http://www.ArtJewelryMag.com 75N
o matter what medium you work in, there are some jewelry-
making techniques that are so essential, you’ll use them in
nearly every project you make. These tutorials will walk you through
the beginner techniques that you’ll need to learn in order to make
the projects in this issue.metalworking techniques
See these FREE videos at
http://www.artjewelrymag.com/videos!
■ Basic sawing of metal
■ Pickle basics
■ Annealing metal
■ Sweat soldering
■ Using a dapping block
■ Opening and closing a jump ring
■ Making jump rings
■ How to cut jump rings with flush cutters
■ How to cut jump rings with a jeweler’s
saw, registered versionSubscribers: This FREE video is just for you!
Watch it at http://www.artjewelrymag.com/
subvideos.
■ How to cut jump rings with a jeweler’s
saw, subscriber versionBASICS^ | ESSENTIAL BEGINNER TECHNIQUES
SOLDERING
Use 400-grit sandpaper to clean the metal you plan to solder. Solder
won’t fill gaps; surfaces must be clean and in complete contact with
each other for solder to flow. Apply flux to the metal to prevent oxida-
tion and to help solder flow. Heat the entire piece evenly, not just the
solder, and keep the torch moving in a circular motion.
If there is more than one solder join in a piece, solder the first using
hard solder, the second using medium solder, and the third using easy
solder, as hard solder has the highest melting point and easy solder has
the lowest. To keep the solder in previous joins from flowing when you
heat the metal again, apply antiflux to those areas.
During soldering, the solder will flow toward where the heat is the
greatest. If your solder is flowing in the wrong direction, adjust the
direction of your flame.
Once the solder flows, quench the piece in water. Then, place it in a
pickle solution to remove oxidation and flux residue. Rinse the piece in
clean water.Select a saw blade that is the cor-
rect size for the gauge (thickness)
of metal that you are going to cut.
To thread a saw blade, insert
the blade with the teeth of the blade
facing down and out, away from the
frame, into the top wing nut of the
saw frame. Tighten the wing nut.
Brace the handle in the hollow of your
shoulder, and apply pressure to the
saw frame against your bench pin.
Maintaining pressure, insert the bot-
tom of the blade into the wing nut
closest to the handle, and tighten
the wing nut [Figure 1].
The blade should be taut and
should make a high-pitched “ping”
sound when you pluck it with your
thumbnail. If you get a dull “twang”instead, reinstall your blade while
putting pressure on the saw frame.
Then, lubricate the blade.
When sawing, maintain an erect
sitting posture with the top of your
workbench at upper chest level.
Slouching or having your work too
low causes back and wrist strain
and leads to broken blades.
To saw, grip the saw frame loose-
ly. Use long, smooth motions, using as
much of the blade as possible. The
blade will work best when it’s per-
pendicular to the metal [Figure 2].
Putting excessive pressure on the saw
frame will make you work harder. Turn
corners by sawing in place while slow
ly turning the metal; trying to turn
the saw will break the blade.SAWINGFigure 1Figure 2PICKLE
Pickle is a
mildly acidic
solution
that cleans
oxides from metal by removing small amounts
of copper. It is generally sold in powdered form
and is available from jewelry supply companies.
To make pickle, follow the manufacturer’s in-
structions to mix the powder with water in a
pickle pot dedicated to non-food use.
If steel (binding wire or tweezers) comes
in contact with used pickle, it can cause a
chemical reaction that will copperplate what-
ever metal is in your solution. To prevent this,
use copper or plastic tongs to place metal in
the solution.