And here it is!
The finished piece! I used a bit of light blue gilder's paste on the front to give it a bit of color. The design was cleaned up a bit more after this picture was taken, and was given to my mom soon after. I forgot to get a true final picture.
This one was a lot of fun to make, even with all the troubles. I had to saw the two pieces apart once after accidentally soldering it closed. There was also the frustration in getting the hinge properly attached. The two outer knuckles of the hinge had to be attached to one plate, while the middle hinge was attached to the other and yet they needed to be soldered perfectly in line in order to fit the hinge pin. *whew!*
I really want to try making one of these again on my own, but I'll definitely need to acquire quite a few tools before that can happen. Ah, well!
Oh, and I should mention... I got a great shine on this piece after putting it in a tumbler with stainless steel shot and some dawn soap for a half hour or so. Definitely an important finishing step if you want your piece to really sparkle!
This next project took me around 10 Saturdays to complete, so I think it should take at least two posts to properly show it off.
I took a locket making class at my local university and knew it was going to be for my mother. The perfect Christmas present, right? Well, this one actually took so long to complete that she didn't actually get it until February. *blush*
So here are the pieces after they had been cut out from the sheet metal.
So, the way this worked was I cut two circles from 20 gauge silver sheet metal which would become the outer part of the locket. Then I cut two circles from 26 gauge silver which became the bearing plates for the inside of the locket. As you can see in the piece to the far right, after doming the large pieces and soldering the cut out circles/bearing plates on, you create a place to insert pictures inside the locket!
Here is a close up of the design I chose to put on the front. It is always best to have the design in place before doming or soldering the pieces!
Here is an excellent step by step tutorial for making a locket! Really, I think my instructor must have taught the class from this tutorial!
I just also want to say that you definitely need a good amount of soldering experience before attempting a project like this. I still count myself a soldering beginner and this project was a bit... difficult. At one point, I actually soldered the entire locket together! It was definitely the hardest part in my opinion!
Next time I'll have some pictures of the finished product!
I have quite a lot of catching up to do!
First up, is my first bezel project. I recently took a class at the local art studio and made this:
That is a lovely red orange carnelian in the center! Here is a
handy tutorial that is really informative for making bezel settings. It is the first part of a five part series.
What I have found to be the hardest part of making the bezel is getting the solder to flow where you want it to go. As a beginner it took me three times to actually get the ring attached to the flat sheet. *whew!* I feel like it does get easier with practice though.
May favorite part of making this bezel was actually coming up with a design for this necklace. My favorite shape recently has been the diamond, so I ended up with this:
I created the texturing with a dapping tool. Yay! Then it became a Christmas present for my amazing friend M. ;)
Next up, will be my mother's Christmas present.
Here it is! Rivet and all!
An exciting first project. I already have a few more planned that I will have to make as soon as I can get my own jeweler's saw and the rest of the equipment. As for my next class, we are going to make a silver ring and I have to start thinking on the design for it.
Oh, here is an excellent video tutorial for riveting!
Well, we didn't exactly get to the riveting last night. Instead we worked on texture and annealing.
For my piece I chose to texture it using a dapping tool. I really like the speckled effect! It kind of reminds me of a starry sky.
Additionally, we learned a bit about patinas including using liver of sulfur on both bronze and copper. I already posted about my experiences using this substance, so I will just post a quick link back to my previous posts where you can find examples of copper pieces that have been patinated as well as a quick tutorial link.
I still have a bit of polishing left to do as well before the two pieces can be joined. Again, next week I should be back with a post on riveting! The next project after this is to make a silver ring and I just cannot wait to come back here with a finished piece!
I just had my first metalsmithing class yesterday! I am so excited for this one!
For the first class we learned about using the jeweler's saw to cut shapes out of sheet metal. Here are the pictures of my first shapes!
Here are some helpful instructional videos for using the jeweler's saw. In my class we started with small sheets of copper and brass at 18 gauge and size 1 saw blades from RioGrande. Also, always be sure to use eye protection! Those saw blades do break pretty easily.
Additionally, we learned how to file the metal pieces after sawing to get a smooth edge and to get rid of any sharp spots. Here is a good list of tips for filing and smoothing metal bits.
Next week we are going to learn about riveting, so I will be back then!
