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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2016 19:57:32 GMT -5
I like the lightning stone.
How did you polish the Petoskeys? I have done them by hand with wet/dry sandpaper, on a flat lap, and by tumbling.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2016 21:44:44 GMT -5
If you have a tumbler, it can really speed up the first stage or two. That first stage takes the longest with sandpaper. The rest of the stages look better if you use a grinder or sandpaper.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 8, 2016 7:50:24 GMT -5
Giving away pendants that you made from rocks you found will be satisfying for you and the recipients. I like that lightning stone one the best. Here is a really simple bail that works with drilled hole pendants. Could not be much easier. If you do not have a lot of tools it can be done with a 4" long piece of 22 gauge craft wire and a pencil to form the bail opening. This is the last one I made. The grommets on the front and back are not required but the bead is needed. The grommets would cover up the unpolished area around the drilled holes though.  Chuck |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,718 
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Post by Fossilman on Apr 8, 2016 9:20:09 GMT -5
I like making personal things for Christmas too! Liking your idea!!!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 8, 2016 11:21:55 GMT -5
After looking at how nice yours looks compared to my first amateur attempt  I'm going to need to redo those.....  No need to redo anything. I handed out gifts early on that were just tumbled stones with glue on bails. Each year the gifts just get better as you become more experienced. The one I showed is pretty darn simple though. Chuck |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2016 22:21:39 GMT -5
Giving in charity or in gifts seems to reap rewards beyond the value of the gifts. I have found a lot of joy in sharing prosperity. Except with ex girlfriends...  Lol |
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 11, 2016 13:59:36 GMT -5
I still have most of the trinkets the kids have made over the years and I'm not above wearing a macaroni necklace. They'll cherish what you've done and they have something nicer than macaroni to wear.  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 11, 2016 14:27:08 GMT -5
I still have most of the trinkets the kids have made over the years and I'm not above wearing a macaroni necklace. They'll cherish what you've done and they have something nicer than macaroni to wear. With all the "skill" I have at making bails, I might just as well be making a macaroni necklace. I'm going to go back to hobby lobby and get some better stuff. Then I'll give them away.  I hope you don't think that I was suggesting anything negative.... I am a very experienced wire wrapper and I have done similar bails. Nothing wrong with them. We are all our own worst critics. edit- here is a thread with the twisted bail. The picture isn't that great, but it is a twisted bail a lot like yours. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 13, 2016 22:02:19 GMT -5
The grommets are not glued. They're just held in place by the bend in the wire. I make beads for a friend who uses them in jewelry. The holes aren't perfect, but a lot of them are pretty good. I avoid the blowout caused by the exiting drill by drilling for both sides. I have a board with an old drill bit sticking out of it just a tiny bit. I drill part way through the bead. Then I put my board under the drill bit and line the bit in the board up with the bit in the drill. I put my partially drilled bead on the board so the little bit sticks into the hole. Now when I finish drilling, I'm lined up with hole on the other side. I hope that makes some sense. Beads |
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 14, 2016 6:19:18 GMT -5
This is the last one I made. The grommets on the front and back are not required but the bead is needed. The grommets would cover up the unpolished area around the drilled holes though. Forgive me if I sound really green at this, but how do those grommets stay flat on the stone? Are they held there by the wire or are they glued in place? I am assuming they sell several different kinds as well. I would like a few different styles to work with. This really is my first attempt at making something that I hope the recipients won't be too embarrassed to actually wear. After looking at my first attempts I can see a lot of Petoskey and Lightning Stones that will be looking at the inside of a jewelry box for the rest of time if I don't make some changes. I really see the need for grommets on my stuff now as well. Any advice is always looked upon with a smile by me.  So, you are in Sterling Heights? Back in the early 1990's I drove from Toledo to Sterling Heights Chrysler Assembly plant every day for about six months when I got laid off at the Jeep plant in Toledo and worked the night shift up there until my seniority got me back to Toledo. I remember there was at least 4 wrong way drivers going north in the southbound lane on I 75 during those six months.....sheeeeesh. Here I thought you lived up on Drummond Island. I have a cottage up on Drummond Island and that is where we do most of our rock hounding. You may want to check a local craft store for some bead hardware to try out but I do everything in sterling silver so I order from rio grande. Here are the beads. Each different outside diameter has a different inside diameter so match that to the size you need to fit two strands of your wire through. I use 20 gauge square wire. www.riogrande.com/Product/sterling-silver-3mm-round-seamless-bead/614155These are my spacer beads. There may be other styles. www.riogrande.com/Product/sterling-silver-oxidized-bali-style-spacer-beads/410511Chuck |
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I'm going to need to redo those..... 
