Lapidary_Journal_Jewelry_Artist_-_February_2016_

NOTE: Silver soldering requires that the

whole piece be brought up to just below

the melting point of the solder before

concentrating the heat on the seam.

Heat travels through silver very quickly,

so this step helped with the soldering

but also annealed the silver from its half

hard condition.

Solder fl ows to the hottest spot, so

heat the seam the most just before the

solder fl ows. Remove the fl ux in hot

pickle. There is no concern for fi rescale

as the pure metal does not contain any

copper.

Rounding the Blanks

Photo 4 All three bangle blanks are

rounded on a bracelet mandrel before

the forming begins. True up the forms

on the mandrel at each raising or sink-

ing operation to keep the shapes true.

The round shape also aids in cleaning

up the solder.

Photo 5 Leaving the least amount of sol-

der is always the goal of good soldering.

Pure silver will show a color diff erence if

any solder traces are left behind, so use

a #2 fl at hand fi le for the fi rst step on

the outer side and then emery with 320

emery cloth or similar product.

NOTE: The inside can be done with

emery, but it is quicker to use fi nishing

wheels such as Cratex wheels. The

larger ¾ inch by ¼ inch wheels on at

least a ⅛ mandrel in a fl exible shaft hand

piece will make quick work of fi nishing

a concave shape such as the inside of

a bracelet. An alternative method is to

wrap a one inch strip of emery cloth

around a crossing fi le. Always wear a

face mask and a dust mask when remov-

ing metal by abrasion.

First Raising

Photo 6 The two domed bangles were

raised fi rst on the M-113 Doming Stake

(about 20 mm wide) held in H-1L Stake

Holder with a nylon hammer (HMR-7

Insert hammer). The pure silver is very

soft at this stage and the hammering

that creates this doming makes the

shape both stiff er and structurally

stronger than fl at metal.

NOTE: With very curved shapes, it is

Silver soldering requires that the whole piece be brought up to just

below the melting point of the solder before concentrating the heat on

the seam. Heat travels through silver very quickly, so this step helped

with the soldering but also annealed the silver from its half hard

condition.

#1 Des ign

Challenge

To make a light bracelet

from pure silver that

looks heavy and will

stand up to daily use,

achieved by hammering

for both forming and work

hardening.

45

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lapidary journal )( Jewelry artist