Forged Silver Ring Bracelet
This next project was quite the challenge, and took me a few days to finish. I was also working on a repair job for a coworker, so my attention tended to be spread out between the two projects. This project was a lesson for me to learn how to make split jump rings and learn about forging techniques using a hammer and anvil. We started out with 16 gauge silver wire strip which I first annealed then rolled around a straight mandrel to create uniform rings connected in a coil. I then had to saw thru the coils, separating them into split rings. Next I had to straighten the rings so they created a smooth joint (lots of filing, annealing and gentle bending) when the split was soldered together using hard solder. (For those of you who may not remember, there are various grades of solder, ranging from eazy to hard, which offer different melting characteristics and strengths.)
I next had to take the individual rings and hammer them flat on two sides, while retaining the tubular section on two sides. This is a bigger challenge then it sounds, as you have to use a bit of force to flatten the ring, while not smashing your fingers. For the record, I only hit my finger once, and I did manage to not say anything that my Grandmother wouldn't approve of...
After I completed the forging of the main rings, I had to make more split rings for the connecting links between the main rings. I used 20 gauge wire formed into a coil using round nose pliers and then once again cut with the jeweler's saw. Grandma was a tough teacher here, and wouldn't let me use the short cut method of using the wire cutter, as that compresses the metal on one side of the cut, which distorts the shape of the ring, not allowing a smooth joint. I had to cut some of these rings into half, and file the ends until they matched the curve of the main ring at the area where I had retained the tubular section. I then soldered these ends to the main ring using medium solder. Note that I used medium solder here rather then the higher melting temperature hard solder, so as to not disturb the solder joint of the main ring.
When making chains or jewelry using rings, it is best to make them in sections called units. This allows you to modularly assemble the final product, and more easily manage tasks such as polishing and alignment. In this case I created units made up of two main rings and a small squared jump ring (made out of the rest of the jump rings I didn't cut in half) to connect them via the half rings on the main rings. To join these squared jump rings, I used eazy solder so as to not disturb the joints on the main rings.
After assembling a number of the units, I filed any rough spots off using various jeweler's files, and then polished the units. Polishing these units is tricky, and requires a great deal of concentration as the polishing wheel likes to grab the insides of the links and fling them away from you if you are not careful. After polishing the units up, I joined the links with more split jump rings, and added a large spring clasp that almost matched the main rings.
Sorry about the length of this post, but I have decided that perhaps I will use these posts as a bit of a design notebook to help reinforce the lessons and techniques I learned. Hope you don't mind. Please let me know what you think!
In other news, went out and took some pictures with the new camera this weekend. I will try to get some of them uploaded so I can share them with all of you.
I next had to take the individual rings and hammer them flat on two sides, while retaining the tubular section on two sides. This is a bigger challenge then it sounds, as you have to use a bit of force to flatten the ring, while not smashing your fingers. For the record, I only hit my finger once, and I did manage to not say anything that my Grandmother wouldn't approve of...
After I completed the forging of the main rings, I had to make more split rings for the connecting links between the main rings. I used 20 gauge wire formed into a coil using round nose pliers and then once again cut with the jeweler's saw. Grandma was a tough teacher here, and wouldn't let me use the short cut method of using the wire cutter, as that compresses the metal on one side of the cut, which distorts the shape of the ring, not allowing a smooth joint. I had to cut some of these rings into half, and file the ends until they matched the curve of the main ring at the area where I had retained the tubular section. I then soldered these ends to the main ring using medium solder. Note that I used medium solder here rather then the higher melting temperature hard solder, so as to not disturb the solder joint of the main ring.
When making chains or jewelry using rings, it is best to make them in sections called units. This allows you to modularly assemble the final product, and more easily manage tasks such as polishing and alignment. In this case I created units made up of two main rings and a small squared jump ring (made out of the rest of the jump rings I didn't cut in half) to connect them via the half rings on the main rings. To join these squared jump rings, I used eazy solder so as to not disturb the joints on the main rings.
After assembling a number of the units, I filed any rough spots off using various jeweler's files, and then polished the units. Polishing these units is tricky, and requires a great deal of concentration as the polishing wheel likes to grab the insides of the links and fling them away from you if you are not careful. After polishing the units up, I joined the links with more split jump rings, and added a large spring clasp that almost matched the main rings.
Sorry about the length of this post, but I have decided that perhaps I will use these posts as a bit of a design notebook to help reinforce the lessons and techniques I learned. Hope you don't mind. Please let me know what you think!
In other news, went out and took some pictures with the new camera this weekend. I will try to get some of them uploaded so I can share them with all of you.
Labels: Silversmithing
posted by Jay at 2:06 PM
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