This tutorial is moving! An updated version is in the works and will be available at
leahhitchcockybarra.com in March 2012.
I make a lot of jewelry using wire - in fact, nearly everything I make incorporates wire in some way, even if it's just a wire head pin or an earwire.
One problem beginning wireworkers have is that when you cut a piece of wire, the ends feel sharp and jagged. To make wire jewelry look and feel smoother and more finished, it is necessary to smooth out the ends of the wire.
Luckily, this is not difficult, it just takes a little bit of time.
Here are just a few ways I've smoothed wire ends:
- Using a cup burr - cup burrs are used with dremel-type machines or flex shafts, and come in different sizes for different wire gauges. If you use a cup burr to smooth the end of your wire, they will become slightly rounded, so this is a good method for finishing ear wires. Cup burrs & flex shaft machines are available through jewelry supply companies - but there are several simple methods that don't require special eqiupment.
- Using sandpaper - wet/dry sandpaper can bu used to smooth out wire ends. I especially like the sanding pad that are sold at hardware stores. A relatively fine grade - 300-400 - will work well.
- Jeweler's files or needle files from the hardware store - using files is quick and easy and with a little practice, you can get very smooth, flat wire ends using files.
- Sharpening stones - a lot of wireworkers I know swear by using sharpening stones. There are special stones made for sharpening fish hooks that have a little groove, and you just swipe the wire through the groove a couple of times for a smooth, slighlty rounded end. Flat sharpening stones also work, but won't automatically shape the wire end the way the grooved stones do.
- Fingernail files - this is one of my favorite tricks, if I'm working away from my studio. Fingernail files are great for smoothing wire ends, and they come in many different grades, and are easy to find at drug stores and grocery stores.
I'm writing a series of short articles on jewelry making basics, called Jewelry 101. You can click on Jewelry 101 under "categories" in the right-hand column to see all the articles (this one is the first). Even if you aren't interested in making your own jewelry, it might be interesting to learn a little bit about the basic tools and processes I use to create jewelry. Now, on to my first topic: flux.
Flux is a liquid or paste applied to metal when heating the metal. There are many different kinds of flux on the market, and they all work for different temperature ranges. In jewelry making, when using a torch to solder or fuse metal, it is important to get a flux that is intended for use at very high temperatures. This means that flux sold for use with soldering irons probably will not withstand the amount of heat a torch gives off, so make sure that the flux you buy is appropriate for use with a torch.
Flux protects silver from firescale while heating, and prevents oxidation of metal. It is always used when soldering, as the solder will not flow properly if flux is not applied to the solder & the area it should flow into. Flux can be applied with a paintbrush, and should be applied before heating the metal. As you heat the metal with your torch, the flux will bubble and then start to look glassy. If you notice that some of the metal is not covered with flux, you might want to add a little more and then re-heat the metal.
Flux is almost always used when heating sterling silver, whether soldering, fusing, or annealing, because it helps prevent firescale from forming. It is not necessary to apply flux to fine silver when heating it, since fine silver does not get firescale. However, if fine silver is being joined with silver solder, you should apply flux to the solder and the spots that will be joined with solder.
With Argentium sterling silver, some people don't use flux except for soldering, while some people also use flux for fusing. It is not necessary to use flux when annealing Argentium. In my personal experience, a tiny bit of flux (less than I'd use with regular sterling silver) helps a lot if I'm fusing or making ball-end headpins with Argentium.
Flux is also used when soldering gold. Since I have limited experience soldering gold, I won't comment more on that right now. If you want to use silver solder to solder copper, using more flux seems to help, since copper oxidizes easily.
I use liquid flux. A brand I like is Batterns, and I also like a very similar product called My-T-flux. Some jewelers prefer to use a paste flux, but I find that it's harder for me to see what I'm doing if I use paste flux. Whatever you decide, I recommend buying flux from a jewelry supply company - and make sure you get one that is intended for use with a torch. I've heard that people have had success making a paste flux from denatured alcohol and borax, but I've never tried this myself.
After you complete your soldering/fusing/annealing, you might notice that there is some glassy flux residue all over the metal. This can be removed by soaking the metal in an acidic solution known as pickle. I'll be writing about pickle in a future article, so stay tuned!
I found a good resin tutorial while surfing the web, and thought I'd share. The pictures on the page are great - lots of inspiration if you are starting out and want to try resin. One tip she shares is to hold a lit match near the resin if there are stubborn bubbles that won't pop. I haven't tried this yet, myself, but now I will. Of course, burning plastic is toxic, so if you try this wear a respirator & work in a well-ventilated area to avoid breathing the fumes!
Art-e-zine resin tutorial
Resin is an alternative material that is gaining popularity with jewelry and mixed media artists. There are many different brands of resin available for artists and crafters to experiment with.
The basics are the same though - follow the mixing instructions given by the manufacturer (resins come with two parts - resin and hardener - that have to be mixed together to startt he curing process - but the mixing ratios vary by brand), pour, drip or paint resin where you want it, and wait at least 24 hours, but often 72 hours, for the resin to completely cure.
I recently took a one-day workshop with mixed media jewelry artist Susan Lenart Kazmer on using resin, and I enjoyed it so much that I've been experimenting a lot on my own since the class with different ways to use resin in my jewelry work.
Some uses for resin:
- Filling a bezel - this is something we did in class. It is one of the easiest ways to start playing with resin. You take a bezel - which could be a traditional bezel made from silver, or a small found object like a beer bottle cap. Then you add small pieces of paper or found objects inside the bezel and cover them with resin. Once dry, you can drill a hole through the piece to make a pendant or earring dangle.
- Filling a mold - similar to filling a bezel, molds are available commercially (or can be created by the artist - but that's a topic for another time) and filled with resin and small objects the same way bezels are filled. The difference is that when the resin is cured, it is removed from the mold, resulting in a very different effect.
- Covering objects - this is a little bit harder than filling molds and bezels, but objects can be covered in resin. I have successfully done this by painting thin layers of resin onto small objects and allowing each layer to cure before painting on the next layer. It is a very time consuming process, and it can be difficult to do without ending up with drips, but is also a means to create very unique pieces, as well as preserving small organic objects, such as small sticks. I heard about an art exhibit where parts of a human corpse were preserved in resin - definitely not something I'd ever want to attempt! But, it gives you an idea of what a versatile material resin is.
One of the things that is appealing to me about working with resin is that it is a relatively new material. There aren't very many experts on working with resin, so every experiment I do is exciting. Unlike working with silver, a material I can ask thousands of experts for advice on, most people working with resin today are just starting to discover it and try new things. And it is so different from metalwork, yet easily combines with the metalwork I do. Silver bezels can be filled with resin to add color, texture, even images to what would otherwise be a very simple piece of jewelry.
I plan to write project tutorials for working with resin in the near future, but my advice to anyone thinking about trying resin is to experiment. Gather together some bezels, or found objects that could work as bezels, purchase some resin (the brand I use is called Colores and is available from Rio Grande), and see what you can come up with filling your bezels with the resin and small found objects. Color can be added by mixing in colored powders, such as the mica powders used by stampers. Almost any object small enough to put in a bezel can be embedded in resin. There aren't many teachers right now doing resin workshops, but if you can find one, it's a great introduction to the material, and having someone show you step by step how to mix, pour, color, etc. can be helpful.
