Thursday, December 29, 2011

Roller Printed Silver and Gold Earrings

Just finished these earrings that are made from 18 K gold and sterling silver.



 

Monday, December 19, 2011

Fold-Formed Bracelet Prototype

Here is a fold-formed copper bracelet that I made today. I started with a strip (1.5" x 4.0") of 22 gauge copper and rolled it through the rolling mill to reduce it to about 24 gauge. After rolling it, it had lengthened to about 5 inches long. After rolling it, I annealed the copper and then folded it lengthwise. Before hammering it, I cut the folded piece into a half-moon shape that tapered toward the ends of the strip. After cutting to shape, I hammered the edges on the side opposing the fold. I did this hammering/annealing process 3 times before opening it up to its present form. This bracelet would fit an average to small woman. Now that I have dialed in the dimensions of the starting material, I can confidently make this from sterling silver.



Thursday, December 8, 2011

New Pitch Bowl

I just got a pitch bowl to start working on some chasing and repousse projects that I have wanted to do for  a while. I ordered the larger, deep pitch bowl from Rio Grande and also the medium green chaser's pitch that they carry that is made by A Copper Rose. I decided to forgo the common plaster or cement at the bottom of the bowl and opted for a rock that I picked up down by the beach where we live. I avoided having to use all 5 pounds of my pitch to fill a deep bowl.