Although I don’t pronounce her name correctly.

Sorry.

:/

Not my fault really as I don’t know anybody called Keirsten and so don’t have much opportunity to say it.

As always this is just a show and tell. I’m not even sure if I wanted to show this one as I think it’s really boring. You can definitely see how I go about making my jewelry though. I was being completely serious when I told you that I wing it. Sometimes I follow a drawing, but more often than not I just place things here and there deciding as I go along if I like it or not.

And yes I mumble and um and ahh to myself also.

It can be a little lonely in my studio at times so if I’m not talking to the radio man I’m talking to myself…

:/

So that’s the design aspect of it. The technical aspect is to simply work on the fly using whatever tools I have hanging around that I think might give me the result I’m looking for. One day perhaps I’ll go to jewelry tool school and figure out what they’re really made for.

I’ve always hated going to sites like Rio or Otto Frei and seeing fantastic looking tools and not really knowing what the hell you do with them. Sometimes they give you a little video how to on them, and Youtube is pretty good for finding things out, but I hate knowing there’s just the tool out there that will make my life easier and not knowing about it.

My world can be a dark, mysterious place sometimes.

Moving on.

I’m going to try to make another of these…

…for Keirsten.

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Please remember.

I am just a somebody muddling through. This is the way I do things. I am a wing it, try it, do it wrong, try again, sort of person. I do not maintain that I know what I am doing, only that I am trying to do it. Please feel free to enjoy my discoveries but follow your own research for professional advice and to perfect your skills. Above all, enjoy. Life is short.

Also.

The links to the tools and materials used are only examples of the ones I use. There are many different types available of the same tools, some better than others and some less expensive. If you are beginning your jewelry adventure, please don’t just buy the ones in the links here. Research until you feel comfortable that you are purchasing the right tool for you.

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I got these little pieces of turquoise from turquoisesusa on Instagram. I have bought some in the past from aztrading.madison on Instagram also.

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Warning: This video is just like watching silver melting 😉

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I felt in this one that I didn’t really explain the silver stretching part properly. You’ll find that just stamping on one side of the silver lengthens and distorts the strip. You have to balance it up by stamping or hammering out the opposite side. If you want the melted part to stay as it is and not stamp it as I did, do all of the texturing before you melt the edge.

I keep checking the back of the strip as I form it because I don’t want to completely mess up the texture. You’d have to be a whole lot more careful if you want to have a good smooth finish 😉

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I was trying really hard not to use up my acetylene, but I was going nowhere fast by not having enough heat on the piece to solder it. The idea of taking that bottle back to the shop really kills me…

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Just so you know I was joking when I said why do it the proper way 😉 that’s just not as much fun as making things as difficult as you can…

You have to be really careful when you bend the tube as I’m doing here as the silver can easily split. I try to do it really slowly and gently.

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When I say I’m going to buff the ends to smooth them out I mean I’m going to use the coarse scrubby bits that I used before – HERE.

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Brown (thicker) cutting disc – Rio Grande 337217

Thin dangerous diamond disc – Rio Grande 346080 There are a lot of different ones of these so you might look around.

Cylinder bur – Rio Grande 343029

Grinding wheel – Rio Grande 332189

Smaller knife edge cutting bur – Rio Grande 348520

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Dawn Gill you’ll be pleased to know that I just bought myself a new honeycomb soldering block as mine’s now in five pieces 🙂

Spider tool – HERE.

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Just making decisions…

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This video is cut short by a phone call.

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Black Max – Rio Grande 331053

Yellow 3m wheels – Rio Grande 332581

Very Fine Buffing Wheels – Rio Grande 330541

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Always wear a mask when buffing even if you’re not using a patina as the small fibers from the buffing wheel get everywhere.

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And voila!

A turquoise cuff.

 

 

So all said and done it’s nothing like the original, but the way I made it is the same – somewhat. I prefer the originals myself although I think that’s because I was surprised by this one’s size.

Small things throw me a loop…

🙂

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The old bottle out.

New bottle in.

Phew!

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