the prongs get pushed with a bezel pusher over the stone
finished ring with the bangle I made too
well actually I made the bangle first a couple of days ago , but I wanted a ring too hope you like it
Flower Ring with Amber
Tag Archives: tutorials
guitar bypass ring
made this today – gold bypass ring in shape of a guitar
I started with a mock up in bronze ( much cheaper )
20 gauge ( 0.8mm thick ) is what I use i bronze or gold as I have a hard time bending things by hand with those 2 metals 18 gauge ( 1mm thick ) I use for copper and sterling silver as both metals are softer and not as springy
I drew the shape out on a piece of label paper
make it 3 inches long as you have to “bypass ” the ends and anything shorter will look odd label paper is sticky on one side so its perfect to transfer shapes to metal for the cut outs
my trusted jewelers saw
I like to use a 6 inch saw frame ( distance from blade to the back of the frame) and 1/0 saw blades – they are very fine and will move well around the corners
cut out shape
I have several hole punch pliers with different punch out sizes – this one is a 3mm – you need a bit of strength to punch so I tend to sit on the end to make it punch though
added some texture
hardened steel punches and chasing tools will last you forever
number 2 file
I filed all edges to make the ring nice and smooth for comfort
foming the ring
I start out with bending the ring around the mandrel with my fingers and then pound it in shape with a non-marring nylon hammer , the head of the hammer has sand in it which gives you a bit more umpf you will work harden the metal when you hammer so it will hold its shape nicely
formed ring
cleaning up the inside with a flex shaft
its basically a dremel with a flexible hose the outside I polished with sandpaper first , starting with a 400 grit and then going finer and finer all the way to a 2000 grit and then ultrafine
finished
rocking 🙂
fresh from the bench
So today I decided to work with some gold filled material . Gold filled metal is a much cheaper alternative than gold but of much higher quality than gold plated . The one I used is 14/20 meaning 5% off the metal is 14karat gold . The core is made of brass. The difference between gold plated and gold filled is the quality and the thickness of the layer while with gold plated you only get a microscopic film of 14k gold the gold filled layer is much thicker and bonded to the core via heat and pressure making it tarnish resistant.
I took a 6 gauge half round 14/20 gold filled wire and cut it to a 6 inch length then took a planishing hammer and hammered with the round ( ball ) side of the hammer until you get the nice honeycomb texture. Both ends were filed by hand being careful not to damage the gold layer and then formed on a wooden ring mandrel. Then I just took a small sunshine polishing cloth to take care of any smudges.
infinity wedding bands
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 🙂
cuff links
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
follow your dreams
sterling silver guitar ring
following my dreams was scary and still is . 4 years ago I had to quit my job as a well paid nurse ( injured my back on the job – did not get workers comb ) The only thing I had was my hobby – metal smithing. 4 years later I am my own boss now and make what I love , even though the ups and down of selling your own creations or following your dream is scary as shit and sometimes you don’t know how to pay rent its still somehow worth it 🙂
enough with the story – here is what I do
starting out with a sheet of metal – 18 gauge sterling ( 1mm thick)
i usually draw directly on the metal
my trusted jewelry saw
I have a 6 inch saw and a inch saw but mostly use the 6 inch ( distance between sawblade and frame ) the saw blade itself is about 0.5mm thick
cut out guitar
number 2 halfround file
I filed all the edges smooth
punching a hole
I use hole punch pliers for most of the holes I need but I also have a really small drill press for when the punch needs to be bigger
added some texture with some older steel punches
I try to never forget to “mark” the stuff I make
maybe one day in 500 years someone will find one of mine and I will be in some antique jewelry book . lol
bending the ring until the ends meet
now comes the fun part
fluxing the joint and adding some wire solder
heating the ring with my hydroflux welder
My husband got me a really really nice toy for my birthday/christmas and any other holiday , its portable and pretty safe to use unlike the torches with oxygen and acetylene
after soldering the ends together
oxidation happens during heating , you an clean it up with putting the metal in a so called “Pickle solution”
after the “pickle bath”
ring mandrel and ring
I used a nylon hammer to hammer out the shape to make it nice and round and to work harden the ring
formed ring
cleaning it with my flex shaft
a flexshaft is basically a dremel with a flexible hose
added patina
liver of sulfur was used – stinks like rotten eggs ( or bad doggie farts ) but leaves a nice dark/grey patina
took some steel wool and polished the surface a bit
done 🙂
here is another angle
hope you guys liked it and if you want you can have a look at my shop
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
easy teaxture if you do not have a rolling mill
fun with metal
easy texture for metal
this is basic metal smithing 101
take a patterned steel sheet
tape a strip of metal that is softer then the steel to the plate
use clear tape so you can see the back . Start hammering with a ball peen hammer on the whole back ,basically covering the back with dimples .You will need some elbow grease with this as this takes some serious hammer time WATCH YOUR FINGERS !!! while you hammer the back the metal expands and gets pushed into the pattern in the steel plate thus creating a negative the plates are meant for a rolling mill or a metal press .If you do not have those tools ,the hammer is a cheap way to get the texture on the metal
here you can see the dimples on the back which look pretty neat too
flipped over you now have a nice texture
my arm is a bit sore now ,but its worth it this took about 20 minutes of non stop hammering
file your edges and form your bracelet on a mandrel
I have a synclastic form for my small metal press to give the bracelet that nice shape , but you can do an ordinary bracelet too 🙂
I made a copper synclastic bracelet today with some snow flakes
copper disc pendant
And because I needed to work out some frustration I made some earrings and a pendant too
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 ?
finally got to make another tutorial – it has been a while
fun with metal – how to make a flower ring
You can always look into your community college ( USA) and most of them have beginners and medium metal/silversmithing courses that are not too expensive
I start out with 18 gauge sterling silver
18 gauge is 1 mm thick . I prefer that thickness as the flowers do not bend but are not too heavy either draw a circle ( use a template – its easier )
inside the circle I drew a flower
using a jewelers saw and 1/0 blades for cutting out the flower
cut out flower
I want to dome mine so I am using a dabbing block
mine is a square block with 30 domed indentations and corresponding hammers – put your flower in a ” bowl ” and take the “hammer with the ball that fits ” using a nylon hammer to pound on the end of that hammer if you do not have a dabbing block you can go with 20 gauge sterling which is thinner and bend your pedals with a pliers
file your edges smooth
take any wire you have
I used twisted wire for the ring shank – twisted wire is easy to do or you can also buy it at riogrande or thunderirdsupply.com
cut the wire to length – file edges flat
take a needle nose pliers
bend your ring shank until edges meet
try to get the ends as close as you can together
domed flower
flux your ring
I prefer paste flux add some solder and…
….start heating with a torch
heat until the solder flows , quench in water and clean in pickle solution
soldered ring shank
now comes the forming
using a ring mandrel and a nylon hammer , shape you ring shank until its round
I prefer my rings to be flat and not round
so I used a planishing hammer for flatten the ring
rounded ring shank
take some metal scrap – flux and then heat with torch
this is to make the little ball in the middle
heat the sterling until it forms a ball
here its red hot metal
turn your flower upsdide down and flux both ring shank and flower
heat with torch and solder together
flip again
flux the inside of your flower and add a small piece of solder
heat again until solder flows – add your ball of molten sterling and again flux and heat
this is after everything is soldered together
clean in pickle solution to get rid of oxidation ( blackness )
after the pickle bath
start polishing ( sand paper , steel wool )
finished
I added the smaller ring to the slightly larger one I already had
hope you liked it
www.niciart.com in case you want to see more of what I make