Tag Archives: dragonfly bracelet

nicilaskin 5:39 am on June 2, 2015
Tags: , dragonfly bracelet, , , , , , , , ,   

Rock and Roll fo your arm

 

Sterling silver ” Rock and Roll ” cuff bracelet

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I used a 20 gauge 6 inch by 1 1/4 inch strip of sterling silver for the base and 18 gauge sterling silver for the guitars and the star. The shapes were cut out with a 6 inch jewelry saw and 1/0 saw blades. Personally I prefer the german saws and saw blades as I found the quality to be outstanding , but I might be biased because I am german.

I used a template to draw the guitars right on the metal and then sawed them out .

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After sawing out the shapes they were soldered via sweat soldering onto the base strip then quenched in water and after that put in the Pickle pot to clean the metal from the black oxidation.

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I used an abrasive wheel to quickly file and round the edges – Cratex Medium wheels work very well for that . I like to use my polisher with the wheels because its fast and if you run a business you need to be fast but also have a high quality . I cut down my filing time from about 20 minutes to about 30 seconds .

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When you are finished with filing you edges you can add texture . I have several chasing tools made from hardened steel but I also use screw drivers and other things.

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Now comes the bending part . I am not very strong with my hands and that is the reason why I am using 20 gauge for my base plate, if I use anything thicker than that I would not be able to bend it anymore and would have to use the metal press.

For shaping my bracelets I prefer to use a wooden mandrel and a nylon hammer they are soft and will not leave any marks in your metal

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as you can see after pounding and bending you get a nice oval shape . There are also round mandrels if you prefer a round look . I run the bracelet through my polisher one time to clean the metal and prepare for the liver of sulfur patina . The cleaner the metal the nicer and more consistent your patina gets.

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Liver of sulfur gives you a nice dark gray patina. A word of caution , liver of sulfur stinks like rotten eggs so try to do it in a well ventilated area or your hair and clothing will smell too. Even though my husband always knows when I play around with it 😉

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After the patina I polished the bracelet again an only left the darkness in the pattern and texture

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If you liked the post , maybe leave a comment and let me know 😉

nicilaskin 4:42 am on November 2, 2013
Tags: , , dragonfly bracelet, , , , , , , , , , , ,   

Sterling silver dragonfly cuff bracelet

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I love dragonflies , who doesn’t ? This is a more advanced project and you will need a bit more experience to make this one.

Again I used 18 gauge ( 1mm thick ) sterling silver for that one .

I cut a 1 inch wide and 6 inch long strip from sterling silver . The wings were drawn onto label paper for a printer and then stuck to 18 gauge sterling sheet . I used a 6 inch jewelry saw frame with 1/0 saw blades . The 6 inch saw frame is the one I use almost always to cut things out . Its the one I feel most comfortable with . There are other sizes as well , like 3 inch or 8 inch . The sizing refers to the distance from the saw blade to the back of the frame .  I will make a post later with the basic tools you need first for silver smithing.

Cut out your wings and file all edges . Use sandpaper for the surfaces to prepare for soldering.

 

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I have an odd set up for soldering . My husband and I we are a bit nomadic and we move a lot within a year . So I improvise most of the time with my soldering station . I use an acetylene / air system ( 1 tan of gas) but a lot of metal smiths use an acetylene / oxygen system ( 2 tanks one acetylene and one oxygen tank) the one with the pure oxygen gets hotter but for my purpose the one tan system is more than enough.

 

Flux your wings and add solder. Heat with torch until solder flows ( when the metal gets red hot) . Quench in water . Now most would pickle their wings to clean them but I usually just go to the ext step and flux my base ( strip ) . Put the wings solder side down onto your base and start heating again. I use a charcoal block which retains heat and makes soldering easier and it also helps with oxidation during heating .Mae sure you have no gaps . Quench in water and put in a pickel bath to clean.

 

 

 

 

 

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Make sure all animals and children are safe when you play with fire !!!!  🙂

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take your bracelet out of the pickel bath and start adding texture

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Start forming your bracelets around a mandrel first with your hands and then with a nylon hammer or rawhide mallet.

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pre polish and add patina . Polish again so that the high points are silver and the textures remain black. Wear your bracelet with pride or give it as a gift.

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you can always ask me questions or you can visit my shop at

 

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com

 

thanks for reading—-nici