nicilaskin 5:39 am on June 2, 2015
Tags: bracelet tutorial ( 14 ), dragonfly bracelet ( 2 ), guitar ( 8 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metalsmithing ( 6 ), metalwork ( 13 ), metalworking ( 28 ), nicilaskin ( 45 ), tutorial ( 15 )

Rock and Roll fo your arm

Sterling silver ” Rock and Roll ” cuff bracelet

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 .

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.

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 .

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.

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

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.

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 😉

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

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

nicilaskin 3:57 am on May 6, 2015
Tags: metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metalwork ( 13 ), tutorial ( 15 )

Featured in Imgu.com for the whole month :)

Stuff Made by Imgurians

by imgur

Every day on Imgur we’re inspired by Imgurians who are doing and making awesome things. In an effort to further show off the cool, real life stuff you guys are creating, we’re teaming up with a new Imgurian every month for Stuff Made by Imgurians in the Imgur store (http://store.imgur.com/products/stuff-made-by-imgurians). This month’s creation comes from metalsmith and registered nurse nicilaskin (http://imgur.com/user/nicilaskin) who originally hails from Leipzig, East Germany (yes, before the Berlin wall came down!). Now, she’s a self-proclaimed nomad who travels between Phoenix in the winter, Sedona, Colorado, with summers in New Jersey–moving the whole of her metal shop and the 3,000lbs of equipment it contains with her every time.

Start with an 18 gauge sterling silver sheet.

Cut the corners.

Each letter is stamped by hand one character at a time.

The tiny giraffe is stamped by hand, too!

Hammer in the details.

Tada! A lovely, sterling silver necklace.

Banana for scale.

You can order your very own sterling silver Imgur necklace made by nicilaskin all month long on the Imgur Store (http://store.imgur.com/products/stuff-made-by-imgurians). Be sure to check back to the store every month for a new product from a new Imgurian.

nicilaskin 4:54 pm on March 19, 2015
Tags: art ( 55 ), butterfly ( 4 ), butterfly art ( 2 ), butterfly jewelry, butterfly ring ( 2 ), cute ( 5 ), metal ( 41 ), metal shop, metal work ( 24 ), metalwork ( 13 ), tutorial ( 15 )

fresh from the bench – started a new collection in my shop

fresh from the bench – made a butterfly today

I added a green Peridot

drawing the butterfly on sterling silver

I cut it out with a small jewelry saw

soldered a bezel cup onto the wing

cleaned it up a bit

added some doodles/texture

cleaned it up a bit again

added patina to make the texture pop

cleaned it up again and added a jumpring and a chain

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com

nicilaskin 3:01 am on March 19, 2015
Tags: art ( 55 ), bird ( 6 ), blue flower ( 2 ), cute ( 5 ), diy ( 3 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metalwork ( 13 ), sterling silver ( 2 ), tutorial ( 15 )

turtle doves

turtle dove ring set

I made this ring set out of sterling silver , my hubby is not sure if guys would like a ring in the shape of a bird , but I like them maybe you guys like them too the stone I used is a swiss blue topaz

out of this 🙂

I used 18 gauge sterling silver

drew the birds directly on the sheet

cut them out with a jewelry saw

the saw I use is a 6 inch saw ( distance between blade and the back part ) and 1/0 saw blades – my eyes are getting a bit weak so I have to feel now with my thumb to make sure the teeth are in the right direction

sawed out birds with extra length so that you can make a ring shank

added texture

formed the rings so that the ends meet

the fun part is soldering

I love fire and my small welder ( its a hydroflux welder I got 2 years ago for my birthday – safer than a torch ) normally the flame is green but my flux solution is in need of replacing

soldered rings

the blackness comes from oxidation

after bathing the rings in a cleaning solution

the solution is called Pickle and will get rid of the blackness turning the metal white

now the rings are getting formed

ring mandrel and a nylon hammer will make sure you get a perfect round shape

I wanted to add a stone to the smaller ring

I am lazy so I used a bought bezel cup to hold the stone and soldered that to the ring

almost finished they just need to be polished

I use a so called flex shaft ( dremel with a hose ) which is basically the same thing your dentist has for the drills

cleaned rings

added some black max ( patina )

polished again

added the stone

i saw that the ring with the stone did not have the patina for the eye so I had to do that

ring for her

ring for him

hope you liked it 🙂

nici laskin

nicilaskin 5:34 am on February 21, 2015
Tags: how to make jewelry ( 43 ), jewelry tutorials ( 40 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal smithing ( 35 ), metal tutorials ( 31 ), metal work ( 24 ), metalsmithing ( 6 ), metalwork ( 13 ), metalworking ( 28 ), nicilaskin ( 45 ), rings ( 2 ), silver smithing ( 24 ), smithing ( 30 ), tutorial ( 15 ), tutorials ( 20 ), wedding . wedding jewelry ( 2 )

infinity wedding bands

wedding bands i made

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com

I cut 2 different width flat wire stock to length

5mm and 4 mm width

stamped the infinity symbol

filed the ends flat and formed them so the ends meet flush

add flux and solder

start heating with a torch

quench in water and then clean in pickle solution

the black is oxidation that happens during torching

after the pickle bath

now start forming

use a ring mandrel and a nylon hammer first

after forming the ring you can use a ball peen hammer to make the dimpled texture , polish the inside I polish my rings by hand using different grit sand paper and polishing clohs

done 🙂

nicilaskin 5:29 am on February 21, 2015
Tags: art ( 55 ), cuff links, diy ( 3 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal smithing ( 35 ), metal tutorials ( 31 ), metalwork ( 13 ), tutorials ( 20 )

cuff links

skull cuff links – a small how to 🙂

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com

Cut out 2 discs

you want to make them at least 1 inch or the cuff links will be to small . I use a disc cutter but you can also cut them by hand with a jewelers saw

draw your skulls on a piece of paper and stick to your metal sheet

I used 20 gauge sterling silver for both the discs and the skulls ,I want to dome the cuff links later and when you go thicker they will dome funny

cut out your skulls and punch holes through eyes and nose for the saw blade

then feed your saw blade through the holes and saw out your eyes

make sure the skull fits well into the circle

I am lucky that I can eyeball very well ,I almost never measure ,but please do that before you end up with a too big of a skull for your circle

solder your skulls to the discs

I use hard solder

now is the time to dome your discs

The way to do is ,is to use a dabbing block ,its a steel block with half domed indentations and corresponding ball on sticks …

choose an indentation and put your disc in skull face down

the ball hammer goes on top and the you hammer the end of it with a nylon hammer

don’t use steel on steel as you will damage either your hammer or the ball on the stick 🙂 a raw hide hammer or nylon hammer is the best to use

domed skull circles

now take your links and solder them to the back of your discs

I am lazy ,I buy the links ,its soooo much faster and they can make them better then I can

after soldering clean in your pickle solution until the metal turns white

start polishing

left is the polished one on the right is your non polished one

add patina ( liver of sulfur)

www.nic

now if you want to you can stop before adding patina and leave your cuff links like that ,nice and clean and in a ” raw” state ,or you can add patina and leave them all black or……….

…polish and leave the black in the nose and the eyes and a bit around the skulls

that will give you a nice contrast

Today I made a pair of sterling silver skull cuff links…………

hope you liked it

nicilaskin 1:25 am on January 31, 2015
Tags: art ( 55 ), cute ( 5 ), flower jewelry, flower ring ( 5 ), handmade jewelry ( 35 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal tutorials ( 31 ), metal work ( 24 ), metalsmithing ( 6 ), metalwork ( 13 ), metalworking ( 28 ), tutorial ( 15 )

my project for the day

project for the day

flower ring with ruby – time to completion 1 hour 30 minutes made entirely by hand 🙂

drew some flowers

cut out with saw

formed the flowers

cut out a piece from flat wire and bend it to make the ring shank

joining the ends together

adding solder to the flowers so they can be joined

this is after soldering and welding everything together

cleaned it up and added a bit of patina

added the stone

I love metal 🙂

www.nicilaskin.etsy.com

nicilaskin 5:45 pm on October 28, 2014
Tags: art ( 55 ), handmade jewelry ( 35 ), hot ( 19 ), how to ( 13 ), how to make jewelry ( 43 ), jewelry making ( 35 ), jewelry tutorials ( 40 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal smithing ( 35 ), metal tutorials ( 31 ), metal work ( 24 ), metalworking ( 28 ), nicilaskin ( 45 ), silver smith ( 31 ), silver smithing ( 24 ), smithing ( 30 ), tutorial ( 15 ), tutorials ( 20 )

silver tie bar with brass arrow

draw your arrow on the metal sheet

or draw it on a piece of paper and stick the paper to the metal sheet . I just like to draw the easy shapes on to my metal directly

cut out with your jewelry saw and 1/0 saw blades

clean the arrow with steel wool for easier soldering

cut a 4 inch long piece from sterling silver

I used 18 gauge ( thicker then that and it gets hard to bend into shape )

flux your arrow and add your solder

I use extra easy wire solder ( silver )

fire up your torch

Did I mention I love fire 🙂

heat until your solder “flows” ( melts)

flux your sterling silver strip and put the arrow onto it solder site down

heat again until solder flows ( I took a pic of the red hot metal -its so hot that it is red in color ,much more heating and it would start melting )

clean your strip and start texturing

use a dremel with a buffing wheel ,or a polisher or a flex shaft for cleaning , add texture with a screw driver

flip the strip over and start bending

use a pen or something similar to bend the tie bar around it

bend so that the arrow is a bit longer then the lower part

flip down and put your pen on the edge and press with your finger at the middle

you can bend it a bit more with your fingers

pound with a raw hide or nylon hammer on the right hand ( the bend end )

enjoy your tie bar

nicilaskin 4:47 am on September 22, 2014
Tags: art ( 55 ), handmade jewelry ( 35 ), how to ( 13 ), how to make a bracelet ( 11 ), how to make jewelry ( 43 ), jewelry making ( 35 ), jewelry tutorials ( 40 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal smithing ( 35 ), metal tutorials ( 31 ), metal work ( 24 ), metalworking ( 28 ), nicilaskin ( 45 ), silver smith ( 31 ), silver smithing ( 24 ), smithing ( 30 ), tutorial ( 15 ), tutorials ( 20 )

winged ring- brass wings on sterling silver

wings on sterling

draw some narrow wings on a piece of paper

stick/glue the wings to your metal sheet

I am using 20 gauge brass ( 0.8mm thick ) I usually do a mock up in metal that is cheaper before doing a sterling/gold version

draw your ring shank onto sterling silver

this is 18 gauge ( 1 mm thick )

cut out your wings and your ringshank via jewelry saw and 1/0 saw blades

make sure the ring shank and the wings fit ( I am good with eyeballing things – I tend not to measure )

solder your wings onto the ring shank

I use extra easy silver solder , after soldering quench in water and clean in Pickel solution

add your texture for the wings

cut the ring shank to length

bend until the ends meet flush and solder again

clean in the Pickel solution until the sterling turns from black to white

form the ring on a ring mandrel with a nylon hammer

polish inside

polish outside

add patina to bring out the texture

polish again

leave a bit of patina around the edges of the wings to bring out the design

I think this is more suitable for a male

what do you think ?

nicilaskin 3:59 am on April 2, 2014
Tags: art ( 55 ), butterfly ( 4 ), butterfly art ( 2 ), butterfly ring ( 2 ), diy ( 3 ), how to ( 13 ), metal ( 41 ), metal art ( 40 ), metal shop, metal smithing ( 35 ), metalwork ( 13 ), nicilaskin ( 45 ), ring ( 2 ), silver butterfly, tutorials ( 20 )

knuckle ring with butterfly

Today another easy an fun project – a knuckle ring . Knuckle rings are to be worn – like the name suggests – above the knuckle . I have several that i wear daily , I prefer to have mine on my middle fingers on both hands . They are comfy and are adjustable so very easy to make .

Knuckle rings are the same size usually as toe rings or pinky rings an have an open back ( to adjust them easy )

cut a 45-47 mm long piece from sterling silver flat wire ( i use 3mm by 1 mm thick wire that i get from http://www.riogrande.com . The wire is perfect for toe rings and small ring shanks and I use a lot of it . Cut your butterfly out with a jewelry saw and 1/0 blades from your metal sheet ( i used 20 gauge here ) . File the edges of your wire strip and of the butterfly so that everything is smooth and wearable . Form your wire on a ring mandrel ( size 3 is usually a good size ) . I used a dapping block to dome the butterfly to make it more organic looking but if you prefer you can keep it flat .

Solder your butterfly to the ring shank . Quench in water and then clean in pickle solution . After your ring is clean take your flex shaft and polish your ring . Done . Now you can wear your little knuckle ring proudly on any finger ( remember because we did not solder the ends together the ring is totally adjustable .

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Stuff Made by Imgurians

Start with an 18 gauge sterling silver sheet.

Cut the corners.

Each letter is stamped by hand one character at a time.

Hammer in the details.

Tada! A lovely, sterling silver necklace.

Banana for scale.

Share this:

Like this:

fresh from the bench – made a butterfly today

drawing the butterfly on sterling silver

I cut it out with a small jewelry saw

soldered a bezel cup onto the wing

cleaned it up a bit

added some doodles/texture

cleaned it up a bit again

added patina to make the texture pop

cleaned it up again and added a jumpring and a chain

Share this:

Like this:

turtle dove ring set

out of this 🙂

drew the birds directly on the sheet

cut them out with a jewelry saw

sawed out birds with extra length so that you can make a ring shank

added texture

formed the rings so that the ends meet

the fun part is soldering

soldered rings

after bathing the rings in a cleaning solution

now the rings are getting formed

I wanted to add a stone to the smaller ring

almost finished they just need to be polished

cleaned rings

added some black max ( patina )

polished again

added the stone

ring for her

ring for him

hope you liked it 🙂

Share this:

Like this:

wedding bands i made

I cut 2 different width flat wire stock to length

stamped the infinity symbol

filed the ends flat and formed them so the ends meet flush

add flux and solder

start heating with a torch

quench in water and then clean in pickle solution

after the pickle bath

now start forming

use a ring mandrel and a nylon hammer first

done 🙂

Share this:

Like this:

skull cuff links – a small how to 🙂

Cut out 2 discs

draw your skulls on a piece of paper and stick to your metal sheet

cut out your skulls and punch holes through eyes and nose for the saw blade

make sure the skull fits well into the circle

solder your skulls to the discs

now is the time to dome your discs

choose an indentation and put your disc in skull face down

the ball hammer goes on top and the you hammer the end of it with a nylon hammer

domed skull circles

now take your links and solder them to the back of your discs

after soldering clean in your pickle solution until the metal turns white

start polishing

add patina ( liver of sulfur)

…polish and leave the black in the nose and the eyes and a bit around the skulls

Today I made a pair of sterling silver skull cuff links…………

Share this:

Like this:

project for the day

drew some flowers

cut out with saw

formed the flowers

cut out a piece from flat wire and bend it to make the ring shank