Collaboration with Cheekytrends

Here is a 8" inch bracelet made with 49 strand beading wire. The focal lampwork bead is made by my good friend Liz who makes these fine beads. Liz self-taught herself this past year to make lampwork beads while minding 3 boys all under 5 years old. The stone is turquoise and the sterling silver is from Karen Hill tribes, this is the first time I've used wiggly silver on beading wire. For more of Liz's work see her website.

Part V, Set the Cabochon

Now we are ready to set the cab into the bezel. The tools needed are: (L to R) triangle file that has two smooth sides, prong pusher, burnisher and ring holder.

Use masking tape around the bezel when using the prong pusher so you don't scratch the ring shank. Now set the stone, you need to do it in specific order. Consider the bezel as a clock, first push (gently, not too hard to displace the cab) at the 12:00, then push the the 6:00 o'clock, by 3:00 then 9:00 o'clock position. After you've done this, do it again at 1:30, 7:30, 4:30 and 10:30 setting. Once done, you can push all around the bezel to ensure there are no gaps and the bezel is set smoothly.

Almost done, now the tricky part, once set, we need to file the bezel setting to smooth it around the stone. See below, how I have a gap at the 1:00 o'clock, I need to go back and file closer, before burnishing the entire bezel to make it gleam. (sorry I've run out of time), so there will be Part VI, the final product to come....

Part IV, Soldering the Ring Shank to the Bezel

Look closely you'll see the shank filed down so the bezel will be flat on the ring shank.


Now the tricky part, I flux the area that I need to solder and then put the bezel on the ring shank. I torch the area to bubble up the flux (the flux when heated slightly acts like temporary glue). Ensure the bezel is in the centre of the shank. Dip Medium Solder (MS) in flux and put on the inside of the bezel. I put 3 MS pallions in this bezel. Slowly heat up the ring shank, ignoring the bezel till warmed up then above the bezel higher than usual (say 8 inches above) heat up the pallions (remember they will bubble and jump around). After doing this, turn off the torch, look closely at the bezel and pallions to ensure that they are laying sort of on the inside of the bezel. Once you are satisfied, the you are ready to solder. Pic below, the pallions lightly heated up in the bezel. Once you have soldered the bezel to the shank you'll see the MS flow, it is important that the solder flow through to the outside of the bezel to ensure that the bezel is firmly attached to the shank.



Last part is to file again the bezel join on the ring shank.

Part III, Making the Ring Shank

Next, once you have the size measured, you need to translate this into the length of the ring shank. Using my handy dandy shank guide. I see that size 4.5 = 48 mm. I have 18 ga sterling silver so I need to add the thickness of the silver to the length of the ring 1mm for 18 ga (approx and double it to 50mm, I always go a little bigger for filing issues.



Now I use dividers to measure out exactly the length.



Once done saw the shank with your jeweller's saw and then file the ends so they are completely straight.



Then anneal the ring shank before shaping.



Once annealed, then put in the pickle.



Shape the ring shank first with the half moon pliers and anneal again, put in pickle pot.


After ring is shaped you need to anneal again because the metal expands again, adjust if you need to (see my ring shank expanded a little so I manipulated the shank again so both sides are completely flush together

Anneal again and pickled then you can flux the piece in preparation to be soldered.

Once fluxed I quickly heat the fluxed area to settle down the flux (it bubbles up with heat). Then take hard solder (HS) pallions (tiny cut pieces of HS, about 2mm x 1mm), dip the pallions in flux then place on ring joint. I put two pallions on the joint. Torch around the ring shank and high above the joint to settle down the flux that was on the pallions. Slowly go around the shank to heat it up evenly. Once heated up (now for this shank it took about 30 seconds) slowly wand over the HS pallions till you see the pallions melt and the flow into the joint. Once the HS has flowed into the joint, pick up the ring shank with cross tweezers and heat under (underside) the shank to "pull through" the HS. Once you see the HS flow through to the other side of the joint, Time to quench in water then toss again into the pickle.




Now comes the filing part. Opposite to where the joint is (180 degrees) file the ring shank down so the bezel fits nicely. Now since this is a small bezel setting, we don't need to file the bezel to fit the ring shank, but to file the ring shank down so the bezel lays flat. This is very important, the bezel must be flat on the ring shank. Below shows the joint that needs to be filed.



The two parts: shank and bezel ready to go together.

Cab Setting Part II, Soldering the bezel

Part II, soldering the bezel.

Solder a pallion of hard solder on the bezel after filing the edges down so they are flush. Remember to use flux
file the excess solder off the bezel

Tada!!! Now you have a bezel, but you now need to make the ring shank.

Cab Setting Part I, Making the Bezel

I made a tutorial for a Jewelry forum I belong to. Here is the link
click here.
Tools you need: torch, cross pliers, tweezers, copper or plastic tongs for pickle, 3 step pliers (last setting isn't bad to get the bezel rounder, or a mandrel size 4.1 mm or knitting needle, scissors or Xuron cutters... charcohol block, container of water (in case you set yourself, other objects on fire).

4mm cab (this one is a sapphire) and small fine silver bezel wire or 26ga fine silver sheet and you can cut your own bezel wire

Cut the bezel wire with scissors, or cutters, a little longer than you need 2mm is a good idea. Shape the bezel wire around the cab, fiddle and fiddle and fiddle with it, till you drop it on the floor, then swear....

Then file and file and file, 1/2" round file is so handy.... 0, 1/0, and 2/0 sandpaper (I got this cool trick from my metalsmithing teacher, Dominique to put on paint stir stick)

ATC for Jewelry Artist Trade

Hi There. Last week was a low creative week for me. Here is the start of the 3 generation Artist Trading Cards (ATC) that I'm making. The first part is my Mom's watercolour that has been chopped up into 2.5 x 3.5 inch ATCs. The back of these cards, I hope, will have a drawing from Emma, and something from me that will be semi-artistic, again I hope. I'll be finishing these ATCs most likely in Switzerland since my deadline is June 30, 2007, no ifs, ands, or buts...

Hippy Chick Bracelet and Mom's Birthday!!!

On Saturday is was my birthday. Lo and behold to my great surprise, I got a Pepe Jumpringer for my birthday from my sweetie. I first couldn't get the blade to cut the rings, but found that I had to really centre it on the metal guide first and adjust it so the blade was perfectly in the middle. I made the Hippy Chick bracelet that a friend of my thought was very "groovy". This bracelet is 18 gauge copper, the big rings are 6mm ID and 3mm ID connectors. I love my jumpringer and sense that chainmaille will be really incorporated into my designs.

And, I got these beautiful flowers from my friend as another surprise for my birthday.

And, my friend Rabbit got me a book on Gems, so I'll be able to go to bead shows and stop pestering her and Meresea by always saying, what's that stone??? The book is "Guide to Gems" by Cally Oldershaw. The pics and info are super in it. We went to Lighthouse park on Sunday and the weather was spectacular!

Finally, it is my Mom's 79th birthday today. Happy Birthday Mom!!! Oh, my Mom got the byz bracelet and wow, it looks great on her wrist!