2020-05-01_Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist

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NE THING MY SWAN project

taught me is that you can

create a lot of detail in your

jewelry simply by twisting diff erent

kinds of wire together. Do this with

heavier wire, even tubing, and you

have instant cuff s.

A big secret I learned in making

that button pendant is to start cheap,

working with diff erent gauges of

copper wire and ⅜ " refrigeration

copper tubing, which you can buy for

a few dollars at your local hardware

store. Then, once you get the hang of

“doing the twist,” you can move on

to sterling silver and more expensive

patterned wires. The other secret is

to anneal your metals as evenly as

possible and quench all at once in a

large container of water.

As we say in the studio: “Ssssssssst.”

TWISTED ROUND

We’ll start with round wire we’ll twist

with the help of a vise and power

drill (see close-up, p.78).

1

Begin by bending 2 feet of

20-gauge copper wire in the

middle to form equal legs, leaving

a small loop at one end, then fi t the

legs next to each other in the vise

and tighten well. Slip the loop deep

into the chuck of your power drill

and tighten well, too. Put on safety

glasses and press the trigger of the

power tool so the chuck turns slowly

to your right, as if you were drilling

a hole in wood. If you want to count

the revolutions the fi rst time you

do this, put a small piece of bright

colored tape on the chuck of your

power drill, press the trigger slightly,

and count 60 full rotations. You are

aiming for a nice, tight twist. You

will be surprised how fl exible copper

wire is and how much punishment it

can take.

Note: For these projects, you want

a power drill with plenty of torque.

Don’t use a flexible shaft tool. It

spins too fast.

2

Place your twisted copper wire

and a 12" length of 12-gauge wire

on a Solderite board and anneal

with a #0 tip attached to your air/

acetylene Smith torch. Or use a

butane torch. The 12-gauge wire

will darken, fl ashing blue iridescent

colors when touched by the fl ame.

Hold the fl ame farther away from

the twisted 20-gauge wire to avoid

melting it. Quench all at once by

Do the Twist

3 easy cuff styles made with wire

By Betsy Lehndorff

76 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST

76 Lehndorff_DoTheTwist_Demo_mayjune20.indd 76 3/17/20 9:58 AM