Useful Tips For Budding Wireworks #2 Oxidising

The second in a short series of useful tips, this time ~ Oxidising Sterling Silver & Copper jewellery

Whether you oxidise your jewellery or not is a personal choice. I prefer the look of oxidised or "antiqued" Sterling Silver and copper wirework as it adds depth and highlights detail.

What you will need ~

Liver of Sulphur


You can buy Liver of Sulphur in liquid or solid form. I say "solid" but it's really powdery chucks. I prefer the solid form as it is more economical. I buy mine on eBay and it can also be found on jewellery supply sites.





Steel/Wire Wool

0000 or 00000 Grade which can be found in DIY stores






Oxidising your jewellery

Before you start, close the kitchen door and open the back door (wide!) Yes the clue is in the name Sulphur and it stinks like rotten eggs!
Dissolve a small piece of Liver of Sulphur in hot but not boiling water in a small bowl. I keep a bowl especially for oxidising. Avoid touching the Liver of Sulphur if you can help it, it doesn't sting if it comes into contact with your skin but does make your skin tingle for a short while. Always wash your hands if they come into conatct with the Liver of Sulphur. Use a spoon or old pair of flatnose pliers to handle the Liver of Sulphur or gloves if preferred.
Drop your jewellery into the bowl. Copper oxidises very quickly, Sterling Silver takes a bit longer.

Once the jewellery has turned black/grey remove using a spoon/pliers and rinse in a bowl of cold water. Allow to dry on a piece of kitchen roll.

When dry, polish with wire wool over a piece of kitchen roll. This can be quite time~consuming but very therapeutic!

When you've finished cleaning with the wirewool check for any stray bits of wire. How much you clean up your jewellery is up to you : some people leave it fairly black, I prefer it well polished. Finish by polishing to a shine with a silver polishing cloth, available from any supermarket.

The End Result

 Before

After

 The Liver of Sulphur solution can be kept and used again, preferably on the same day, if you heat it up in the microwave. Any longer than a few hours and it loses it's effect. It's advisable to dispose of the solution by tipping down the outside drain!

Useful Tips For Budding Wireworkers #1 TOOLS

This is the first in a series of handy info and tips for anyone interested in making Wirework jewellery.

First of all let me explain that I am by no means an expert in Wirework! I've been making Wirework jewellery for nearly three years and am self~taught: everything I have learnt has come from the internet, books and DVDs. But I have so much more to learn and so much more practising to do!
First things first ~

Tools

There is a wide variety of jewellery making tools available for Wirework, some are absolutely necessary, some you can live without!

Pliers

You need several different types of pliers for Wirework ~ these are the pliers I use everytime I make a piece of Wirework jewellery ~

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  Roundnose Pliers ~ for creating loops and round bends
  
  
  
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  Chainnose Pliers ~ for creating bends, tucking in ends of wire and holding the wire
  
  
  
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  Flatnose pliers ~ for creating bends, holding the wire whilst making spirals, flattening wire
  
  
  
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  Wire cutters ~ Cutting wire (obviously!) Make sure you buy a pair that cut the wire flush (flat) at the end
  
  
  

Another pair of pliers that are very useful but not absolutely necessary when you start making Wirework jewellery are Nylon~Jawed pliers. The jaws are made of hard nylon which won't mark the wire and are used to straighten your wire before you start work. They also can be used to grip the wire as you work with it, although I find they don't grip very well but then mine are pretty mangled now!

Hammer And Bench Block

A bench block is a small piece of steel used with a Chasing or Ball Peen hammer to flatten wire, which in turn hardens it and adds interest to the design. The round end of a Ball Peen hammer can also be used to add texture to the wire. Again, not absolutely necessary when you start Wireworking but I couldn't live without mine! It helps to cut down noise when hammering if you put your bench block on a folded towel!

Files

Very useful for smoothing the ends of your wire to prevent scratches or your piece of jewellery catching on things!

Cup Burr

Creates a rounded, smooth end, very useful for the ends of earwires to prevent scratching the ear.

And lastly ~

Tool Magic!

This is a liquid rubber that you dip your pliers into. It dries in a couple of hours and leaves a coating on the pliers that helps to prevent them marking the wire. It can easily be peeled off when you've finished. Just don't inhale the fumes!

I hope you have found this interesting and useful! Below are links to jewellery supplies sites I've used and recommend.

Cookson Gold ~ Everything you could possibly need for jewellery making! (UK)

Palmer Metals ~ Bullion, findings and jewellery supplies (UK)

Fushion Beads ~ Beads, tools, wire and lots more (USA)

Next time..........

How to oxidise Sterling Silver and Copper jewellery!