Sunday, June 24, 2007

Metalsmithing Class #3: Ring Halfway Done


That's the black mother of pearl shell I chose (which is what was giving me problems that first night) instead of the cab like everyone else (silly me). You can also see the short (yet very pretty) decorative trim which was the result of the problems from choosing the shell.

In my last class, I did wind up adding a spitball to connect the trim, but now it looks like a watch face. Hmmm. I might file some of the ball away so it's not quite so big. After getting a nice smooth surface on the bottom of the trim, I put everything together: trim around the bezel and soldered the whole thing to the sheet metal. The next step will be to file the sheet metal so that it bevels nicely against everything else, it should be seamless.

In my next class, I'll get to play with a jeweler's saw as I make the band for the ring. Two people who had gotten that far in my last class snapped three blades and one of them sawed into her thumb! Oh boy.

6 comments:

Nicole Solo said...

Working with the jeweler's saw is the first thing I did in jewelry classes, and the first real injury I got too! Saws very easily into fingers! No scar though ;) I'm loving your work and your blog, and adding a link to you from mine :)

Kirsten said...

Make sure you wear safety glasses while sawing. Snapping sawblades can go to your face. I've been zinged by one in the cheek, never the eye. I always wore safety glasses anyway.

TrueMirage said...

Breaking sawblades...I thought I was a failure at sawing because I broke so many. Then the teacher told me he breaks half a dozen a day! Probably he was just being nice, but it worked. Ditto the safety glasses - I got zinged by a saw blade that my neighbor broke!

Athena's Armoury said...

Thanks for the warnings! I'll let you know how it goes. I tend to be a bit of a klutz sometimes, so cross your fingers for me.

pamela michelle said...

I always broke the saws in jewelery class. I think it takes tons of practice to get right. But it's still fun

Over The Top Aprons said...

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