Tension Set?

I made this ring a couple of months ago while still in Seattle, but it turned out so well that I decided it should find its way in to this new blog space. The ring was fabricated from square, sterling silver, bar stock and a faceted garnet. I started by forming the bar stock into a small ring, soldered it and then marked out into quarters which allowed me to evenly forge it out into its final profile and size. When I had hammered it out into the size/shape that I intended it to be, I cut the opening for the stone along the original solder line and then removed slightly less metal than the amount needed to create the space to seat the stone. I then cut the seats for the stone with a setting burr, slipped it onto my ring mandrel to spread the opening to set the stone and once the stone was in place, I carefully slipped the ring off of the mandrel to snugly capture the stone. The forging of the heavy stock provides enough security for the stone to stay in place....

Begin and End

I wanted to begin with a post about something I consider an end. This pendant that was fabricated from two pieces of sterling silver sheet is the last project I did at my bench while it was set up in Seattle. This piece marks an end in Seattle, but also a beginning for my new showcase herein this blog. This piece of work also signals another beginning, as I start to think about my new experiences and workspace that I will have in Milwaukee when I move this next week.