Metalsmithing/Silversmithing with Sara:)

[Taogem]

I can see that being a ten blade cutting session for sure !

Must have taken forever..

[thewrightthings]

Sara, great job on the horse.  It looks like it was cut out from a punch or stamp.  Really great design and workmanship.
Keep it up.

[ScarlettoSara]

Thank you Stacy and Raqy and George and SmilingHeart:)
SmilingHeart I drew it free hand and I cut it all out with my little ole jeweler's saw. LOL  BY the end of the class everyone in the class wanted to slap me after hearing WeeWaw, WeeWaw sound for 4 hours straight. LOL That's why I didnt do a close up for it. I still got some sanding to do and now I know why yall say do as accurate as cutting as you can cause cutting is easier than sanding. Same thing applies to preforms in stone I would imagine. Jon (RockNRoll) always tells me to get as close to the line and shape as possible in preform.
See I listen even though I am looking at something else when yall are talking:)

[Stacy]

Your horsey looks great!  10 blades isn't bad for a project like that. With more practice, it will get easier.  I usually break blades when I am trying to turn the blade rather than turn the metal.  SNAP!  I have a connection to a cool saw handle on my blog at www.metals bystacy.1000markets.com .  I made handles for my saws that really helped with control and hand problems.

You rock, Scarlett!

[ScarlettoSara]

Today I was supposed to make a bezelllll....... Dang I hate that word.
I bend and I cut and I cussed and finally I got it pretty good.
Then I tried to put my fire agate in it and it was off not even a hair.
Just a teeny weeny tad. So I got the leather hammer
out and tapped lightly and .......


Oh well.. back to the drawing board ... Its actually a tighter joint than it looks too. But I dont have any stone to put it in. LOLOL

We also did some etching on metal. That was pretty cool.
You draw the design you want to remain the same with
sharpie ( I already told yall I wasnt an artist) Then you can
also coat the metal with fingernail polish which I did at the
bottom and use scribe or something sharp to make designs.
Like the grass:) LOL Then you put it in this etching stuff
called PCB which is what they use to etch circuit boards. 
I loved this. The ladies that could draw made the designs
look Asian or Old world metal work. The area behind my
trees is the part that was etched.
After you take it out of the etching solution you neutralize it with ammonia and water.

Then this last part is a cab I did this morning to show Mark.
I bought this pendant off ebay a long time ago. It had some
cheap looking stone in it that fell out the first week. I have had it
in my to fix drawer. I had this slab a long time too
I think I got it from MaryAnn and Ralph.
I dont know what it is. So I made a cab for my pendant.
Mark the area around the pendant is supposed to be Yak bone.
It is carved and looks to be stained. Its either a Yak bone or a toenail from a Tibetian Monk:)

[Taogem]

Wow Sara... You have been a busy bee !

I hate to see that bezellll  :) setting go to waste. If you would like to either send it to me, or make a paper pattern, I would be happy to shape a stone to fit that for you..

Freebie !  ;)

Getting the feel for doing etching must take a lot of practice. I like your first try !

Also really like the Yak bone piece !

Thanks for sharing these ...

[mirkaba]

Sara I envy you getting to go to classes and learn to make these cool things!! I have a liter of nitric acid in my collection of things to do stuff and have yet to do any etching. when the weather is much nicer maybe. I think you are right it does look like toe nail of Monk. They grow 'em thick up there in the Himilayas. Keep up the good work. ....Bob

[ScarlettoSara]

George you are so sweet to offer to make me a cab. I will give it a shot but if I cant make it work I might take you up on your offer.  Its just that it was my first fire agate in my first attempt to make a pendant and I was kinda proud of it. When it cracked I  turned it over so the stone pieces would fall into my hand and one piece fell out and bounced under the heavy work tables that have lockers under them. Heavy Sigh....I was gonna try to superglue it back:) LOLOL
So aggravating, now I know how yall feel when a cab breaks after you have spend time on them.
Bob, our Professor told us it was ferric chloride (I wrote it down). She said Radio Shack used to sell it in quart bottles. And as long as you washed it down the drain in small quantities  with lots of water its not considered haz mat. You do have to dispose of used material after it quits working as haz mat. It really didnt have much odor. We did have to use gloves when we were rinsing them off.
Bob I am so glad it isnt my job to cut Tibetian toenails:)
I am off to Chicago on Tuesday for a month. Yall be good:)

[Raqy]

Gosh, you have been busy.  I'm sorry about your fire agate, but I'm sure you can salvage some of it. And still make another cab to fit your pretty piece.   Your etching piece is really cool and it sounds like you had a good time making it.  I wanna give that a try sometime soon.  The yak bone piece is pretty too, looks antique.  Good job on setting a stone in that. 

[christopherl1234]

OUCH!!!! Bummer about the fire agate :( I know that hurt. What a wonderful experience you are having! Getting to learn and do so many different things with metal. Good for you Sara ;)

[thewrightthings]

Sara, bet some fun words came out of your mouth when that cab broke.  I know they would have mine.  The etching looks great.   You don't have to be an artist to etch.  Somehow, when it's in metal it looks much more professional.  By the way, you can neutralize the etching solution with baking soda and then safely dispose of it.  Love the Monks toenail brooch or pendant.  I'll see if I can find you some more Monks toenail....but it  will be Bhutanese, not Tibetan.....or maybe a yak bone in the Himalayas.
  So, you are off to Chicago.  Well try to stay in touch on occasion.  The place wouldn't be the same without your humor and creative wit to spice things up.

[Neural]

Really sorry about the Agate there. :(  That was a pretty stone.  I know what it feels like.

Just wait until the day you have on you really like and it up and decides to crack on it's own.  It's like the stone has insulted or rejected you.

that agate looks like it out right exploded.

I'm not sure how big it is, but if per chance it broke into 3 pieces, you might be able to flatten the edges and do some sort of bezel/intarsia combonation.  or do 3 bezels that hold the stones in position. :)

[ScarlettoSara]

Thank you SmilingHeart you are sweet as sugar. Hugs to you Lady:)

Neural Jon:) I will never make another Bezel in this lifetime. That was the most aggravating thing I have ever tried. Maybe one day I might try again but not for a while. I want my left eye to stop twitching first:)
It broke cause I tried to tap it in and then the Professor tells me my bezel wire was too heavy a gauge to bend with burnishing tool so it would have broken or never worked then either. She said never to use more than 26 or 28 gauge bezel wire, is that what yall use?
I think this one I made is 20 gauge NuGold. She said why didnt you ask me (dont you just love people that ask you why you didnt ask?)  I said, Well Profeesser RuthAnn, Sufferin' Succotash!!!! (I have a speech impediment like Slyvester the Cat) 
I am going to miss the cuttlebone carving and the casting part of this class but maybe this summer I will take it again.
Then again maybe not........:)

[Neural]

The bezel wire I use is 28g.

Don't give up on bezels yet.  Just takes practice.  I'm having a heck of a time getting the bezel soldered to the backing right now.  If you use 28g bezel wire (which is pleasantly soft), use 28 or 30g sheet silver for the backing.  This is super important because if you use thicker backplate, you may have issues getting the backing heated enough while keeping the bezel wire from melting.  A way to combat this is to be able to heat the piece from below, which focuses most of the heat on the sheet metal.  as soon as it's a good red (but not bright red) bring the torch up top for a few seconds and watch the solder carefully.  with 28g wire and 30g sheet, it only takes me a couple seconds of heating from the top to get the solder to flow.
Additionally, because it is like sweat soldering, you can sometimes just heat from below, and the overall heat of the sheet metal will get into the bezel wire and the whole thing just works.

Practice practice practice. :)

[tgood1969]

Sara,

Don't sell yourself short; I think you are very artistic and your work is quite creative.  I especially like your etched piece.

Too bad about the fire agate  :'( but I am sure you will cut something to fit in the piece as you did with the Yak pendant.  Your stone choice in that one works nicely.