After the completion of the first pin, I was pretty stoked. "I'm basically a jeweler, already right?" I thought to myself. Wrong-o! I just started work on my second piece, a pendant, last week and it has been tough. It is taking far longer than I thought it would.
To get started, my teacher John chose another design for me to copy. He said that this time, I should be able to do more of the techniques on my own with less help. So, I started out pretty confidently but the piece is still not finished.
To get started, my teacher John chose another design for me to copy. He said that this time, I should be able to do more of the techniques on my own with less help. So, I started out pretty confidently but the piece is still not finished.
The picture, above, is where things stand right now. I still have to replace the bezel (the oval cup-thingy at the center of the piece) because I overworked it so much. I put so many scratches and dings into it from the tools that it is just in a sad state. Easier to replace it. So, we'll see how that goes in the coming days this week.
I also struggled dearly with the jump rings that appear at the top and bottom of the pendant. I kept melting them altogether.
One of the plus sides of all of this fumbling and mistake making is that I am getting a better understanding of the time and patience needed to melt, roll and draw out metal into usable pieces. For instance, in order to create the bezel cup, round wire, leaves and loops seen in this piece, silver is moulded into the needed forms with a metal mill and a steel hand tool called a draw plate.
It is a great tool. I think it is fascinating. Here is a picture of it:
I also struggled dearly with the jump rings that appear at the top and bottom of the pendant. I kept melting them altogether.
One of the plus sides of all of this fumbling and mistake making is that I am getting a better understanding of the time and patience needed to melt, roll and draw out metal into usable pieces. For instance, in order to create the bezel cup, round wire, leaves and loops seen in this piece, silver is moulded into the needed forms with a metal mill and a steel hand tool called a draw plate.
It is a great tool. I think it is fascinating. Here is a picture of it:
Once the cast metal piece is rolled through the (grooved) wire mill a bit, it can be brought over to the draw plate. The draw plate is smaller than my forearm, about 8-12" in length. It is placed into a bench vice that is secured to the wooden work bench. After annealing the piece of metal wire, it can be pulled through the draw plate with steel tongs or pliers.
As you can see, the draw plate has quite a few successive sizes of openings. Each time the wire is passed through an opening, the metal is pulled into itself smaller and smaller, creating a thinner and longer wire. Then, to prevent it from becoming too hardened to handle or bend, the metal is annealed with the torch to release the tension of the metal as the atoms realign to their correct structure. Fun, eh?
Hopefully, with the help of the draw plate i'll be finishing up this piece this week. I still have yet to replace the bezel and set the stone into it. Stay tuned!
As you can see, the draw plate has quite a few successive sizes of openings. Each time the wire is passed through an opening, the metal is pulled into itself smaller and smaller, creating a thinner and longer wire. Then, to prevent it from becoming too hardened to handle or bend, the metal is annealed with the torch to release the tension of the metal as the atoms realign to their correct structure. Fun, eh?
Hopefully, with the help of the draw plate i'll be finishing up this piece this week. I still have yet to replace the bezel and set the stone into it. Stay tuned!