SKILLS
Basic metal and wire work
Use of anodizer
TIME IT TOOK
About 2 hours
MATERIALS- 26ga titanium sheet
- 20ga sterling silver wire
- 22ga sterling silver wire
- Sterling silver crimp beads
- Anodizing tape or packing tape (optional)
TOOLS
Basic soldering setup, rotary
tool, ball bur, steel wire brush
tool, pliers, saw and blades,
titanium anodizing setup
(optional)
SOURCES
Titanium, anodizer, and other
titanium supplies including
Multi-etch (optional) are
available from Reactive
Metals Studio. Most of the
tools and materials for this
project are available from
well-stocked jewelry supply
vendors, many of whom can
be found in our Advertisers’
Index, page 93.
What
You NeedJewelry Project
and decorative: it will wrap around
the base of the fl ower and hold it
together.
Tip: When I am sawing out
complex shapes for earrings, I
glue two sheets of titanium (or any
metal, for that matter) together.
It is more work to saw the double
thickness, but I find it takes less
time than sawing two separate
pieces, and the two earrings will
be sure to match. Glue stick is my
usual glue for this. It takes a while
to dry inside a metal sandwich, but
glue stick washes off easily after
sawing, unlike faster glues such as
super glue.
SAW, FILE, TEXTURE
2-5Saw out your fl ower and
fi le to tidy the edges. Note
that the actual hole is smaller than
the one in my template; it actually
works better with a smaller hole.
At this point, you may choose to go
straight to coloring, but I prefer to
refresh the surface (especially if there
are scratches) and also add some
texture. My two favorite tools for this
are a ball bur — ideally a somewhat
worn one — or a steel wire brush.
Both will make the titanium brighter,
remove previous color or scratches,
and expose a fresh surface for
brighter color.NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 45