Jewelry Project VINTAGE SWAN
fl ush. On a piece of Solderite board,
fl ux the bezel with Prips, and join with
a couple snips of hard solder. Quench,
pickle and rinse. Check fi t. The solder
join is usually stiff , and you may want
to use the mandrel and a non-marring
mallet to get it to curve completely.4
I’m going to mark the disk with
the fi ne point Sharpie so that
I know the hallmark on the back is
always positioned horizontally. I will
also know where to position the bezel
solder seam — to the south — so that
it is less visible. You can do this two
diff erent ways: 1) You can position
your disk in the center of a quadrant
of squares on a piece of engineering-
grade graph paper and mark the
north and south points on the edges
with a Sharpie, then fl ip it onto the
reverse side to connect these two
marks. Or 2) you can use a precision
machinist’s square to create the line.
Since Sharpie ink is sometimes used
to prevent the fl ow of solder, avoid
marking where the bezel will sit.
Once you are happy with the mark,
use a straight edge and scribe to
scratch the line into the metal.Tip: To save time, scribe an “up
arrow” on what will become the
inside of the bezel cup, so you always
know which way is up — or north.5
Flux the back of the disk with
Prips in a small spray bottle,
heating and spraying three to four
times until you’ve built up a snowy
white coat. Position the front of the
disk on your Solderite board with
the arrow pointing north and fl ux
again. Center the bezel on the disk,
position snips of hard solder along
the inside seam of the cup, and heat
with a #0 Smith torch tip until solder
fl ows. You may need to press edges
of the bezel down gently with a
soldering pick to complete the join.
Quench, pickle, rinse, and dry with
soft cloth. Repeat if you have gaps.6
Check the fi t of your bezel cup
by securing two lengths of den-
tal fl oss on the back of your button
with a small piece of painter’s tape,
then nudge it into the bezel cup. Pull
on the fl oss to get the button out.
Don’t force the button in if the bezel
is too tight; you could break the7
10
5
8
6
9
button.
An easier way: Use components
from a catalog, such as a 30mm deep
bezel cup, bail, jump rings, pearl peg
cup and ready-made decorative wire
to get a polished, professional look.7
To raise my button up, I anneal a
5-inch piece of 12-gauge square
sterling silver wire and wrap it
around the 24mm mandrel to get
it to curl into a circle. Then I anneal
it again, fi t it into the inside of my
bezel cup without damaging the
fi ne silver strip, and mark and trim
with a saw, leaving a slight gap.
Since buttons vary, you can sand
this inner ring down a little or use a
smaller gauge square wire to adjust
the height. I want the button to
sit 1mm below the top edge of the
bezel wire.8
The key to these next steps is to
use as little solder as possible.
So, pause a moment to make tiny
solder chips. Use a brass hammer
and bench block or a rolling mill to
thin hard wire solder as much as you
can. Then use metal shears to cut it72 LAPIDARY JOURNAL JEWELRY ARTIST
70 Lehndorff_VintageSwanPendant_mayjune20.indd 72 3/17/20 9:45 AM