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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 4, 2014 14:05:03 GMT -5
I had some trouble with this but not as much as with the previous attempts- I guess that means it is getting easier. I forgot the name of the stone- some kind of Owyhee dendritic jasper. It is 45x27mm. I accidentally picked up some silver solder while soldering the bezel wire down. But, I resoldered a little copper into it and with the los it isn't too bad. The worst part was when I sweat soldered the bail on. The solder from the bezel wire started to flow out to the backplate. You can really tell on one side, oh well, can't expect perfection ... yet. LOL! It is a hair off to one side. Maybe later I will file one side a hair, but I'm already off into the next project. I love the texture on the bezel wire. I hammered it down with a little fretz hammer- ala Lexi Erickson. Love the look- esp after burnishing. So, I learned a bunch of things- mostly that I wish there were more hardnesses available for copper soldering. I need to learn how to work the corners better. I found a tute on that other board by one of our members and tried out what he said. I think I'll get it better next time. BTW this cab was cabbed by me for wirewrapping with a thin bezel, abt 2mm, with no slant. Pictures are in unflattering light again. Los added. That "crack" in the stone is not a through crack- just part of the dendrite process. What do y'all think? Is this saleable? I don't think I will sell it, but I want to know what you think.
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GeorgeStoneStore
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 168
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Post by GeorgeStoneStore on Feb 4, 2014 14:16:06 GMT -5
I like it!
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aimeesrockworks
spending too much on rocks
I really do look like my avatar... it kinda freaks me out.
Member since December 2010
Posts: 458
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Post by aimeesrockworks on Feb 4, 2014 15:15:42 GMT -5
I think it's very sellable. There's somebody (or somebodies!) out there who want something just like it... but they won't know until you put it up!
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Post by radio on Feb 4, 2014 15:15:53 GMT -5
Nice design! Try a bezel roller to get the corners smoother to the stone. Start on the point of the corners and gradually roll the bezel down with a rocking motion, then roll the rest of the bezel around the cab. Finish up with a burnishing tool to really get the bezel tight to the stone and smooth the bezel really well. Hold the burnisher tightly, apply downward pressure and drag it down the edges of the bezel. repeat as necessary to get a tight fit to the stone. be sure and use the burnisher to smooth the corners you rolled over with the bezel roller
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Post by pghram on Feb 4, 2014 16:28:41 GMT -5
Nice design, if I am reading between the lines correctly, the hammered pattern on the bezel is a design feature, no? If so, how do you protect the stone?
Rich
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 4, 2014 16:34:05 GMT -5
Thank you! radio- thanks. That's how I did it on my last one. I wanted to do something different on this one. My next one has no corners, but I'll pick one with some sharp corners to practice a standard bezel next time. pghram I have a tiny little hammer made by Fretz that I hammered with. It didn't hurt the stone at all. I was pretty worried, but tried it anyway and it was fine. I used the burnisher on the bezel edges and the piece edges. In person it looks really great with lots of sparkle.
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Post by radio on Feb 4, 2014 17:26:10 GMT -5
I could see the two bezel corners on the top sticking up and the bezel edges above the stone. I didn't know that was part of the design. Cool Just be careful that they don't cut, poke or catch on things or folks tend to set them aside and not wear them. Guess I'm too entrenched in my old, set ways to embrace the artsy movement these days:-)
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 4, 2014 18:18:18 GMT -5
Looks like a pro grade setting. It is very sellable. And it is unique. And i think that is great. Looking at it with all that magnification it is exceptional. Copper is nice because it is soft. I wish i could smith silver as easy as copper. Hammering copper is the most fun. And it takes to annealing so well. And it has a sexy color. Solders easy. And it is cheap. It comes in so many shapes at the scrap yards for industrial apps. Backings i favor out of silver metals. Bails, decorations, top layers, etc i prefer copper due to it's ease of manipulation. I am looking at forming it around my hard coral tumbles since it is so tough. Physically forming it right on the stone. Annealing it at the last step of final closure. Looking at the setting carefully makes me appreciate that piece. I think the workmanship is in a class to itself. But your wraps are too. That setting interests me because you very carefully tapped it closed and left the cool rough edge at the same time. At least that's what it looks like. I am jellyious
PS Did you solder that with the cooper solder ? And if so can you tell me about what melting temp it rated ?
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 4, 2014 19:34:19 GMT -5
jamesp THANK YOU!!! You made me blush The site says 1350 Degree Flow Point. www.rawtreasures.com/detail.asp?product_id=WCOPSDRE It has flux in it. I really like this stuff. A long time ago, I was researching copper solder when I found these guys mentioned all over the place, so I gave it a shot. I've done more copper soldering than silver- mostly jumprings and things and this has never let me don. You CAN overheat it to an ugly color, though. But, apparently if you reheat and air cool it helps.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 4, 2014 19:37:30 GMT -5
Well, it is fine work.
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steelandstone
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2008
Posts: 500
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Post by steelandstone on Feb 4, 2014 21:31:17 GMT -5
Well I see someone is on a roll. It looks great and I would assume your should have no problem selling it. Keep up the good work.
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Post by connrock on Feb 5, 2014 9:46:07 GMT -5
I think it's great and very sellable,,,is that a word? LOL I'm new at using the copper solder and also wish it came in different temps. I made 2 bezel wires out of copper strips I cut,They were 3/16" high by 0.007" thick and I found them way too thin to work with.I did get the joints soldered but trashed the both of them. Yesterday I made a new bezel wire from another strip I cut that's 3/16" high and 0.021" thick.MUCH better to work with!My problem was when I soldered the bezel wire to the back plate.The solder in the joint in the bezel wire also melted so while it was still hot I touched the joint with the solder as it comes in a coil.As you know this can be tricky as in most cases you end up with too much solder going EVERYWHERE!Well,,,this was no exception and I now have a mess to try to clean up on the bezel wire and along side of the bezel wire/back plate joint. I also don't like the idea of the copper solder only offered in a coil of round wire.When I try to flatten it with a hammer it only flattens slightly then it "splinters" into tiny pieces. I found that trying to keep several tiny pieces of round solder around the inner edge of the bezel wire was next to impossible.I'm used to having flux hold the solder where I want it and using copper solder,,flux is not required. I'm also finding that when I solder the bezel wire to the back plate the solder "leaches" out onto the back plate a lot more then I would like,,,,I DO NOT like a lot of clean up! It's like learning all over again and I just don't have the patience I had years ago! LOL All I can say is that my 1st attempt using the 0.007" thick copper bezel wire ended up in a total disaster and at least this time I did get the bezel wire soldered to the back plate,,,,not pretty but soldered! LOL Hmmmm,,,,let's see,,,Scene 1 take 3 ? LOL Quiet on the set! LOL Rolling,,,,on the floor laughing! connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Feb 5, 2014 11:13:04 GMT -5
Hmmmm,,,,let's see,,,Scene 1 take 3 ? LOL Quiet on the set! LOL Rolling,,,,on the floor laughing! Read more: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/64168/another-copper-time#ixzz2sSruVnzRLaughing good Crying bad- visited both sites
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Post by deb193redux on Feb 5, 2014 13:06:34 GMT -5
I like the hammered edge. I would go even further and have 3 partial bezel wall, i.e., open corners. May have to use slightly thicker gauge bezel.
the old way is not always the best way, and in art there is room/need for fresh
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 5, 2014 14:54:20 GMT -5
I really like the design of the bezel and bail. I can see you will be bringing all your artistic talent from wire wrapping over to smithing too. I am looking forward to your future posts to watch how you progress through this new adventure.
Chuck
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Post by radio on Feb 5, 2014 15:03:38 GMT -5
I like the hammered edge. I would go even further and have 3 partial bezel wall, i.e., open corners. May have to use slightly thicker gauge bezel. the old way is not always the best way, and in art there is room/need for fresh the old way is not always the best way, and in art there is room/need for fresh
I agree wholeheartedly, however as craftspeople, we are obligated to create pieces that are not an injury hazard and/or potentially damaging to a customers clothing. As "Artsy" as it is, unrolled bezels and sharp corners are an unhappy (possibly injured) customer and potential lawsuit waiting to happen in this litigation happy world.
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Post by 1dave on Feb 5, 2014 15:16:14 GMT -5
Yep. There are millions of ways to do something and most of them haven't even been tried yet. Why make something that can damage someone JUST to be different? There are too many good ideas around. Old can be good. Ovals are out of fashion now, but there is a reason why they will be back. They work so well in designs.
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 5, 2014 16:04:18 GMT -5
radio- I agree with you. Those corners look sharp, but they aren't, at all. They are actually hammered, too. They just didn't go down all the way. I may have been able to get them down but I didn't try. That style is done by a few people now. It wasn't my original idea. I was just trying it because I like it. deb193redux Thank you very much I have been learning via videos. Some of them are by a woman named Lexi Erickson. She does this kind of style and does the partial bezels, as I'm sure others do, as well. I really like the partial bezels and will try that soon. Thank you everyone and esp to you Chuck. It's been great to see your wire wrapping skills blossom.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Feb 5, 2014 18:18:34 GMT -5
Nice piece! I've never tried soldering with copper before, I've learned so far just on silver.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2014 20:08:15 GMT -5
if sellable is not a word - MARKETABLE most certainly is. You definitely can market that beauty. You have gifted angels in your bones guiding your executions. I am always happy when I get the priviledge to see your works. Thank you for that.
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