2020-05-01_Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist

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The largest step of my bracelet

mandrel is 8". I bend the

copper cuff around the mandrel,

tapping it into shape with a non-

marring mallet. Then I mark a 1.25"

opening with the Sharpie, and trim

on a bench pin with the jeweler’s

saw and lots of lube.

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I use a ring fi le and sanding

sticks to smooth the ends,

leaving the tubing holes slightly

visible as a reminder that the metal

came from a hardware store.

An easier way: I grind cuff ends

smooth using a 3M medium grit

Scotch-Brite wheel, followed by a

light sanding.

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If you have a bench mounted

polisher, use the Sharpie

to mark a fresh muslin buff “for

copper use only.” Caution: Follow

standard buffi ng machine safety

procedures by putting on safety

glasses. Remove dangling scarves or

jewelry, roll up your sleeves, and tie

your hair back. Turn on the machine,

apply Fabuluster compound to the

buff and polish the cuff. Note, these

machines love to grab cuff shapes

away from you, so hold the metal

securely as pictured. Don’t loop your

fi ngers through. Scrub well with hot,

soapy water to remove polishing

compound.

Don’t have a bench polisher?

Process in a shot-fi lled tumbler setup

to burnish. Then use a rotary tool and

smaller Scotch Brite disks and buff s

on mandrels to fi nish.

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You can make other variations

of this tube and wire cuff.

In the photo, left to right are the

copper tubing and wire project

bracelet; 3.8mm OD sterling silver

tubing with 12-gauge copper wire;

and 2.89mm sterling silver tubing

with 12-gauge sterling silver wire.

You’ll discover that copper and silver

anneal diff erently and twist diff er-

ently. I stick-soldered the ends of the

sterling silver tubing closed.

Tip: Plan your soldering. Once you

have sealed the ends of your tube

cuff with solder, you have created a

hollow, closed form. If you do addi-

tional soldering on the cuff, the heat

could cause the air inside the cuff to

expand, popping the metal.

HALF-ROUND, BEADED

This is probably the prettiest pattern

and the easiest to make. But you

aren’t going to twist both these

wires together. Instead, you will twist

one and wrap the second.

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Anneal a 1-foot piece of

8-gauge half-round sterling

silver wire and place fl at side facing

down in the vise; the rounded side

should be up. Do not anneal the

round, 1.5mm bead wire. It should

already be dead soft.

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Fit the other end in the drill

chuck and again, as if drilling

a hole in a piece of wood, twist the

half-round wire about 10 rotations.

Here’s where you will really see

that sterling silver wants to twist

unevenly. Because of the distribution

of force along the metal, the twists

are smaller at the chuck and vise

and bigger in the middle of the wire.

So, remove the wire, anneal portions

that need more twists, keeping the

heat away from areas that are too

twisted. Then reverse your wire

between the chuck and the vise and

try twisting again. You want loose,

even twists — about two twists per

inch. Anneal again.

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After trimming the half-round

sterling silver twist to about

6" inches for a woman’s cuff , gently

wrap the soft 1.5mm bead wire

around, pressing it into the channel

with your thumb. Gently form into a

cuff on your step mandrel and solder

the two wires together at each end

of the cuff.

If you want to use thicker, 2.3mm

round bead wire, make fewer twists

in your half-round 8-gauge wire — as

few as one per inch. Then anneal both

wires and wrap. The heavier bead

wire is much stiff er and will break if

your twists are too tight.

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From left to right: 1) twisted

8-gauge half round makes

an attractive cuff without additional

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Jewelry Demo DO THE TWIST

80 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST

76 Lehndorff_DoTheTwist_Demo_mayjune20.indd 80 3/17/20 10:00 AM