Serendipity. Earrings. Solder one-of-a-kind water-cast components into. truly organic jewelry. FORMED BY CHANCE, ASSEMBLED BY DESIGN.

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1 intermediate metal Serendipity FORMED BY CHANCE, ASSEMBLED BY DESIGN Earrings Solder one-of-a-kind water-cast components into truly organic jewelry. by Addie Kidd FCT-MWON06_ART Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Water casting gives fine silver a purely organic look. Paired with 4k gold and patinated with liver of sulfur, the water-cast components make an earthy pair of earrings. facetjewelry.com

2 One of the best things about water-cast components is their individuality; it s not just unlikely that you ll repeat yourself when you make or use them, it s impossible. While you have some measure of control over the size of the components you produce, all in all, it s an exercise in random creation, and it s up to you as a designer to assemble these random elements into a pleasing whole. The entire process gives you the opportunity to create highly distinctive, truly one-of-a-kind jewelry. Select your components. Lay out a number of drop-shaped water-cast components. Arrange the components until you ve found three pairs (small, medium, and large) of roughly the same size and shape. Don t worry about matching them too closely; the asymmetry of the finished earrings is part of their charm. You ll solder earring posts to the medium pair, and the large pair will dangle below. To add visual interest, you ll solder small components inside the large pair and add 4k gold balls within the small components. Here are my mocked-up earrings; the medium component on the left wasn t as textured as the one on the right, so I put a tiny watercast piece within it that I ll also solder in place []. NOTE: Make sure you select sturdy components that don t have any thin spots thin spots could melt as you re making the earrings. I kind of manhandle the components a bit to make sure that they re tough enough to stand up to wear. I d rather have a piece bend or break now than after I ve completed my earrings. Part : Dangles Pre-solder the small components. Separate one dangle into its three parts: large component, small component, and gold ball []. If it matters for your design, make sure to keep the left and right earring components separate. Place the small component convex-side up on a soldering block. Flux it and place a medium/large pallion of hard solder on top. It s okay to use more solder than you normally would; you won t see it here. Heat the component evenly until the solder has melted just enough to adhere to the component []. Do not allow the solder to flow completely. Remove the heat, and place the component aside no need to pickle it. Repeat to pre-solder the other small component. Join the small and large components. Place a large component concave-side up on the soldering block. Flux the inside bottom of the bowl, and place a presoldered small component inside it. Heat the outside of the large component until the solder on the small component flows and joins the two pieces. If necessary, use a soldering pick to adjust the placement of the components [4]. Allow the assembly to cool, and repeat to join the other dangle components. Form bails for the dangles. Cut two pieces of 8-gauge (.0 mm) wire about 5 mm ( 9 6 in.) long. Using half-round or roundnose pliers, form the wires into matching U shapes. Fit the bail wires. Using tweezers, hold a U-shaped wire against the top of a large 4

3 5 6 7a 7b component. If necessary, use flush cutters to trim one or both ends of the wire until the ends fit flush against the component. Repeat to fit the other bail and large component. NOTE: You may need to angle one or both ends of the bail wires to achieve a good fit. Pre-solder the bail wires. Place one bail wire on the soldering block, flux each end of the wire, and place a small pallion of medium solder at each end. Heat each end until the solder flows just enough to adhere to the wire [5]. Remove the heat and let the wire cool. Repeat to pre-solder the other bail wire. Attach the bails. Using a third hand, steady the assembled dangle component on the soldering block. Flux the top of the dangle component where you d like the bail to go. Grip the bail wire with insulated cross-locking tweezers, and hold it ready. Gently heat the dangle component until the flux turns clear and glassy; this means soldering temperature has been reached. As soon as the flux is clear, guide the bail wire down, touching the presoldered ends to the dangle component. Heat the assembly until the solder flows [6]. Immediately remove the flame, but hold the bail in place until the molten solder solidifies. Quench, pickle, and rinse the assembly. Repeat to attach the other dangle component s bail. Pre-solder the gold balls. Use the soldering pick to create a tiny divot in the soldering block. Place a gold ball in the divot; this ensures that the ball won t roll away. Flux the ball, and place a small pallion of silver solder on top of it [7a]. TIP: If you re soldering gold to gold, use gold solder. But if you re soldering gold to silver, you can save money and use silver solder. Heat the ball just until the solder flows onto it [7b]. Don t heat it too much, or the solder will cover up the gold. Set the ball aside to cool, and repeat to pre-solder the other ball. Solder the gold balls in place. Place a dangle component on the soldering block concave-side up. Lightly flux the interior of the small inner component, and place the gold ball within, pre-soldered-side down. With your torch, gently warm up the assembly until the flux stops bubbling, and check the position of the ball. The ball may jump around because of the bubbling solder; if necessary, use your solder pick to reposition the ball so the solder is down. Heat the assembly, avoiding the thin bail, until the solder flows and joins the gold ball to the dangle component. You may have to use your soldering pick to hold the ball in place [8]. Quench, pickle, and rinse the dangle. Check that the ball and component are joined securely; re-solder as necessary. Repeat to attach the other dangle component s gold ball. 8

4 4 Part : Posts Modify the earring-post components. If you ve decided to add one or more textural pieces inside your medium earring-post components, solder the textural pieces in place by following the same techniques you used to presolder the small components and join them to the large components []. Cut the earring posts. Use flush cutters to cut two pieces of 0-gauge (0.8 mm) sterling silver wire about 0 mm ( 4 in.) long. If the bottoms of the wires aren t flat, flatten them with a needle file. Pre-solder the earring posts. Grip a post wire with insulated cross-locking tweezers. Flux the end of the wire, and place a medium pallion of hard solder on the end. Heat the wire until the solder flows and covers the end []. Allow the wire to cool, and repeat to pre-solder the other wire. Prepare the backs of the post components. Using a flat file, slightly flatten a spot on the back of each post component. This flat spot will ensure that the post has the largest possible point of contact for a secure join. Part : Assembly Cut and fit hook wires. Use flush cutters to cut two pieces of 0-gauge (0.8 mm) sterling silver wire about 0 mm ( 8 in.) long. Using roundnose pliers, form each wire into a tight U. Use tweezers to hold a hook perpendicularly against the bottom of a post component. If necessary, use flush cutters to trim one or both ends of the hook until a good fit is achieved. Repeat to fit the other hook and post component. Pre-solder the hook wires. Using easy solder, pre-solder the ends of the hook wires [] as you did for the bail wires. Allow the wires to cool. Solder the hook wires. Use a third hand to grip the lower back of the hook wire. TIP: When I m filing small components, I steady my file against my bench and draw the component down the file []. I find this technique easier than holding the small component and pushing the file against it. Solder the earring posts. Place a filed post component convex-side up on the soldering block, and flux it. Grip the post wire in insulated cross-locking tweezers. Holding the post wire out of the way, heat the post component until the flux is clear and glassy. Touch the pre-soldered end of the post wire to the heated component, and heat until the solder flows [4]. Remove the heat, but hold the post wire in place until the solder solidifies. Quench, pickle, and rinse. Repeat to solder a post wire onto the other post component. Place the dangle s bail in the hook. Use insulated cross-locking tweezers to grip the earring post, and gently lower the post component to the hook wires. Test that the pieces will fit correctly when you solder. Flux the bottom of the post component where the hook will attach. Holding the component slightly away from the hook and dangle, heat just the component. (Keep the flame away from the post, or it may melt.) When the flux on the post component is clear and glassy, lower the component until it touches the hook wire s ends []. When the solder flows, immediately remove the heat. Don t move the post component until the solder has solidified. Quench, pickle, and rinse. Repeat to assemble the other earring. 4

5 Part 4: Finishing Harden the earring posts. Using flatnose or chainnose pliers, grip an earring post lengthwise. Twist the post for about three full rotations []. This will harden the post and also check your solder seam. If the post pops off, you can easily resolder it at this point. Repeat to harden and test the other earring post. Trim the earring posts. Using flush cutters, cut the posts to the correct length: 8 mm ( in.) from the back of the earring to the tip of the post. Round the ends of the posts. You ll need to round the ends of the posts so that they re comfortable to wear. You can use needle files to file any sharp burs from the ends of the wires, but I prefer a quicker method: using a cup bur. Cup burs have fine cutting teeth on the inside of a concave cup. Place a mm cup bur in your flex shaft, and lubricate it with bur lube. (I prefer synthetic lubricant, because I find beeswax clogs up too much.) Hold the earring post firmly, and place the spinning cup bur on the end of the post. Rock the bur around materials Fine-silver water-cast components: 4 8 4k gold balls: mm, Sterling silver wire: 8-gauge (.0 mm), round, 0 mm ( 4 in.) 0-gauge (0.8 mm), round, 60 mm ( in.) Sterling silver earring backs: suppliers Casting grain, wire, earring backs, liver of sulfur, cup bur (Rio Grande, 4k gold balls (Metal Clay Findings, findings.com) the end of the post for about seconds [], until the end of the post is smooth. Repeat on the other earring post. TIP: To make sure metal pieces are comfortably smooth, run your fingers over the metal. Your fingers can sense much more than your eyes can see. Create grooves for the earring backs. A groove on an earring post lets the earring back snap into place, which helps to ensure that the earring will stay in the wearer s ear. Using the tips of a pair of roundnose pliers, grip an earring post about mm ( 5 64 in.) from the end. Firmly squeeze, creating a small dent in the post []. Open the pliers and rotate them around the post, gripping as you go. Don t overdo it; you only need a small indent. If necessary, straighten the earring post, using flatnose or chainnose pliers. Repeat to make a groove in the other earring post. Patinate and finish the earrings. Following the manufacturer s instructions, apply liver of sulfur to both earrings. I applied mine until it was very black inside the components and any visible solder seam was fully covered. Using a brass brush and soapy water, polish some of the patina off of the earrings. This will highlight the texture of the water-cast components and make the gold balls shine. Rinse and dry the earrings. Add the earring backs. The ends of the earring posts are slightly rounded to ensure that the finished earrings are comfortable to wear. 5