I am going to start a simple project each week that
any beginner can make that is very sellable. This month, it is going to
be a very simple pendant that will make you $10 to $30 over the cost of
materials. You will need the following materials:
4 inches 12 gauge square wire. Cost about $1.00. (round wire,
triangle wire could
be used.)
1 each 5 millimeter facet stone of your choice, but a dark blue
synthetic
anything that could pass as a birthstone stone
for December.
Cost: about $3.00 or less.
1 each 5 millimeter "snap tight" prong setting. Nothing but
"snap
tight" will do
for this project. Do not get anal on me. Do not
purchase a
pre notched setting or regular prong and begin
to learn stone setting
with this project. This "Snap Tight" prong
setting will have six
prongs. Cost: about $1.00 or less.
I do not have my Rio Grande catalogs here tonight so I can not give you
the numbers, but how hard can these three things be to find?
Project, rules of the project and goals:
Project: Simple square wire pendent with a faceted stone.
Rules:
1. Keep the cost under $5.00.
2. Have only four solder joints on this project, including soldering on
the prong setting.
Goals
1. Learn to make a project for under $5.00 that you can sell for $15.00
to $30.00.
2. Learn to make it, from start to finish in 15 to 30 minutes with a
bare amount of tools.
3. Prove to all those tool collecting, "you can not use a $10.00 torch
for soldering sterling silver!", snobs that you can use a $10.00 torch
for sterling silver to make some good cash to purchase a better torch.
4. Learn to use only hard solder.
5. Learn to set "Snap Tight" Settings for sterling silver.
6. Drive all those on the list that like to spend hours talking about
"quality" crazy. My definition of quality will be if you can make it in
15 minutes and sell it for $15.00 to some one that loves it and is
willing to pay you their hard earned money. That is my test for whether
I made a quality piece. When some one says, "Hey, here is some of that
there cash, I made working my *** off for."
This week's assignments is to
1. Purchase (or use something you already have) the materials above.
2. You the following tools and supplies: If you do not understand the
following go to my site, join the Jewelry Making List for Beginners. Go
to the archives and read the first four free lessons that I sent that
list. They may be on Orchids archives also.
Tools
1. soldering surface
2. torch and a way to light it.
3. tweezers
4. 8 inch bastard file
5. copper tongs for the pickle
6. needle nose (chain nose pliers with smooth jaws.)
7. some way to buff and polish it. Large buffer, flex shaft or "Dremel"
tool and polish compounds. I just recommend white diamond and zam.
OR, a friend that has all the above.
Have fun until next week.
Simple Square Wire Pendent
Lesson 2
by Don Norris
Photos for this Lesson can be found at:
http://www.frii.com/~dnorris/squid.html
A few rules for this project.
1. Only three pieces, the square wire body, the bail, and the prong
setting.
2. Only five solder joints, only three or four would even be better,
but
I will let you have 5. One to solder on the bail, and one to solder on
the prong setting, leaves only three solder joints for the body of the
pendent. If you use any more than that you will flunk this Class!!!
3. NO PRE planning! No drawings, no computer assisted designs, actually
no pre though at all!
4. HAVE FUN!!!!!!!
Step 1
Straighten out one end of the coil of wire, before you cut it. Of
course
if you purchase a smaller piece, you would just straighten it out. I do
this with just pulling the wire through my fingers and straightening it
as I do. It is important to keep square wire straight and from twisting
as you bend it. Photos 1, 2 and 3
Step 2
Cut four inches 12 or 14 gauge square wire (could use round or triangle
wire). You can measure this if you wish, but why bother, it really will
not make any difference. You could use any where from 2 to 20 inches
for
this pendant if you wish! Photo 4
And, by the way, your pendant better not look like mine. Jewelry
designs
are automatically copyrighted the second the piece is done.
Seriously , I quit worrying about whether someone is going to copy
something a long time ago. No real way to stop it.
I just do not want you to copy this pendant at all, these are free
form,
free wheeling pendants. I do not know what it is going to look like
until it is done. I makes it a lot more fun and a one of a kind very
profitable piece. So have fun, but keep it simple!
Step 3
File both ends square with the 8 inch single cut file. Photo 5
Step 4
File a notch some where on one side of the wire. No, I do not care
where. The trick here is to smile when you file! That right, smile! I
have a student that gave me this tip after I realized that a lot of
students, including myself, were really putting a lot of pressure on
their files while filing. The file would catch now and then and drag
the
piece and it was hard to hang on to.
So I kind of, stopped all my classes and we talked about filing. With
silver, you just do not need to put a lot force in to the filling. Just
relax, a let the file slide along the silver. It will cut very fast. So
I told them to ease up and relax.
The next week, Samie, you can find her on my web site in Boulder, came
in, and said, "You know Don, if you want to make sure you do not get
carried away with filing real hard, all you have to do is to tell
yourself to smile!" I have turned this in to "Smile when you File!" It
seems almost impossible to bear down on your file if you try this. I
know it is crazy, but try it!! Especially if your in a hurry, it will
speed up you filing, even though you will be using less pressure.
The trick to starting this notch, which will be like a miter joint in a
frame, is to very gently make the first file stroke. This will begin a
small nick in the silver. Then on each preceding strokes, slide the
file
horizontally along the side of the silver until it catches in this
notch. Then push the file forward. This will eliminate a bunch of false
starts, and unwanted extra notches. Be sure to always hold the file as
shown in the photo. Photos 5 and 6
Step 5
File this notch until you are about 3/4 of the way through the wire. NO
MORE, you do not want it to break off! Flip your file over from time to
time to file each side at about the same angle.
Photo 7
Yes, you could use a triangle file for this, but do not buy one, as you
can see the 8 inch single cut file works great.
Step 6
Check your miter joint, it should be about 3/4 deep in to the wire.
(Only 1/2 through on round, triangle or square wire if you file it on a
corner edge instead of a flat side.) Photo 8
Step 7
Pick a place on the same side or the opposite side of the wire and file
another notch or miter joint. I did it on the same side, so that may be
a tip to do it on the opposite side! For this project, file notches on
only two opposite sides. Photos 9 and 10
Step 8
Bend your piece at you filed miter joints. Bend the wire in toward the
filed off notch! Photo 11
This is the way you get nice sharp bends in wire! If you simply bent
the
wire you would have a real ugly rounded off bend and the inside of the
bend would like you little toe nail, if you did not cut it for a couple
of months. UGLY! When this joint is soldered and filed off, it will be
beautiful, and people will ask: "How did you bend that wire so
sharp?!!"
If you want a bend to be even sharper, do not file the notch deeper,
but
wider. Take more metal off the sides of the notch. This will allow you
to bend it tighter. Photo 12
Step 9
Bend your second bend at the notch. Photo 13. Do you see that it is a
sharper bend?
Step 10
If you want file another notch somewhere. You can kind of pre plan this
on if you like. I did mine on the opposite side. It was easier to get
too. You know you could make all three notches and then bend all three.
This adds even more intrigue!!!!!!!!!
Photos 14 and 15
Step 11
Look at your new piece and admire it! Well in this case, I just hated
it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the #@#@ was I thinking, what am I going to
do
with this?!!!!! I could just start over, this wire could be cut up and
used to make some small square wire ear rings, or I could just melt it
down for balls, or for casting!
Photo 16
I really did not know what to do, but I want you to see that, I am not
all knowing, I can make some real junk! (I usually even sell some of
it!) And, sometimes, I just start over, smiling and saying, WOW, this
is
fun!! It is!!!
Step 12
Cheat! Yes cheat, I did. I hated this so much I decided to put one more
solder joint in it. So if I did I guess you can, and I will not flunk
you! But it will deduct some points. No A+ for sure!
I filled another notch where I wanted it. Photo 17
Step 13
Bend it. Photo 18
Step 14
Check it out again. I still did not like it! Photo 19
Step 15
Make some curved bends in you pendent if you like. I decided to make
one
curve. When making a curved bend in square wire, the trick is to hold
the wire with your chain nose, flat, smooth jawed pliers and bend with
the wire with you other hand. Do not twist the pliers to make the bend.
Just hold it steady, and then move the pliers frequently. I do not use
round nose pliers to make curved bends in wire. They will slip more
easily, so you end up squeezing harder on the pliers, leaving more and
deeper nicks in the wire. Photo 20
