the punch with your hammer - curving the disc slightly.

3. Continue dapping the disc in consecutively smaller depressions (and punches!) until you achieve the curve you desire for your piece.

Note: Be sure to anneal your disc periodically to avoid over work-hardening the piece and splitting it.

Well, that was simple and sweet and yielded a lovely little copper disc!! Of course, these discs are great for simple earrings or pendant - you could even fill them with resin to create one of a kind 'paintings' on the copper!!

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Reticulation

2011-03-31T19:01:00.000+03:00

Today's Technique

Reticulation on Sterling Silver

page 209

Materials

Sterling Silver Sheet (from last week)

Fine Silver Bits

Tweezers/Solder Pic

Torch

Flux

Pickle/Tongs

Steps to Success

1. Cover the sterling sheet with flux

2. Place the fine silver bits where you would like them on your piece

3. "Heat the piece until the surface of the base sheet begins to turn liquid. The flame can then be used to move the molten metal so that it pools around the fine silver." page 209

4. Allow your piece to cool naturally so that "as the piece cools, the different contraction rates will cause ridges and furrows to form." page 209

5. Clean your piece in pickle and rinse.

in the pickle pot

out of the pickle - half clean top view

out of the pickle - half clean back view

over heated second piece - melted right through

close up of finished piece

finished first piece

I loved this one!! I hope you liked it -

I will share the finished bracelet with you as soon as it is ready!

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Drilling Holes with a Pillar Drill

2011-03-23T05:54:00.002+02:00

Today's Technique

Making Holes in Silver!!

page 92

Materials

Sterling Silver Sheet

Automatic Center Punch

Pillar Drill (I used my flex shaft drill...)

Ball Burr

Bench Pin

Safety Glasses

Steps to Success

1. Create little indentations with your center punch where you would like to drill your holes.

2. Pillar Drill: Center the sheet under the drill bit - so that the drill bit is just over the center punch marks

Flex-Shaft: Hold your drill bit over an indentation

For both, lower/press the drill bit into the sterling sheet slowly, making sure not to over heat the piece. Also, do not forget to put a bit of Bur-Life on your sheet. I like to put a drop of liquid Bur-Life on the sheet and spread it around with my finger - this seems sufficient for both the drilling and the burring steps in this technique.

3. With a ball burr in your flex shaft, clean any bits of silver from your freshly drilled holes. As you can see from the picture, I also used the ball burr to create decorative effects around each hole. I first created a small indentation with my center punch and then placed the ball burr and drilled to half way.

Hang onto this sheet because next week we are going to use it to explore RETICULATION!!

More playtime with fire!!!

See you then - I hope you enjoyed this one!

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Patinas: Liver of Sulfur

2011-03-16T05:54:00.006+02:00

Today's Technique

Oxidizing your silver on purpose

page 213

Materials

Sterling silver piece

Patina Gel (from cooltools.us)

Container with lid (glass or plastic - for mixing patina solution)

Mixing Stick (a chopstick is shown here)

Fresh water bath

Soda water bath

Copper dipping tongs

Not shown:

Pickle

Magnetic Polisher

Steps to Success

1. Clean your silver piece. I pickled my piece and then neutralized it in a soda bath and then rinsed it in a fresh water bath. The piece to be used in this week's technique is the large sterling disc. I have it next to a sterling silver heart that has already had a patina applied.

2. Create your solutions. For the soda bath add 2C hot water to 2 tbsp baking soda. For the patina solution, put a few drops of the patina gel into the container with a lid and add 1C hot water. Cover the patina solution so that it retains its heat.

3. Dip your silver piece into the solution - dip into the soda bath - dip into the fresh water bath - check for the oxidation color. Repeat this step until you are satisfied with the color.

4. Use various polishing tools (polishing papers, emery paper, flex shaft attachments, polishing cloths, etc.) to remove the oxidation from higher areas of the silver. I put both pieces into a magnetic polisher for one hour.

I hope you enjoyed this one - I am a bit of a purist when it comes to beautiful, clean silver, but I must say that I enjoyed experimenting with this technique. I am not sure it is something I would employ in my work generally, but I am glad to have tried it. If you have any comments or suggestions for this technique, please do not hesitate to add them here!

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Barrel Polishing a Pierced Form

2011-03-02T05:19:00.005+02:00

Today's Technique

Polishing our Sterling Sheet

page 114

Materials

Rotary Tumbler
Stainless Steel Shot
Burnishing Compound
Pierced Sterling Sheet (from last week's post)

Steps to Success

1. Fill the tumbler with enough water that your pieces are covered by about 1.5 to 2 inches of water. Add your burnishing compound and your pierced form to be polished.

2. Tumble for anywhere between 1 and 8 hours - depending on the intricacy of your piece.

"The amount of time the piece should be polished for will depend on the speed of the motor, the type of work being polished, and the amount of work-hardening required." page 114

3. Rinse your piece and the stainless steel shot when finished polishing. Dry your piece and the stainless steel shot. Do not let your shot sit in the tumbler. Be sure to dry it completely on a flat surface - and don't forget to clean your shot so that it retains is mirror finish!

As you can see, some of my surface finishes have now disappeared. I will add them again later if they still fit the piece. We shall see!!

I know, simple one this week.

Next week we will begin putting our creation together

- see you then!

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Piercing a Fretwork Design

2011-02-23T12:39:00.005+02:00

Today's Technique

Using A Jeweler's Saw

page 90

Materials

Silver Sheet (18 gauge - from last week's post)
Jeweler's Saw
Blade (#1)
Flex-Shaft
Drill Bit (#71)
Bur Life
Safety Glasses
Needle Files
Sharpie Pen (not pictured)

Steps to Success

1. Draw the areas to be cut out of your silver sheet with a sharpie pen. The technique in the book shows a fretwork design - for our purposes and for the purposes of the piece I am creating, I only needed to cut out patched of areas. The technique is the same.

2. Use your flex shaft with a #71 drill bit to drill your starter holes through which you will thread your saw blade. I used a larger drill bit as I also wanted decorative holes in my design.

3. Thread your saw blade through one of the starter holes and then secure your blade in the saw. Cut out your shape carefully.

"To set a blade in the saw frame, place the handle of the frame against your chest and the other end against the bench peg. Ensure the teeth of the blade are pointing toward you and fix the top end. Exert pressure with your chest while tightening the second nut." page 90

4. Lather/Rinse/Repeat - until all of your shapes are cut out.

5. Use your #2 and #0 needlefiles to clean up your lines. I also used a flex shaft with a file attachment to even out the edges of the piece.

"They (needlefiles) are especially useful for tidying up pierced fretwork as they can more easily be applied to small spaces." page 94

Next week will clean up our pierced form and then we can begin to build our creation!

I hope you enjoyed this and I would love to see your pierced creations!

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Surface Finishes

2011-02-16T05:36:00.002+02:00

Today's Technique

Texturing Silver Surfaces

page 208

Materials

Torch (for annealing - not shown)

Silver Sheet (from post 2-February-2011)

Pickle

Flex-Shaft

Flex-Shaft Accessories

Steps to Success

1. Anneal you sterling silver strip - pickle/rinse

2. Using the sanding sticks I created some highly polished raised areas on the uneven sterling sheet.

3. Using 3M Radial Discs in my flex-shaft I created this brushed surface on the sterling sheet.

4. Using a silver wire brush in my flex-shaft I created these round spiral surface textures on the sterling sheet.

You can use a variety of flex-shaft accessories to create different textural effects on your sheet metal. Experiment and see what you can create - I would love to see!!!

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Inlay in Metal

2011-02-09T05:02:00.002+02:00

Today's Technique

Silver Solder Inlay

page 224

In the book, Anastasia Young, presents this technique as shell inlaid into silver. I have no shell to inlay so I chose a technique she describes in the text of this section. I want to learn more!!

Materials

Textured Copper Disc (from last week's post)

Silver Solder

Binding Wire

Torch

Pickle

Steps to Success

1. Clean the copper disc by pickling and rinsing it.

2. Apply the silver solder paste in the holes/grooves where you would like it to be on your design.

silver past applied with toothpicks

3. Play the copper disc on a platform of binding wire so that you can heat it from all angles.

4. Heat the disc evenly and when the solder begins to flow, concentrate the heat on those areas until the solder has flown and filled your design grooves.

5. Pickle-Rinse-Polish the disc.

6. I had to repeat with medium wire solder - and still not very successfully. There is much to learn about this technique - but it does inspire some ideas so it is worth learning I think!

Well, as you can see, I did not succeed with this technique.

I believe that some of my mistakes include:

too shallow of grooves for the solder to sit in - overflow too easy!
not enough solder in the grooves to fill it
solder pieces too big - if cut smaller then they would flow better in the grooves instead of overflowing over the edges!

If there is anything else you could add to make this technique a success on my next attempt,

I sure would appreciate it!

Thank you so much for playing today and I would love to see your work!

art is sexy

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Texturing Metal with Hammers, Stamps, and Punches

2011-02-02T06:24:00.001+02:00

Today's Technique

Drawing on Metal with Tools

page 197

Materials

18 gauge copper disc
18 gauge sterling silver sheet
masking tape
steel bench block
stamps
hammers
center punch

Steps to Success

1. Pattern Punching - hold the stamp at 90° to the copper disc and strike it once with a hammer. Make your strike a strong one, not a vicious one though. One strike should be enough to make your mark. Take great care when realigning a stamp for a second strike so that you strike the lines from the first stamp exactly.

stamped pattern all around copper disc

Note: I like to draw my design on masking tape and work through the tape when engraving the design. Make sure to clean your burrs regularly as the masking tape can melt a bit - go slowly and engrave deliberately.

sharpie works great for design drawing

2. Center Punch - punch the center punch an even amount of times for holes that need a similar depth. These holes can make interesting decorations around some stamp patterns.

center punch through masking tape

3. Flexshaft attachments - I used a round burr to make the squiggles and lines on this copper disc. You can use diamond files, engravers, burrs, 3-M radial discs, .... etc...

ball burr in a flex shaft

lines made with ball burr

4. Hammer - using the flat end of this hammer I made hash marks in various directions on this strip of sterling silver sheet.

hammered sterling silver sheet

round burr makes deeper divet holes

Well, that is the first step on this newest project for our adventure in technique. I hope you enjoyed this - I love the ease with which

you can mark metal using the correct tools.

See you next week for a silver solder inlay project in this same disc.

art is sexy

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Chain: Repeated Links

2011-01-27T12:45:00.000+02:00

Today's Technique

Chain: Repeated Units

page 189

completed piece with pendant

In her book, Anastasia Young presents this technique of chain construction using sheet metal and pierced forms. As we have yet to do pierced forms on our little adventure, I decided to tackle this technique using metal clay and fine silver. Of course, the technique is completely different, but I hope Ms. Young would agree that what matters here is learning and applying the idea of reapeated units forming your chain/neckpiece. These repeated units ARE the chain - they ARE the neckpiece - they ARE the creation ... so let us explore this technique together using metal clay as our medium today.

I hope you will explore many types of repeated units

and share your creations here with us all!

Materials

Fine Silver Wire (18 and 24 gauge)
Metal Clay (lump and slip and paper and syringe)
Jewelry Pliers & Cutters
Metal Clay Tools
Metal Clay Kiln
Rotary Tumbler

Steps to Success

1. Form your links and your clasp from the 18 gauge fine silver wire

creating the base for the links

wrapping the links with 24 gauge fine silver

creating the clasp

clasp wrapped with 24 gauge fine silver

creating the t-bar section of the clasp

wrapped t-bar section of the clasp

2. Smash small bits of clay into the wire forms, filling the gaps and let dry.

fill the gaps with clay and slip

3. Repeat until you have built up a nice design and filled in the gaps.
Allow each layer to dry completely.

4. Fire at 1650° for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool naturally.

5. Continue to add clay and slip until you are happy with your design.
Allow to dry completely.

decorate with paper - syringe - clay - slip

6. Fire at 1650° for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool naturally.

7. Cut the metal clay paper into small strips and wrap the loops.
Allow to dry completely.

cut silver paper into strips

loop wrapped with paper strip

8. Fire at 1650° for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool naturally.

fresh from the kiln - love the the white!

9. Connect your links and add slip and clay to the join to secure.

Allow to dry completely.

slip added to secure links closed

10. Place fibre shelf or fibre paper between links and make sure no silver is touching within the links. They will fuse during firing if you do not take care with this step.

11. Fire at 1650° for 120 minutes.
Allow to cool naturally.

12. Tumble to the level of shine you desire. I tumbled my chain for 8 hours for a high shine.

top portion of the chain

close up of the clas sections

I hope you enjoyed this post and

I look forward to seeing all your new and creative chains!!

art is sexy

visit my website!

<br>

Rest

2011-01-19T10:46:00.045+02:00

Today's Technique

Rest

It has been two weeks since we last spoke and I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that I have been remiss in my techniques committment. I apologize for that my friends.

I have been more than a bit distracted over the past few weeks and I have not prepared anything for our journey. I am working on a new piece that incorporates a new technique, but I have not been able to complete the project as of this posting. I will share this new technique and newest creation from my bench with you next Wednesday.

Today I wanted to share with you some tools and books that I think may be of interest to you and your journey in creativity and jewelry. I work with these tools often in my studio and the books have been an invaluable reference for me in my work.

Again, I am so sorry for not having a technique for you for the last two weeks. I will do better by my committment to you in the future.

art is sexy

visit my website!

Bending Metal Using Pliers

2011-01-05T11:07:00.049+02:00

Today's Technique

Bending Silver Wire

page 109

Happy New Year!

I hope that your celebrations were joyful and that you are now ready to continue on our adventure exploring jewelry making techniques.

Today we are going to explore a core technique - using jewelry pliers to bend metal. These are basic wire moves that are essential in creating findings, clasps, headpin dangles, chainmaille, etc .... I hope you enjoy this one!

Materials

Jewelry Pliers (chain nose - flat nose - round nose)

Silver Wire

Steps to Success

Rather than steps, I am going to present each movement separately with the appropriate pliers. Some of the movements we learn today will create findings for a project we will begin next week.

FLAT NOSE PLIERS - A RECTANGULAR FORM

CHAIN NOSE PLIERS CREATE 180° BENDS - A T-BAR

ROUND NOSE PLIERS - CREATE A LOOP

CHAIN NOSE PLIERS - CLOSE LOOP AND SECURE WRAP ON T-BAR

ROUND NOSE PLIERS - CREATE A LOOP

ROUND OR CHAIN NOSE PLIERS - CREATE 45° BEND UNDER LOOP

So, those are some basic moves with your pliers. I did not include the half-round technique as I do not have half-round pliers - and I did include the steel rod technique either - that was an oversight, my apologies.

Play with some scrap wire and your pliers to see if you can find anything new in them ... you never know what could surprise you!!

See you next week!

art is sexy

visit my website!

Anticlastic Forming with Dapping Punches

2010-12-29T05:00:00.004+02:00

Today's Technique

Anticlastic Forming

page 143

split ring - final shot?

I was so excited to finish this ring today! I was facing my fears of annealing and soldering ... I must admit, I am a bit intimidated with the entire process- but forward I continue on this adventure. My result, though not exactly what I intended, yielded some very good lessons for me. As you can see in the picture, my ring is no more; the split is now final. As is my split from this particular technique - for the present. I imagine I will attempt this one again - perhaps again and again and again! - and I will keep learning from each attempt I undertake. Mastery is not the goal, exploration and learning are the adventure we are on!! So, read on and I wish you an exciting exploration of this very interesting technique.

If you would like to offer any advice for successfully anticlasting a ring with dapping punches, please leave your comment below - all advice is much appreciated and as always, I am eager to share this process with others!

Materials

Hammer

Dapping Punches

Vise (not pictured)

Sterling Silver Ring

(see the posts beginning on 24 November 2010 to learn how to make the sterling silver ring)

Steps to Success

1. Anneal the sterling silver ring. Quench - Pickle - Rinse.

2. Select your dapping punches. "The two dapping punches must not make contact inside the ring or the process will not work."

3. Place on punch in your vise and securely tighten the vise.

4. Place your ring on top of the dapping punch and center it.

5. Place the other dapping punch on top of the ring - make sure to center it! - and hit the punch with your hammer. With only two hits of the hammer on the first set of dapping punches, my ring split halfway through. With the third hit, the job was finished.

I opened the split a bit to rest the ring on the punch for the picture.

6. Anneal - Pickle - Rinse ... I did not get to this step as you have probably guessed! Next time.

7. Lather - Rinse - Repeat from here! Proceed to a larger dapping punch to increase the curve of the opening. Be sure to anneal your ring at regular intervals during this entire process.

While my ring did not stay together ... I have enjoyed this one, and I hope you will too! I believe that my error was in the soldering of the seam, perhaps I did not solder it well enough and it easily split ... or I did not anneal it properly prior to hitting it with the punches ... I am not sure, again I would love your feedback and advice on this one!

See you next year when we will begin a new project ... see you then!

art is sexy

visit my website!

Cleaning Up With Abrasive Media

2010-12-22T05:00:00.015+02:00

Today's Technique

Sanding Our Ring Clean

page 111

cleaned up ring shank ready for next week

Materials

Emery Paper (80 - 1000 grit)

Wood

3-M Polishing Papers (400 - 8000 grit)

Ring (created over the last few weeks)

sanding sticks in various grits

I made my own sanding sticks by glueing emery paper in various grits onto pieces of wood. I like the stability of working on these hard boards - and they help me to keep all my grits separate!!

Steps to Success

1. Clean sides (rim) of your ring shank by passing it back and forth on your sanding sticks. Begin at 80 grit and work through to 1000 grit. Be sure to change direction of the ring (turn it around 180°) every few passes on each stick - this will help to ensure an even surface finish.

back and forth starting at 80 grit

change directions every time - ending with 1000 grit

I then followed up with my 3M polishing papers through to 8000 grit.

begin polishing with the green

final shine with the lime/white paper

2. Clean the inside of your ring using your flex-shaft. I used small 3-M radial bristle discs in 120 grit (the white ones - though this one does not look very white anymore!) and then followed up with the polishing papers through to 8000 grit.

120 grit 3M radial discs inside ring shank

clean inside from both sides evenly

"The insides of rings are most easily cleaned u using emery paper in a split pin with a flexshaft motor." Anastasia Young - page 111

I would have loved to have done that, but I do not have a split pin fitting and though I looked at various hardware stores, I could not find one in time for this posting.

cleaning the inside with polishing papers

3. Clean the sides of your ring shank with emery paper and/or your flexshaft with 3M radial discs. Again, I used my flexshaft followed by my 3M polishing papers through to 8000 grit.

final polish

I hope you enjoyed this - I love the shiny finish the polishing papers leave on the silver ring shank. Next week we are going to anticlast this ring - a first time ever technique for me!! See you then!!

art is sexy,

visit my website!

Stringing Beads with Beading Wire

2010-12-15T05:00:00.160+02:00

Today's Technique

Stringing Beads

page 256

finished Boulders necklace

I am taking a break from the ring - I cannot seem to motivate myself to finish it right now. I am feeling a bit intimidated by the upcoming anticlast technique for the ring

... a completely new technique for me!

... and a little scary!

For those who are creating with me, my sincerest apologies for the delay. I am sure that you understand what it is to feel blocked on a particular piece.

I hope you will all enjoy today's techniqe, perhaps I will feel inspired to complete the ring soon - I honestly don't know!

Again, I thank you for your understanding.

Materials

Beading Cord

(I used Beadalon brand)

Crimping Pliers

Chain Nose Pliers

Crimps

Clasp

(I used an S-clasp that I forged from sterling silver. Click here to see the post for that technique.)

Jump Rings

(I used sterling silver-16gauge-square wire stock to create these rings. Click here to see the post for creating this chain.)

Jump Ring Opener

(or a second set of flat nose pliers)

Beads

(I used Amber, Almandine Garnet, Emerald, Citrine and .999 Silver Hollow Form beads)

materials

Steps to Success

1. Thread a crimp bead onto your beading wire; pass the beading wire through a jump ring and then back through the crimp. Tighten the loop and then close and round the crimp with your crimping pliers.

"Place the crimp bead in the back notch in the jaws of the crimping pliers (this notch is round on one side and dipped on the other) and press down, making a crease in the crimp. Use the notch in the front of the crimping plers (this notch is round on both sides) to shape the tube into a round cylinder." page 256

first crimped end to a jump ring

2. With your chain nose pliers, close a crimp cover over the now closed and rounded crimp bead.

crimp cover added

3. Add the beads for the first section of the necklace; thread both beading wire strands through these beads if possible. Close and round a crimp and then cut the remaining tail as close to the crimp as possible. If you are making a solid beaded necklace (no spaces between sections of beads), continue adding all of your beads and then proceed to step #6.

first section of amber - crimped

4. With your chain nose pliers, close a cover over the now closed and rounded crimp.

first section of amber - crimp covered

5. Repeat steps #3 and #4 - making sure to add a crimp and cover to both ends of each section so that the beads do not move on the beading wire - until you have added all the sections in your necklace's design.

second section added - crimped & covered

6. Once you final section is completed (or your final bead has been strung for a solid bead necklace), repeat step #1 on this end of your beading wire.

final crimp added to chain & S-clasp

7. Connect the extender chain and clasp to the jump ring on each end to complete your necklace. Learn to make the extender chain & learn to forge the clasp.

chain & clasp

Notes:

Make sure that your crimps can accomodate two passes of your beading cord. For example, my beading cord is .018" thick so my crimps must have a minimum inside diameter of .036".
When I say that a crimp is 'closed and rounded', I mean that you have first closed the crimp in the rear notch on your crimping pliers and then rounded the crimp in the forward notch on your crimping pliers. See the quote in step #1 from Anastasia Young.

I hope you enjoyed this one and I look forward to seeing your creations!

-art is sexy-

visit my website!

Filing a Metal Ring

2010-12-08T03:00:00.015+02:00

Today's Technique

Filing our Ring from Last Week!

page 94

Materials

Ring Blank (created/posted on 24 November 2010)

Bench Pin

Safety Glasses

Ring Mandrel (not shown)

#0 & #2 Half-Round File (I used needle files as this is a small seam)

Step to Success

1. Using the #0 half-round file, file off any excess solder and level the seam. I had quite an overlap, so this took me some time!

#0 half-round file

I found that supporting the ring on a ring mandrel helped me to keep the curve of the band true and much more strength and precision in each stroke of the file.

ring mandrel helps to support ring blank

half of the seam smoothed

2. Using the #2 half-round file, remove any file marks and smooth the surface of the ring.

#2 half-round file

filed ring - time for cleaning!

Notes:

Make sure not to file the ring blank too thin
Be careful not to file any angles into the form - keep to the curve of the ring
DO NOT AIR FILE!!! Secure your piece on your bench pin and support it while filing.
Only file in one direction - have a definite start and stop to your movement
File the inside of the band with the curved portion of the half-round file
Working on a ring mandrel can help you to keep the curve of the ring true; be sure to regularly turn the ring around to counter the mandrel's taper

Next week we will clean up all the marks and blemishes on this ring blank when we explore "Cleaning Up With Abrasive Media" (page 111).
Read ahead and I will see you then!!

art is sexy,

SiaCorrina

visit my website!

Pallion Soldering

2010-12-01T03:28:00.061+02:00

Today's Technique

Soldering a Ring

page 98

ring from last week

This week we will solder the ring blank we created last week. This is the second technique of 6 that we will be using to complete this ring project. I hope you are enjoying it!

Materials

Ring from last week (click here to learn how to make the ring)

Solder Snips

Hard Solder

Binding Wire (not shown)

Tweezers

Soldering Torch

Soldering Pick

Pickle

Flux

Steps to Success

1. Cut small pallions of hard solder.

2. Bind the ring blank with stainless steel binding wire. Only one tight wrap is really necessary here. I guess I am still a bit nervous from the first melt down!!

3. Flux join. Be sure not to flood your join.

4. Place pallions on your ring's seam. You can place them on either the top or the bottom of the seam - your choice. I prefer the bottom as I find it easier for me to draw the heat up rather than down to make the solder flow along the entire seam.

bound - pallions placed - fluxed

5. Solder the join. "Heat the bricks around the ring first ... concentrate the flame on the back of the ring and allow it to reach a dull red color ... circulate the flame around the whole ring to bring it all up to temperature at the same time." page 98

6. True your ring on your ring mandrel with a raw hide mallet - this is technically the last step from last week, but you needed to solder the ring before you could true it! Remember to counter the taper in the mandrel by turning your ring around and forming it again.

7. Pickle. Rinse. Store in an airtight bag - preferrable an anti-tarnish bag.

Next week, we will learn how to properly file the seam. I hope you were successful in your soldering! Let me know how it went, click here to email me!

See you next week!

art is sexy,

SiaCorrina

visit my website!