Silversmithing and other news...
Finally went over and took my third silversmithing lesson today. We got a bit delayed, as my grandfather fell and broke his hip last week, but he is now home, resting fairly comfortably, and life is starting to return back to normal. Sat down with my grandma, and worked on my third project, setting a stone in silver. This project is a real challenge, as working with stone and silver is a challenge, as you have to work on precisely fitting bezel stock and stone together, all while closely managing your heat and tools to prevent damaging the stone or the bezel stock.
The bead work around the outside of the stone actually has to be soldered on before you can set the stone. If you were to try to heat the stone to the temperatures required to flow the solder, you would likely experience cracks in either the stone or the silver due to the differences in material expansion when exposed to heat.
One of the new processes I used was to set the stone in the bezel. You use a rocker tool and burnisher to push, smooth and stretch the bezel metal into place. The bezel material is actually a very thin strip of 99% pure silver, which makes it extremely flexible and malleable. The burnishing tool basically smooths and stretches the silver into position, and allows for a smooth intersection between rock and silver.
Anyway, I am sure I have bored you enough with the technical details... If you like what you see, please let me know! I would love to hear your feedback on these projects...
In other news, the wife went to Idaho to visit her sister, so I am getting to do the bachelor thing for the next few days, so I figure the next few days might consist of a lot of beer and baseball!
Rhodonite cab set in sterling silver.
The bead work around the outside of the stone actually has to be soldered on before you can set the stone. If you were to try to heat the stone to the temperatures required to flow the solder, you would likely experience cracks in either the stone or the silver due to the differences in material expansion when exposed to heat.
One of the new processes I used was to set the stone in the bezel. You use a rocker tool and burnisher to push, smooth and stretch the bezel metal into place. The bezel material is actually a very thin strip of 99% pure silver, which makes it extremely flexible and malleable. The burnishing tool basically smooths and stretches the silver into position, and allows for a smooth intersection between rock and silver.
Anyway, I am sure I have bored you enough with the technical details... If you like what you see, please let me know! I would love to hear your feedback on these projects...
In other news, the wife went to Idaho to visit her sister, so I am getting to do the bachelor thing for the next few days, so I figure the next few days might consist of a lot of beer and baseball!
Labels: Silversmithing
posted by Jay at 12:49 AM
1 Comments:
Okay, I'm way too jealous now! Can't even think of anything suitable to say, plus I can't type well when my fingers are as green with envy as the rest of me. Must control self.... must think of glass shop in my basement already full of tools... You really really shouldn't tell me about all the tools used to do this stuff- I just can't stand it and may run screaming to the nearest hardware store and just max out all my credit cards- and it will be all your fault!
You lucky dog, you! I'm thinking you will be extremely good at this, with your eye for design, detail, and balance. Show us more!!
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