November Wire Wrapper Challenge

[rockbrain]

Not sure how I screwed up the names, I guess I'm trying to live up to my screen name, but credit where credit is due. It's a beautiful wrap Patty!

[liveoak]

Thank you rockbrain  

Patty

[susand24224]

liveoak Way to go Patty! You picked a perfect cab to dress up a bit--without overwhelming. I like both the "frame" and the swirl, heck, I even like the back. And most important, it sounds like you had a lot of fun!

[susand24224]

Done! So here are the gory details. My first plan was derailed because I didn't want a carbon copy of Gary's wrap, besides his executed plan was better than my plan in the making. On to another cab. The original plan was to put a hammered braid (small) down the middle. But while doing this, I remembered how much trouble I went to to keep the natural "line" in the cab straight down the middle. The line kept moving and I kept grinding, and so on and so forth. So on to Plan B with Cab B since I just couldn't cover up that line. I learned several important lessons from this process: (1) There is only so much one can hammer a braid made of 20-gauge copper before it breaks. (2) Two of the bail (hammered) wires were circled front to back; two were circled back to front. If one does this, be prepared to spend a ridiculous amount of time evening them up -or- convince yourself that they look just fine uneven (I used both plans). This thing has not been tumbled; I figured it best to correct all the flaws that don't show up prior to photos highlighting every mistake, tool mark, wobble, etc. Front, back and one lousy photo to show size:





PS: Does anyone know what this cab is? The "lighter" areas appear a bit translucent.

[liveoak]

Nov 28, 2023 17:39:01 GMT -5 susand24224 said:

liveoak Way to go Patty! You picked a perfect cab to dress up a bit--

Thank you Susan- it was fun, now I just need to make more plain cabs to do other variations !

Maybe after the Christmas presents are made

Patty

[liveoak]

That's very interesting susand24224, I like it.

I like the center line on the cab, that's an interesting detail & how the top flattened wires cross exactly there .

I also like the loose top bail wires - it's interesting and has me intrigued how the heck that is holding it all together, as I don't see any tighter ones underneath. It must be magic.

Patty

[rockjunquie]

Interesting cab and interesting wrap. I like how the wires below the bail lines up with the line in the stone. I like the bail wraps, too. They make a halo. But, I'm also wondering how it works.  Can't help with the stone ID, sorry.

[susand24224]

liveoak rockjunquie Re: the bail wires. The two that circle from back to front go underneath the top front wires and attach at the back. The two that circle from front to back are "held" by the loose wrap-around (not hammered) wires and then curve down (as do the ones that go underneath from the front). I know it is a mess, but I decided to just try out some different stuff to see what happened and then clean it up as best I could . . .or couldn't. I'm glad for the experience that came from this since next time will be better. I really *don't* like all the wires on the front, and also don't like that the flat top of the cab is lost in the wire work. I tried to correct this by pulling the top side wires down a bit so the corners would show, but it seems that just made it worse. I would have liked (original "plan") for some of the wires to lay flat across the top going into the bail, but couldn't do that after the way I planned the bail. My main focus was getting the top hammered wires to spread, and although I achieved that, the way I did it made some of my other desires impossible. I didn't want to wrap the wires and *then* make the bail since I wanted this to be a "unisex" design and that would have lifted the bail too much, plus, it was beyond annealing capability and I'm not entirely sure I could have done it anyway. Pre-visualization is definitely not my strong point and creating the bail from two directions created lots of unforseen problems. Live and learn!

PS: On the stone, it really looks like an overly busy poppy jasper. The most "true to color" photo is the lousy one with the coin. The back photo shows some of the more traditional "poppy red" but in reality the red is not readily discernible.

[liveoak]

Well I did guess it was magic & it sounds like I was right

Seriously, I'm glad that I'm not the only one that struggles through working out envisioned ideas/designs.

I think it's an interesting wrap & one that gives me ideas- so good on many fronts, for me anyway.

Thank you,

Patty

[rockjunquie]

I'm always impressed that you remember the thought processes behind what you do. I know it was a bear to do, but I like it. The important thing is you were trying something new.

[rockbrain]

I like the wrap and the cab a lot Susan. Love the natural line down the middle. The wrap gives it a bit of a heart shape feel without it being a heart. I always have issues when I cross wires and my eye is extremely attuned to out of plumb, uneven etc. I think you did a great job on the crossed wire and I think it adds to the overall look.

[susand24224]

Nov 30, 2023 15:35:54 GMT -5 rockbrain said:

I like the wrap and the cab a lot Susan. Love the natural line down the middle. The wrap gives it a bit of a heart shape feel without it being a heart. I always have issues when I cross wires and my eye is extremely attuned to out of plumb, uneven etc. I think you did a great job on the crossed wire and I think it adds to the overall look.

Thank you so much, Gary! I'm slightly better about it now. . .

[susand24224]

Nov 30, 2023 9:24:28 GMT -5 rockjunquie said:

I'm always impressed that you remember the thought processes behind what you do. I know it was a bear to do, but I like it. The important thing is you were trying something new.

Thank you, Tela, I appreciate the compliment and shall live by "I learned something to make it better next time." Kind of like my cooking experiments--sometimes they turn out great (then I remember nothing), sometimes even my non-picky dogs won't eat it, and usually it's in between.

[rockjunquie]

Well, another month has come to a close. Unfortunately, I didn't get one done. I did a lot of hammering but nothing substantial. Still doing Christmas presents.

[rockbrain]

Crap, It is the end of the month! Think I have to come up with a theme again and right now I have nothing. The good news is with the cab I entered for the cabochon competition. I'm not going to have to worry about coming up with a theme for that!😂

[susand24224]

Since I really didn't like my challenge result, and now that I've added the chain and a clasp, as well as antiquing it to almost black, I'm adding another photo. . .amazing what the right amount of LOS can do! I didn't make the chain (although I did cut it to length if that counts), but it's a very interesting sort of double twisted curb chain in steel.

[liveoak]

That looks GREAT with the chain @susan24224 !

They always say it's all about presentation

Patty