This was a really fun experiment in seeing how many jump rings I can destroy! 😅I challenged myself to make a bit of chain for this and well… hopefully the next one goes a little smoother.
Long time lurker, first time posting here 🤣 just wanted to share this piece I made last week that I’m SUPER proud of. I really struggle with faceted gem settings for some reason & can’t usually get them right, so this was definitely a good skill builder for me!!! Blue topaz in the center, with peridot & lab spinel in sterling silver.
Side note - does anyone have any better tips for polishing the hard to reach areas in a cluster style like this? This was the best I was able to do. The best result I was able to get was with a 1mm fiberglass scratch pen. Personally I love how the textured backplate looks against the more polished points. But any tips for next time if I wanted to get the backplate just as polished? TIA for any advice! :)
hi!! i enjoy chainmail and other jewelery techniques and id like to get cabochon and other gems ?
Where do yall get your cabochon ? Im kind of scared to buy crystals online but im sure there must be some trust worthy suppliers (bonus point if the supplier isnt in the US because im in europe lol)
I've got like three left, logically in the colors that I find the least useful.
So I'm looking around and it seems like they're cheaper on esslinger than on Rio Grande, but I'm wondering if there are some less obvious places to buy them from.
And at the same time I'm not made of money, so I'm gonna try some of the generic sets on amazon. They're just too cheap to pass down. Its like $12-20 vs $80. Even if they're crap I feel like I can still find a use for them. Has anyone tried them?
Stumbled upon these and I’m thinking that perhaps they were drilled in the middle and there’s a silver bar attaching the front and back panels? What’s this process called?
Are there better alternatives for an online shop than Etsy or Instagram? I am looking for ease of use for me as the seller, and ease of checkout for buyer, and overall costs. I have a lot of experience with eBay and have used FB marketplace for other sales, but not for jewelry and cabs.
Any advice from those of you who have been down this road?
Thanks in advance!
I was told I should take a risk and post my work. This is a pendant I made for my girlfriend. I’ve been working with silver for almost 5 years.
Third time’s the charm with my first prong setting - I overdid the heat and melted through my first two attempts. I eyeballed everything and accidentally clipped a prong a bit too short, but it holds!
17g sterling silver and aquamarine.
My friend has a ring she wants me to make smaller, but it has a stone in it. Is there any way I can make it smaller without having to painstakingly take the stone out? Thanks in advance!
Been chain making for a while but spoon rings kept catching my eye. Finally bolted a bending tool to the bench last week and my girlfriend has been doing the hard work; she’s been picking up beautiful old spoons on her op shop runs whenever she spots something with good detail.
This one has a really ornate floral pattern pressed into it, came up beautifully once I cleaned it up. Stoked on how it turned out for a first proper attempt.
Anyone else go down the spoon ring rabbit hole? Curious what spoons people are hunting for: hallmarked silver vs plated, pattern styles, all of it.
Yes I know I have stones in - used for picture reference. For soldering the bezel placements into the backplate. Can I do one piece at a time? I always get SOOO anxious and screw up - especially this size. Advice!
Also - would it make easier to put this on a tripod and heat below too? I’m having quite the time getting the solder to go.
After recently visiting a small silversmithing course and crafting a very rudimentary ring, I gave it a shot by myself.
Am relatively happy how it turned out. The twisting could have been more even and the joints are not too great.
Had a little trouble with the paste flux and fiddling the small solder pieces on 😄
Does anyone have any idea on how to dampen hammering noice? I‘m a little scared about noise complaints 😂
Any tips or suggestions welcome!
I recently purchased the Xuron Micro-Shear Flush Cutter 170-II as it was suggested as a reliable tool at a reasonable price. Perhaps I got a faulty pair, but these were awful. Even on soft 20 gauge silver wire, it didn’t cut smoothly at all. Kicking myself for not going with my gut and investing in better piece. Looking at Lindstrom and wanted to know which one would be the best to invest in. I mostly use soft wire between 10 and 20 gauge. Also open to other brands as long as they have a history of lasting.
sterling and cz, not the cleanest but definitely proud
Sorry for the late update. My gf 30th birthday was coming up and she had asked me for a gold bracelet so i had to pause this project. Hope yall like it nonetheless