Metal clay. Skill Set. Whether you want to learn how to bezel-set a cabochon, Step Up Your. earring project.

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1 PROJECT INTERMEDIATE METAL CLAY Step Up Your Metal clay Skill Set Improve your craft à la carte in this technique-packed earring project. by Deb Fitz FCT-CRON0216_ART48 Whether you want to learn how to bezel-set a cabochon, create textured dome forms, add notes of gold to your next metal clay project, or solder earring posts to fired metal clay, this project will teach it all. The dome shape has become a standby form for metal clay artisans. By incorporating a bezel-set cabochon and keum-boo accents, you can take this shape into new territory. I use a recessed- bezel construction technique with traditional fine-silver bezel wire to showcase my favorite matched cabochons. When I add gold foil to create a keum-boo pattern, I use a simple solder operation to attach premade earring posts to my earrings. If I skip the keum-boo, I skip the soldering and attach my posts with metal clay oil paste and then fire the earrings in my kiln. (Keum-boo is rendered invisible by the sustained heat of a kiln.) 2010 Kalmbach Publishing Co. This material may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Sterling silver posts on the backs of these ¾-in. (19 mm)-diameter metal clay earrings make them comfortable to wear. facetjewelry.com

2 Part 1: Bezels Shape the bezels. Wrap 28-gauge (0.32 mm) fine-silver bezel wire around a round 12 mm cabochon, and use a fine-tip marker to mark where the wire overlaps [Photo]. Using flush cutters, cut the wire at the mark. Check the fit of the bezel wire around the cabochon; the wire ends should meet flush and the stone should be snug but not so tight that you can t remove it from the bezel. If necessary, recut or file the wire ends until they meet squarely. Gently push the ends of the wire past each other. Then gently pull the ends apart, allowing the tension to hold them squarely together with no gaps. Repeat to shape a second bezel for a matching round 12 mm cabochon. NOTE: Shape the bezels separately for each stone; matched cabochon pairs can have slight differences in size. Then be sure to keep track of which bezel belongs with which cabochon. Apply metal clay paste. Use a fine-tip paintbrush to apply metal clay paste to the join of each bezel. Use just enough paste to cover the seam. Allow the paste to dry completely (see the Metal Clay Dryness chart, right). Fire the bezels. Fire the bezels according to the metal clay manufacturer s instructions. Allow the bezels to cool completely. Part 2: Metal clay Components Each earring has three metal clay components: a domed front panel, a domed ring that holds the bezel, and a back panel that you ll attach an earring post to [Figure 1]. Prepare your tools. Using natural hand balm or olive oil, lightly oil a texture stamp, a flexible Teflon sheet, four small lightbulbs, a plastic roller, and your hands. Prop up the lightbulbs by setting them in a small cup. Roll out and texture the clay. On the flexible Teflon sheet, roll out 25 g of metal clay to 3 playing cards thick. Apply a texture to the clay, using your texture sheet. Make the front panels. Using a craft knife and a drafting template, cut out two in. (29 mm) circles from the textured metal clay sheet [1]. Carefully transfer each circle to a lightbulb [2]. Allow the domed front panels to air-dry until they re mostly dry. Determine the inside diameter of the domed rings. You ll make a metal clay ring to surround the bezel for each earring. The inside diameter of the rings must take into account the shrinkage of the clay you re using. (For example, the bezels around my 12 mm cabochons require a ring opening that s 15 mm/ in. in diameter to account for the approximately 12 percent shrinkage of the clay that I m using.) 1 Make the rings. Use a craft knife and a drafting template to cut two 5 mm ( 3 16-in.) circles from the metal clay sheet. Then, using the template, cut out the appropriate-sized circle from the center Metal Clay Dryness Wet Semi-dry Mostly dry Completely dry A lot of moisture; very pliable Some moisture; firm, holds its shape Nearly devoid of moisture; rigid No moisture; can be fired 2 3 of each clay circle to make a ring [3]. Carefully transfer the rings to a lightbulb. Allow the rings to air-dry until they re mostly dry. TIP: When you re cutting and shaping several components from a sheet of wet clay, be sure to hydrate the excess clay and store it in an airtight container. Make the back panels. Roll out metal clay to 2 cards thick and 1¼-in. (32 mm) square. Use the template to cut out a 1-in. (25.5 mm) circle. Cut out a ¼-in. (6.5 mm) strip from the center of the circle to make the two flat back panels [4]. Allow the flat panels to air-dry until they re mostly dry. Make holes in the front panels. Use a pencil to mark the center of one front panel. Using a 1.5 mm drill bit, carefully hand-drill a hole through the mark. Use a round file to enlarge the hole to ¼ in. (6.5 mm) [5]. Repeat to make a hole in the other front panel.

3 Refine the components. Use an emery board or sanding sponges to smooth and refine the edges of the components. Assembly Attach the back panels to the front panels. Place one front panel textureside down on your work surface. Using a fine-tip paintbrush, apply a bead of metal clay paste along the edge of the front panel as shown [6a]. Use the tip of a clean paintbrush to moisten the edge of one back panel [6b]. a b Press the moistened side of the back panel into the paste, aligning the edges of the two components. Dampen a finger with water and run it along the join to smooth the edges. Allow the assembly to dry completely. Use metal clay paste and a syringe to fill in any gaps along the join. Smooth the join with a dampened finger. Allow to the assembly to dry completely. Refine the edges with an emery board or with sanding sponges. Repeat the steps to join and smooth the second pair of front and back panels. materials Fine-silver bezel wire: 28-gauge (0.32 mm), 3 x 1 8 in. (76 x 3 mm) 2 12 mm round cabochons Metal clay paste Metal clay: low-shrinkage formula, 25 g Gold foil Metal clay oil paste (optional) 2 sterling silver earring posts with pads 2 sterling silver ear nuts additional tools & supplies 4 small lightbulbs Drafting template: circles Hotplate Klyr-Fire enameling adhesive Leather gloves Soldering station: handheld butane torch, fire-resistant surface (soldering pad, firebrick, or charcoal block), pickle pot with pickle, copper tongs, easy paste solder Fine-silver bezel Domed ring Domed ring Attach a ring. Using a fine-tip paintbrush, apply a layer of paste to the back (untextured side) of one ring. Using a clean paintbrush, dab some water on the front of one front panel. Position the ring pasteside down onto the center of the front panel, and press down gently. Use a clean paintbrush to run a bead of water around the edges of the ring. Use a dry paintbrush to remove any excess paste. Figure 2 Domed front panel Flat back panel Attach a bezel. Coat one edge of a bezel with paste, and center the bezel within the ring [Figure 2]. Use the paintbrush to run a bead of water between the outside wall of the bezel and the inner edge of the ring. Use a clean paintbrush to remove any excess paste [7]. Allow the assembly to dry completely [Figure 3]. Repeat the steps to attach the remaining ring and bezel to the other assembly. Figure 1 Figure 3

4 Process photos by Deb and Michael Fitz Part 3: Keum-boo and finishing 9 Fire the assemblies. Arrange strips of fiber blanket into a square on a kiln shelf and fill the square with vermiculite. Or, fill a kiln-safe bowl with vermiculite. Set the earring assemblies bezel-side up on the vermiculite [8]. Place the shelf (or bowl) in the kiln, and fire according to the manufacturer s instructions. Allow the earring assemblies to cool completely. Check the bezel height. Place the cabochons in their respective bezels to check the height of the bezels [9]. If the bezels are too high for the stones, remove the stones; then use a flat file to gently file off enough metal to make the bezels the proper height. NOTE: If you don t want to add keum-boo accents, skip to part 4. Prepare your materials. Set a hotplate on high and allow it to preheat. Use scissors to cut gold foil into strips, deckling the edges to add interest to the shapes. Apply adhesive to the silver. Using a fine-tip paintbrush, apply Klyr-Fire to the areas of the earring assemblies where you want to add the strips of gold foil. NOTE: When I apply the Klyr-Fire, I add some to the side and lip of the bezel to help keep the gold foil strips in place. Position the gold foil strips. Position the gold strips on the Klyr-Fire. Using your fingers, gently press the foil strips into the textured surfaces, over the edges of the assemblies, and onto the bezels. Bond the gold foil to the silver. Put on protective leather gloves, and use tweezers to place the assemblies bezelside up on the hotplate. Allow them to heat for about 5 minutes. Touch the tip of an agate burnisher to the center of a foil strip to tack it to the silver; the foil should begin to bond to the silver. NOTE: If the foil does not stick to the silver, allow the earring assemblies to heat for a minute or two longer. Working from the center of the foil strip outward, steady one assembly with tweezers and use the tip of the burnisher to burnish the foil to the silver [1]. Repeat with the other assembly. Remove the assemblies from the hotplate, and allow them to cool completely [2]. Prefinish the assemblies. Prefinish the assemblies with soapy water and a brass brush. Then tumble the assemblies in a tumbler with steel shot and burnishing compound for 1 hour. NOTE: The tumbling will reveal any areas of gold foil that didn t bond to the silver. Touch up any missing spots of gold foil, using the same application steps you used to bond the gold foil to the silver.

5 1 2 3 Part 4: Earring posts and stone setting If you didn t add keum-boo accents, see Add Earring Posts Without Soldering, below right. Burnish the back panels. Use a burnisher to thoroughly burnish the surface of each back panel where you ll be attaching the earring posts. TIP: Fired metal clay is more porous than milled metal and, therefore, absorbs solder. Before soldering onto fired metal clay, first compact its metal structure by burnishing it thoroughly. This creates a better solder join. Position the earring-post findings on the back panels. Place the earring assemblies face down on a soldering brick. Apply easy paste solder to the pads of the post findings, and center the pads on the earrings back panels [1]. Solder the posts. Use a butane torch to heat the solder until it flows. Quench, pickle, rinse, and dry the assemblies. Work-harden and finish the assemblies. To work-harden the posts, grasp the end of each in nylon-jaw pliers and rotate the pliers a couple of times. Tumble the add earring posts without soldering Follow these steps to learn how to use oil paste to join earring-post findings to fired metal clay pieces. NOTE: Don t use this solder-free kiln method to join earring posts to metal pieces that have keum-boo accents; the heat of the kiln will make the gold color disappear. To maximize the strength of the join, do not tumble or finish the fired metal clay before you attach the findings. Use a small flat file or coarse sanding sponge to rough up the surface of the back panels of each earring assembly; metal clay oil paste bonds better to a surface that has some texture. Apply oil paste to the bottom of the earring post pads. assemblies in a tumbler with steel shot and burnishing compound. Set the stones and polish the earrings. Place a cabochon in its respective bezel. Use a bezel pusher to press the bezel wall against the stone [2]. Using the curved side of your agate burnisher, smooth the edges of the bezel [3]. Using polishing papers and working from the coarsest to finest grit, polish the silver portion of the earring, avoiding any keum-boo accents. Repeat to complete and polish the other earring. Carefully position and press the post pads against the center of the back panels. Let the oil paste dry completely. Fire the assemblies according to the manufacturer s instructions. Allow the assemblies to cool completely. Pickle, rinse, and dry the assemblies. To work-harden the posts, grasp the end of each post in nylon-jaw pliers and rotate the pliers a couple of times. Use a brass brush and soapy water to give the assemblies a brushed finish. Or, for a shiny finish, tumble the assemblies in a tumbler with steel shot and burnishing compound for a couple of hours. To complete the earrings, follow the stone-setting instructions in part 4, above.