Layered Cuff. Uncover the. Secrets of a. Elegantly simple fabrication tricks are the key to making this intricate bracelet.

Transcription

1 Uncover the Secrets of a Layered Cuff Elegantly simple fabrication tricks are the key to making this intricate bracelet. by Hiromi Suter FCT-MW Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Carefully placed rivets let a pierced layer of Argentium sterling silver float above a textured in. (57 mm)-wide Argentium sterling cuff. facetjewelry.com

2 Creating a two-layer bracelet doesn t necessarily require master-level skills. What it does demand is solid planning. With a bracelet like this one, you can t simply hope all the parts line up evenly. You ll need to sketch, measure, adjust, remeasure, and readjust until you ve tweaked each layer into a perfect fit. Then you can create and assemble your cuff, piece by piece. When your results look effortless, with that intricate pierced layer naturally hovering over your stone, you ll know that all the preparation was worth it Part 1: Pierced overlay layer Patterning the metal sheet I etched a brass pattern plate, then used it, along with a rolling mill, to transfer a pattern to Argentium sterling sheet for my overlay layer. If you don t have access to a rolling mill, you could skip the pattern and jump right to the piercing. Etch the brass pattern plate. Select a copyright-free image or draw your own for the cuff s pierced overlay layer. Make sure that the image is appropriately sized for your bracelet and that there s adequate room in the design to accommodate your bezel-set stone. Following the manufacturer s instructions, etch your image onto 16-gauge (1.3 mm) brass sheet [1]. I used Press-n- Peel Paper as my resist and ferric chloride as the etchant. Etch to a depth approximately half the thickness of the metal. Clean the brass pattern plate thoroughly with baking soda and water, and dry it completely. Prepare silver sheet for the pierced overlay layer. Cut a sheet of 20-gauge (0.8 mm) Argentium sterling to approximately x 6 in. (57 x 152 mm). Anneal this overlay layer, then pickle and rinse it thoroughly. Roll-print the pattern onto the overlay layer. Place the annealed overlay layer on the pattern plate, and use narrow masking tape to join their edges; be sure the tape doesn t overlap your pattern, or you could mar the pattern. Insert this taped sandwich into your rolling mill [2], and adjust the rollers so that the opening between them is slightly smaller than the sandwich. Pass the sandwich through the rolling mill once to imprint the pattern. The sandwich will curl in the rolling mill. Remove the overlay layer from the pattern plate. Anneal the patterned overlay layer [3], then pickle and rinse it. Using a rawhide mallet and a bench block or anvil, flatten the overlay layer. Piercing the overlay layer I simplified the copyright-free image I used by removing some details that were too thin to work well in pierced metal. Pierce the overlay layer. Using a flex shaft with a small drill bit, drill a hole through each part of the pattern you d like to pierce. Using a jeweler s saw with a deep throat, pierce the pattern [4]. TIP: If you break a saw blade while you re piercing, it s sometimes easier to drill a new hole nearby rather than try to insert your blade through the original hole and trace back through the line you just sawed. Using needle files, smooth and refine all edges of the pierced overlay layer. If necessary, use a sanding attachment in a flex shaft.

3 skip the solder fuse your bezel wire instead Rather than use solder, I like to fuse fine-silver wire to make a bezel. A fused join is virtually undetectable and less likely to split when I set my stone. I use a miniature kiln, such as a trinket kiln or Ultra Lite Beehive Kiln, to preheat my fine-silver wire, and then fuse the seam with my torch. Ensure that you have an even, 1 tight-fitting seam; a seam with gaps will not fuse fully. Preheat your miniature kiln 2 for at least 20 minutes. Using tweezers, carefully place 3 the bezel in the center of the kiln with the seam facing you. Allow the bezel to heat up for a few moments. Gently heat the entire bezel with 4 your jeweler s torch. Gradually concentrate the heat of your flame on the bezel s seam, but don t leave it in one spot for too long. Remove the torch as soon as you see the bright flash (glossy and wet) of the fine-silver seam fusing. If you leave the torch on it any longer, you could melt your bezel. Using tweezers, pick up the 5 bezel and quench it in water. Check the seam to ensure that it s fully fused. If necessary, repeat the above steps until you no longer see any gaps at the join. Part 2: Base layer Texturing and shaping Cut out the base layer. Cut a x in. (57 x 146 mm) piece of 20-gauge (0.8 mm) dead-soft Argentium sterling sheet. Roll-print the base layer with fabric (optional). Select two pieces of fabric (I used sheer organza) that are slightly larger than your base layer. Sandwich the base layer between the two pieces of fabric, and roll this sandwich once through the rolling mill [1]. This will impress the fabric s texture onto both sides of the base layer at once. Anneal, pickle, and rinse the base layer. Hammer-texture the base layer. Place the base layer on a bench block, and use a domed embossing hammer or a small ball-peen hammer to randomly hammer the front and back of the base layer [2]. Then, lightly hammer all edges of the base layer [3] to thicken its edge slightly; this will make it stronger and create a subtly textured reflective edge. Mark the bezel position on the base layer. Lightly scratch the base layer to indicate where you d like your bezel to go; the mark will last even through soldering or pickling. Since the scratch is permanent, this method works best when you plan to cover the scratched metal later with an element like a bezel. To do this, use dividers to scribe a short, light line at the center of the base layer, halfway between its short sides. Measure the length of the base layer, and lightly scribe the midway point where it crosses the centerline. These crosshairs are the center mark for the bezel. Shape the base layer. Using your hands, begin to form the metal into a C-shaped cuff. It doesn t have to be perfect, as this is not the final shaping. Make sure to leave a flat spot on top of the bracelet that s large enough for the bezel. If necessary, use a bracelet mandrel and a rawhide mallet to further shape the metal. Bezel cup Make the bezel. Determine the correct height of your bezel wire. NOTE: You will later place an Argentium sterling insert below your cabochon when

4 4 5 6 you set it. Do not forget to consider this added height when you determine your bezel height. (I used 1 8-in./3 mm bezel wire.) Measure the circumference of your cabochon, and cut a piece of fine-silver bezel wire to that length. Bring the wire ends together so they meet flush. You can solder this seam, using hard solder, or you can fuse the seam, using a torch and a miniature kiln like I did [4]. See Skip the Solder Fuse Your Bezel Wire Instead, opposite. Pickle and rinse the bezel. Shape the bezel to match your stone. Using 600-grit sandpaper, refine the bezel s seam and its top and bottom edges. Check the fit of the stone in the bezel, then remove the stone. Make a bezel cup. Cut a piece of 24-gauge (0.5 mm) Argentium sterling sheet slightly larger than the bezel. Flux the sheet and bezel. Using medium solder, join the bezel to the sheet, forming a bezel cup. NOTE: I like to solder assemblies like this on a mesh tripod, because I can position my torch flame below the bezel cup to avoid melting the thin bezel wire. 7 8 Using a jeweler s saw, trim the excess sheet from the outside of the bezel. Pierce the interior of the bezel to remove all the metal except for a thin supporting border. Use sandpaper to refine the joins and edges until they re smooth. Check the stone s fit again, and, if necessary, use pliers to reshape the bezel walls to fit the stone. Granules Weigh your scrap metal. By weighing bits of scrap silver sheet or silver wire, you can ensure that all the decorative granules you ll make are approximately the same size. Weigh your scrap metal with a jeweler s scale, separating it into piles that weigh g. I needed of these piles to make enough granules to surround my bezel; you may need more or fewer. Melt the scraps into granules. Place the scrap piles on a flat charcoal block, positioning them far enough apart that they won t melt together. NOTE: Because you form your granules on a flat charcoal block, they ll each have a flat bottom, so they won t roll away as you position them on the bracelet and they ll have a larger surface area for soldering. Pointing your torch at one scrap pile at a time [5], melt the scrap until it balls up into a rounded granule. As soon as the granule forms completely, move the heat to the next pile. Allow all the granules to air-cool completely. If the granules are black, pickle and rinse them. Use a plastic mesh strainer to contain the granules in the pickle. Soldering Make sure that the top of the cuff is as flat as possible prior to soldering. If necessary, use a mallet and a bench block to flatten it slightly. You can reshape it later. Solder the bezel cup to the base layer. Flux the bottom of the bezel cup, and use medium solder to sweat solder the bottom of the bezel cup. Center the bezel cup over the base layer s crosshairs. I used two pairs of cross-locking tweezers in third-hands to make sure that the bezel cup was tight to the base layer [6]. Heat the entire assembly until the solder flows evenly. If the bezel cup isn t completely connected, flow additional solder on the interior or exterior [7] of the bezel cup. Pickle and rinse the bracelet. Add decorative granules. Using easy solder, sweat solder the granules in place around the perimeter of the bezel cup [8]. I applied easy paste solder to the flat base of each granule, and then soldered the granules to the bracelet. You need enough solder that the granules will not come off later when you re shaping the bracelet or setting the stone.

5 materials Brass sheet: 16-gauge (1.3 mm), 1 2 x 7 in. (38 x 178 mm) Argentium sterling silver sheet: 20-gauge (0.8 mm), half-hard, x 6 in. (57 x 152 mm) 20-gauge (0.8 mm), dead-soft, x in. (57 x 146 mm) 24-gauge (0.5 mm), dead-soft, slightly larger than cabochon 26-gauge (0.4 mm) or thinner, half-hard, slightly larger than cabochon Scrap: about 6 g Sterling silver wire: 16-gauge (1.3 mm), dead-soft, in. (64 mm) Fine-silver bezel wire: 26-gauge (0.4 mm), height to fit cabochon Cabochon (I used 25 x 18 mm amethyst) toolboxes Sawing/piercing Soldering Bezel setting Riveting Wirework Finishing additional tools & supplies Rolling mill (optional) Etching supplies: Press-n-Peel paper, ferric chloride solution, glass container Baking soda Masking tape Fabric for roll-printing Bracelet mandrel Ultra Lite Beehive Kiln or trinket kiln (optional) Mesh tripod Jeweler s scale Plastic mesh strainer Paintbrush 1 3 Part 3: Assembly Make a reflective insert for the bezel cup. To make a transparent or translucent stone glow and appear brighter, make a reflective insert to place in the bezel cup below the stone. I used Argentium sterling to make my insert, because Argentium sterling is extremely tarnish-resistant, which will help a stone to shine, even if you patinate the rest of your silver bracelet dark black. Cut a 26-gauge (0.4 mm) sheet of Argentium sterling silver to the exact shape of the base of your cab [1]. Use jeweler s files to refine the insert s edges to match the interior of the bezel cup. Polish the insert until it s very shiny. Clean and dry the insert. Shape the base layer. Using your hands, finalize the curvature of the cuff s base layer, carefully creating any necessary curve on the top and avoiding the bezel cup. Use a degreasing detergent to clean the base layer thoroughly. Rinse and dry the base. Shape the pierced overlay layer. Using nylon-jaw pliers, carefully and 4 2 gently begin to bend the pierced overlay layer to match the curve of the base layer [2]. Make sure that you don t create bend lines and that you bend all parts of your pierced design evenly. Once you have the general curve, refine it by using a rawhide mallet to gently hammer the overlay layer on a bracelet mandrel [3]. If the overlay layer is too long for the base layer, trim excess metal from each end of the overlay layer. Patinate both layers. Prepare a patina according to the manufacturer s instructions. Place both layers in the patina until they re very dark. You may have to patinate the layers a few times to get the desired color. Finish the layers. Rub the cuff layers with 0000 steel wool to remove some of the patina, giving the cuff a slightly distressed look. Use a radial disk attachment in a flex shaft [4] to polish the granules. Apply wax to seal the patina on the metal, then use a soft cloth to buff the waxed metal to a low shine.

6 Process photos by Hiromi Suter Set the stone. Insert the polished Argentium sterling insert in the bezel cup, and place the cab on top of that. Using a bezel roller or pusher, set the cab in the bezel [5]. I use a polishing cloth below the bezel roller to protect my metal. Prepare the layers for riveting. This step can be tricky if you rush it. Determine how high you want the overlay layer to sit above the base layer, and adjust the curvature of the two layers until they look right. Make sure that the overlay layer is parallel to the base layer, with the pierced opening centered over the bezel-set stone. Drill the first rivet holes. On each end of the bracelet, you ll use two rivets to connect the two layers. Using a permanent marker, mark where the first set of rivets (those closest to each end of the overlay layer) will go. Using a 1.3 mm drill bit, drill through both layers of metal at those marked points [6]. Set the first two rivets. Cut four 3 16-in. (5 mm) pieces of 16-gauge (1.3 mm) sterling silver wire. Use a file to file both ends of each wire flat. Thread one wire through one of the rivet holes, and set the rivet, using a bracelet mandrel and a small riveting hammer [7]. Repeat to set a rivet on the other end of the bracelet. You may need to use some creativity when setting the rivets; I used a bench block and the side of my hammer head to flatten the interior rivets [8]. Set the second set of rivets. Adjust the pierced overlay layer if necessary. Measure about 3 4 in. (19 mm) directly up from each of the first rivets, depending on your pierced design, and mark a spot on each end of the bracelet for the second set of rivets. Drill a second 1.3 mm hole through both layers at each marked point. Using the two remaining 16-gauge (1.3 mm) wires, carefully set the two inner rivets. Using needle files and sandpaper, refine all the rivet heads until they re smooth. Use a paintbrush to lightly patinate the rivet wires so that they blend in and match the rest of the bracelet. The bezel-set amethyst cabochon peeks out through the floating pierced overlay layer.