Jewelry Project DELICATE THRILL
PREPARE THE BEZEL
CUPS AND POSTS4
Sand the tops of the post pads
since they aren’t always fl at. The
bezel cups are tiny and hard to hold,
so I put a little sticky wax on my
fi nger, and it worked!5
Sand the bottom of the bezel
cups fl at.6
The bezels for the lapis cabo-
chons were too tall, so I sanded
them to the correct height.SOLDERING
7
Start by preparing the solder.
Place a clean sheet of paper on
the table or bench top. Rub a fi le
against the edge of easy solder to
create solder fi lings.
Set the posts in the holes that you
made in the soldering board. Flux the
bottom of the bezel cups, push theminto the solder fi lings, and set in place
on the earring pads.8
Repeat the fl ux and solder fi ling
process on the bottoms of each
fi ligree shape. You need solder
fi lings on the entire bottom of the
fi ligree, so it holds together.
Set in place on the earring pad. Let
the fl ux dry.9
Solder both earrings. Cool,
pickle, wash, and dry. Check that
the parts are securely soldered.FINISHING
When cleaning or polishing fi ligree,
use a light touch. Too much pressure
can remove the texture from the
fi ligree wire.Why should
you let the
flux dry
before soldering?
By removing most
of the moisture
from the flux
before soldering,
the flux bubbles
less and so moves
parts around less
when you are
ready to solder
them into place.
TIP!
Safety
Always wear goggles and a
face mask. Good ventilation
is a must, and an exhaust
system is an excellent idea.
I keep a fi re extinguisher
beside my soldering area,
have it surrounded by a fi re-
resistant board, and have this
same surface underneath the
soldering area and a fi reproof
board on the fl oor.4
7
5
8
6
56 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
54 Haupt DelicateThrillEarrings_mayjune20.indd 56 3/16/20 3:49 PM