Using Tabs To Set Stones In Jewellery

I received the May 2014 issue of Art Jewelry last week and was immediately drawn to a piece by Michael David Sturlin in the Metalsmith 101 section called Cold Captures: Push-up Prongs. It covers a method of setting stones or buttons or enamel pieces {or anything with a flat base really} using tabs or prongs rather than using a soldered bezel or other setting that needs to be soldered in place.

I fancied a change and do love a bit of messing about with metal without doing any soldering so I took the magazine to my jewellery night class and had a go. This is my attempt at the above.....

 The millefiore cab was the largest size I possess at the mo as I haven't bought any large cabochons yet {give it time!}. It's about 15mm I think so I used it as a practice piece. I had to draw the shape by hand or rather my scribe as I didn't have anything to use for the curves so it's a bit wonky but I do like the design. I'm not planning on doing anything with this so I left it unfinished and that lovely ginger hue that copper has!

I used 0.9mm gauge copper and I did find it a bit hard to push the tabs over the cab and had to use my mallet to finish it. Michael David Sturlin recommended using a setting punch and chasing hammer to push over the tabs if they were a bit stiff but you would need to secure the piece to something in order to do that and it is likely to leave marks on your tabs too.
 I think it would look lovely using some etched or patterned copper with a nice stone cab and definitely needs to be oxidized :D

I then decided to set an enamelled oval shape in a tab setting but cut the tabs from beneath the enamel piece this time...

This is the first time I've done a "frilly" edge and must say I really enjoyed sawing it! It is surprisingly easy if you use a finer saw blade than the 1/0 I usually use to plow through the metal quicker when I'm cutting things out.

 Enamel isn't the best medium to set using tabs I've discovered. I had to refire this piece as there was a tiny crack next to the top tab that happened as I pushed the tab over that wasn't obvious but because I knew it was there I had to fix. So it was fired again and set again but is now ok and crack-free. The only bit of torch work I did with this pendant was to ball the fine silver pin I used to attach the bail.

I liked doing the frilly thing so much I started another one at jewellery class on Tuesday night using an oval turquoise {stabilised} cab this time. When I was ready to set the stone I annealed the copper as I suspected the small tabs would be a bit hard to push over then pickled it and set the stone....

Annealing the copper made the tabs quite easy to push over and they do hold the stone firmly. I did wonder at first if they were high enough but some stone wiggling and pushing from the back convinced me the turquoise is firmly in place. Thinking about it they are about the height I would make a bezel for this shape stone.

 I need to oxidize this piece and will probably take a risk with the turquoise and tumble it for about 20 mins to work harden the copper a bit. I have {say it quietly} tumbled pieces with enamel before now because I needed to work harden the metal without anything going wrong despite knowing you shouldn't tumble enamelled pieces!

In all I have enjoyed trying this soldering free method of setting but have to admit I think a piece looks more finished with a stone/enamel piece set in a bezel. And now that I seem to be able to wield a saw better than before I will most likely do some more of the frilly thing on the edges of my future creations and the negative space design in the example from Art Jewelry has given me ideas for making a bezel set piece a bit more interesting too......

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A Refreshing Break And Some New Jewellery

I recently took a holiday from my online shops for the first time in nearly five years! Yes I actually put my Etsy and Folksy shops and my website in holiday mode for two weeks. And the reason for this? Did I jet off to the Seychelles/take a road trip across the States/ move all my jewellery tools, equipment and "stuff" into what was a garden shed but is now my jewellery workroom? All very exciting options but it was the last one, the other two will just have to wait until my next break in another five years! 

Yes, I now have my own space to work in which is like being in heaven after working on the dining room table and in the kitchen for nearly five years, having to get stuff out and put it away again (then get it out again when I realize I need to do a bit more soldering!) I love my jewellery shed, it's not quite there yet with the organizing and finding homes for everything but it's mine. I'm planning on writing a post about it next week with photos once I've finished the final tweaking.

I did take the opportunity to catch up with making new pieces once I'd moved into the shed as I didn't have to worry about stopping to do findings orders and other things that usually stop me making jewellery. It was lovely actually :D

I used some of the shiny, sparkly cabs and half-drilled pearls I bought from Joopy Gems and made a few pendants and several pairs of earrings...

This is a hollow form pendant I started at jewellery night class. It started life as two different size diameter pieces of copper tube that I added a front and back to and a white pearl cabochon. The etched design was from a really detailed stamp that I wasn't sure would work but it did and I think it's a lovely busy pattern.

I used some silver textured in my rolling mill and added some smooth silver as an overlay with pale pink rose quartz rose cut cabs. I think they look like freaky bugs!

Believe it or not these are the first gemstone studs I've ever made plus a white pearl pair. The labradorite cabs have lovely flashes of green-gold and the peach moonstone are a sweet dot of colour.

These copper post earrings remind me of "spinning jennies" more formally known as the seeds of the ash tree. The green/gold quartz really sparkle in the light. This is the first time I've used posts in a longer style of earring rather than the usual stud style.

 And finally another two hollow form pairs I started at night class. These started life as round copper tube that I shaped using some bezel mandrels I bought a while ago. I always knew I'd find a use for those square/hexagon/triangle mandrels that were part of the set! I turned the square shapes into beads with a hole top and bottom and added them to some copper wire and thin tube to make a pair of twist earrings. The triangles have a leaf vein texture on the front and smooth sides and back. There's something very satisfying about making hollow forms and seeing the transformation from a solder covered piece of metal ( in my case anyway!) to a form that through filing and sanding ends up smooth with a barely visible solder line.

Look out for my post with photos (yay!) of my new workspace coming soon.

An Alternative To Jump Rings And Some New Enamel Pendants

Until recently I've always used jump rings to attach my enamel pendants to a chain. Enamel is great but some of the methods of attaching things to other things commonly used in jewellery, in other words cold connections and soldering can be a bit tricky when combined with it. It is possible to solder and rivet enamel pieces but not without some difficulty. So....I just used handmade jump rings and always felt vaguely dissatisfied with the final look.

Then I realized I could use my wirework experience and make my own bails! Why has it taken me so long to think of this? Who knows! I must have been thinking of "other things" (that means chocolate).

I made some new pendants last week, two with pierced out detail and finished them with a cold connected wire bail. 

Very simple in design - a length of 16g/1.2mm sterling round wire hammered at both ends and a hole drilled in the centre of the flattened areas. Tidy up the ends and bend into a loop then squeeze the ends gently so they sit close to the pendant on either side. Line up the holes then thread a balled up piece of 22g/0.6mm wire through and wrap around the loop to secure then trim and gently squeeze in the end. Oxidize and polish. Ta Dah! 

I think the bail makes the pendant look much more "finished" and is a vast improvement to a jump ring. You could also use this method to connect a smaller enamel piece to a large silver piece too. I'm also thinking that a small silver disc or decorative silver spacer would look nice sat between the ball and the front of the loop.

I'm just going to have to make some more enamel pendants and try!

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Pearls, Hoops And Stacking Rings

I'm slowly increasing my little collection of rings for sale. I made a set of three hammered sterling silver stacking rings which you can see in the photo above put together with a prehnite rose cab stacking ring. I made the plain band rings in the photo for me (for a change!) and find them so easy to wear.

 I photographed them in their bright shiny state then oxidized them and photographed them again. 

Etsy makes it easy to sell items with different variables like size or finish so the buyer can select when they pay. My website and Folksy shop don't have this option so I'll have to list the rings separately. I've learned that buyers don't always read everything in a listing ( something I'm also guilty of!) and I've had to contact a few to find out the size they want in the case of bangles bought from my website and Folksy. So expecting someone to remember to let me know the size, stone and finish they want in the case of my gemstone rings would be pushing it a bit! So when I get round to listing the gemstone rings on my website and Folksy shop they will all have to be listed separately with a large notice asking the buyer to let me know the size and finish they want in the hope they will actually do that and save my sanity! 

I spent the last couple of days making a pair of copper rose hoops and some silver disc earrings with pearls. The turn in the weather (it's sunny!) means I've been able to photograph them today.

I use copper bezel wire for the "roses" which makes life easier than having to cut thin strips of copper sheet myself. I solder the end closed then sand the bottom flat and solder to a flat piece of copper for a base. Having a flat base makes it easier to solder the rose to other things afterwards.

The pearls are beads I've had for years that are button shaped so most of them are ideal to turn into cabs. Sanding the bottom of the pearl makes it nice and level and lowers the holes so the bezel hides them when they are set. I like the look of pearls with oxidized silver. I have some bigger pearls on order which I'm really looking forward to using.

I'm hoping the pearls will arrive soon (tomorrow would be good!) so I can start thinking about what to do with them. 

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Rings And Gems!

I posted last week about Joopy Gems and the order of pretty 6mm rose cut cabochons I was eagerly waiting for. Well they arrived last Friday, which is pretty good going considering they were posted in Hong Kong on the Monday. And I didn't have to pay any VAT on them which was even better!

I was really impressed with the quality of the cabs and the faceted top side makes them sparkle nicely in the light. I got to work making rings with them that I'm going to start selling made to order. They do look very pretty so I'm just going to have to make myself a couple! I'm planning to add some plain textured silver stacking rings too so they can be mixed and matched with the gemstone rings.

I also made a couple of twist rings using thin strips of silver and copper to make stylised roses (use your imagination!) I think I'll just make these in particular sizes to start with rather than made to order...... but that may change!

I bought myself a proper ring mandrel too. I had been using an aluminium UK ring sizer not realising it wasn't a proper ring mandrel. I don't know how I thought it was as it's shorter and not as hard as steel so it's looking pretty sorry for itself now. You can see the shiny new steel version in the ring photo above. So there'll be no stopping me now :D

If you would like a 15% discount off your first order from Joopy Gems this link

http://joopygems.refr.cc/BTLPN3V

will take you to a discount code that you can use with your order. I'm going to place another order with them very soon!

Rolling Mill Textures On Metal

I had another play with my rolling mill last week using some of the texture sheets from Etsy shop Rolling Mill Resource. I used some sterling silver and copper sheet and soon discovered it's best to get organized before you start!

I cut the sheet to size and worked out which design was going on which piece of metal. I also tried a feather but more on that later. Most of the sheet I used was 20g/0.8mm with one piece of 18g/1.0mm and one of 22g/0.6mm.

I've read that you should do a dead pass of the metal through the rolling mill with the gap the same size as the metal and texturing item. I'm not sure what this is supposed to achieve but I don't bother doing it. Judging the correct size of gap between the rollers is a trial and error thing that you discover by setting the gap then starting to roll the metal through. If there's too much resistance you make the gap bigger until there's just enough resistance to roll the metal through without giving yourself a hernia.

Here's some photos I took of the textured metal before pickling.

A leaf skeleton using silver and copper to sandwich the leaf. This gives you two textured pieces for the price of one. The texture shows up better on the copper due to the lighter colour but the design on the silver was just as crisp.

 The spiral design was a freebie (thank you!) I do love spirals but didn't buy that design for precisely that (predictable) reason!

 I love these two designs, they came out well and I think the one on the right on silver is the nicest one yet.

This is a nice circle and diamond design on 18g silver. It came out very clearly. The other design on 22g was fainter which may be due to the thinner metal or maybe it's just that particular design.

The designs after pickling.

 The piece of copper at the back was done with a feather with not the greatest results. I had the rollers too close and really struggled to get the metal through! A lot of shoulder bracing was involved but I got it through eventually. Once the metal gets so far it becomes hard to turn the rollers either backwards or forwards so you just have to use brute force! Consequently the feather moved so I have two images. It did work but it's very fine and would show up better if the copper was oxidized but I think if I try another feather I'll use a larger one (and not have the rollers too tight!)

The pattern on this piece of copper was a bonus! I used it to sandwich the textured card to print on the silver but ended up with a nice print on the copper too from the back of the textured card. Nice one!

Most of the card patterns can be used twice which is something that surprised me. I expected them all to be flattened after the first use but most of them still had enough depth in the design to use again.

So now I have lots of textured metal to play with I had better get on with making new pieces!

Combining Soldering And Enamel

The need to make cute, brightly coloured enamel studs propelled me into the world of combining soldering with enamel a couple of years ago. I knew from reading up on it that it was possible to enamel and solder on the same piece but wasn't too confident I was able to do it back then.

It was a slightly embarrassing occurance that made me just get on with - I'd made some enamel studs with glued on stud posts. I'd used 2 part epoxy resin which was a job in itself as it set hard after 5 minutes so I had to keep mixing more up. The finished studs looked ok but that little voice in my head kept asking "are you sure you want to use glue?" I wasn't but didn't think I had any other way to do it so I used glue. I sold my first pair and merrily sent them on their way to Canada. A couple of week later the buyer got in touch to say the stud post had come off one of the earrings and the other was hanging off. I was mortified, apologized profusely and refunded her money immediately. Luckily she was understanding about it but I felt awful! I hadn't packed the studs well enough in the first place to withstand a trip to New Brunswick but it was the glue spectre that was haunting me the most.

I decided then I had to teach myself to solder posts onto stud earrings and to learn to combine soldering and enamel. My first attempts weren't great and involved the melting of a few stud posts, lots of sweating due to concentrating so hard and some swearing. I tried enamelling just one side of a disc and then soldering the post on last but that didn't work for me, I just ruined the enamel with the heat from the torch. I almost gave up on it but I hate to admit defeat and I got there eventually using enamel solder also called IT solder. Enamel solder flows at a higher temperature than enamel (and hard solder) so it can be used before enamelling and won't reflow when the enamel is fired.

I have used it to torch fire small enamel stud earrings with great success. The two fears I had before I did it the first time - will the solder react with the enamel (or vice versa) and mess it up and will I melt the sterling post when I'm firing the front of the earrings didn't happen and I've gone on to make several pairs to date. The latest were three pairs of enamel heart studs I made last week.

I took photos as I was soldering and enamelling the heart studs which I hope might be useful!

1. First I flowed some enamel solder onto the pad of the stud fitting. I prefer to use these as my hand isn't steady enough to hold a post and solder it in place and the pads mean you can sit the fitting onto the back of the earring and it will stay put as you solder. I made holes in my solder block for the pad and post to sit in to keep them level.
2. Copper hearts just out of the pickle ready for soldering.

3.The first four soldered together

4. In the pickle to clean (dirty pickle!)

5. Counter enamel sifted onto the back of one of the studs and placed on the trivet ready for torch firing. You can see the trivet is sat precariously near the edge of my soldering block (which is sat on top of an empty tin can) so that I could get the torch under it. I've since bought a tripod and wire mesh to sit the trivet on which will make it much easier to get right underneath with the torch.

6. The counter enamel finished on all six earrings. I fired it to roughly orange peel stage as it will be in direct contact with the flame when the front is fired and will smooth out nicely then.

7. Enamel sifted onto the front. I always balance/hold the copper piece in my fingers when I sift the enamel as I find it easier but flat pieces can be set onto bottle tops if preferred.

8. Not the best photo but hopefully you can see the stud set onto the trivet with the post sitting in the gap at the centre. The small gap where the three legs meet is very handy for this and helps protect the silver post from the heat of the torch. I place it there by gripping the top of the post with tweezers right underneath the earring and carefully setting it in the centre of the trivet so the post fits in the gap. 

9. The first two pairs after the first coat, just to orange peel stage again. I make sure to keep the torch moving in small circles to avoid concentrating the heat in one spot for too long.

10. Another layer and a sprinkle of transparent on top and they are finished! Some people enamel just the front and solder a post to the back with easy solder to finish. It seems to work for them but I found it either ruined the enamel or the enamel cracked so I prefer to do it the hard (right?!) way!