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View Full Version : The Green Manace is finshed!!!



The Bijou Dragon
28-07-2009, 09:30 PM
Yes I finally finished my bracelet and I am now off to the shops in it (yes, late night shopping lol)

Was a bit of a pig to do (especially the chain) but it looks amazing!!! I'm so pleased with it!! :dance:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stripypixiesocks/3766279561/

What do you think?

bustagasket
28-07-2009, 09:35 PM
Vwery pretty!!! you are right to be proud of yourself!

Di Sandland
28-07-2009, 09:47 PM
OH, well done you, its gorgeous.

Di

:))):))):)))

agent_44
28-07-2009, 09:51 PM
Very Nice, Well Done! :D

julie
29-07-2009, 06:05 AM
very nice, lovely :D

AlexandraBuckle
29-07-2009, 08:29 AM
Yay! Its loverly!

Ominicci
29-07-2009, 09:50 AM
Beautiful work!

MuranoSilver
29-07-2009, 09:55 AM
Whhoop :rofl:
You did it!!!! Gorgeous colour you should be proud
Nic xx

The Bijou Dragon
29-07-2009, 11:10 AM
Thanks... it worked out at a rather expensive £202.75 :-O if I was selling it given all the time I spent but I will be making lesser versions for a while until I can get my chain soldering technique down to only soldering one or two links together per one or two links lol

I'm so pleased with it I'm wearing it around the house today :">

Charlotte
29-07-2009, 03:38 PM
Beautiful colour, and you photoagraphed it so well! Is it a gift to yourself?:Y: Did you choose your outfit to match it today?;) I always do that... jewellery is way more important than clothes:dance:

EmmaRose
29-07-2009, 05:16 PM
beautiful. losing it abit on the bottle though!
Em

caroleallen
29-07-2009, 08:45 PM
Beautiful but really expensive. Is it gold?

Lindyloo
29-07-2009, 09:00 PM
I love your hand forged headpins.:Y:

The Bijou Dragon
29-07-2009, 11:05 PM
Beautiful colour, and you photoagraphed it so well! Is it a gift to yourself? Did you choose your outfit to match it today?;) I always do that... jewellery is way more important than clothes

LOL no... sorry I don't really wear anything outside of black to be honest as I suppose I fall into the Goff category of looks


beautiful. losing it abit on the bottle though!
Em

Yeah I know but I'm not the best photographer and it was the only thing to hand


Beautiful but really expensive. Is it gold?

Erm no, it's Sterling Silver but it was the time it took to make as I charge by the hour (my wages). It's not anything I am planning to sell for a LONG long time with hand-forged links. They will however come out at a slightly more respectable £60.00 with machine processed chain from Cooksons :)


I love your hand forged headpins.:Y:

Thanks, it was my first time making them and they weren't totally evenly round so I decided hammering them flat would make them look a little nicer.

Lots more practising to be done before I even attempt one again... I've only had my soldering kit two weeks

ben b
01-08-2009, 06:56 PM
....................

The Bijou Dragon
01-08-2009, 08:40 PM
Bijou dragon.......
thats a great bracelet, and if i may offer one piece of (hopefully) constructive 'critisism'? though your joints are small and neat, as its only a bracelet, and so not too long! for a 'superior' finnish, when twisting the soldered rings up, to form the curb, presumably one end in a vice, one end in the tongs/pliers? hold it under tension, and with fingers or pliers/tweezers, align the solder joints to be hidden by the next link, at the twelve o clock position. Yes, this puts more pressure on the joints, but a hard solder should take this.....but its a great bracelet.

I already know this but didn't feel confident that the soldering (as it was my second only time doing it) would hold up.

I watched a lovely man making a watch chain using the exact method you mention. It's done with two specially adapted pliers also which I haven't currently made :)

SilverByRosie
02-08-2009, 08:21 PM
Lovely! I really like the hammered head pins. How do you make them? Do you just melt the end of the wire?

~Rosie

The Bijou Dragon
02-08-2009, 10:14 PM
Lovely! I really like the hammered head pins. How do you make them? Do you just melt the end of the wire?

~Rosie

Yip, melt the wire in a torch flame until it beads up (but doesn't fall off and burn a hole through your t-shirt like I did lol), quench, pickle, then hammer then polish, tumble and finally polish again *phew*

Glad you like them :D

SilverByRosie
03-08-2009, 07:05 PM
I'm going to have to give that a go at my next class. Unfortunately I haven't got anywhere that's safe to use soldering equipment at home.

Chanters
23-08-2009, 11:21 AM
I love cats eyes and though im not great at soldering and silver work myself i would agree with what benb says and try and solder your rings like that and if I could offfer some frendly constructive critisism it would be when u have soldered buy a set of little files the needle files and file over where you have dropped your solder then sand it and your links will look good.

CyberPaddy66
23-08-2009, 05:38 PM
She's dead chuffed with the bracelet and wears it almost every day, I'm so proud of her :X

Di Sandland
23-08-2009, 08:24 PM
So you should be, Mr Dragon, 'tis beautiful.

MuranoSilver
23-08-2009, 08:26 PM
Ooooh a Mister Dragon :Y:
nic xx

nikki_d72
25-08-2009, 09:07 AM
Thanks... it worked out at a rather expensive £202.75 :-O if I was selling it given all the time I spent but I will be making lesser versions for a while until I can get my chain soldering technique down to only soldering one or two links together per one or two links lol

I'm so pleased with it I'm wearing it around the house today :">

Looks lovely, your photography is really good, too. As you mention soldering links together, I'd like to share a dark secret with you - Before you heat it, apply tippex to the areas you don't want to stick together! (it maks a bit of a mess of your pickle bath but well worth it in the less swearyness stakes).
When soldering each link, hold it up in the air by the edge of the link with your tweezers and apply heat with a fine tipped torch to the join (suitably fluxed, with a small pallion of solder on) till it runs, and the minute you take the heat off, shake the tweezer hand for a second or two till the solder solidifies, this stops any sticking. Then move onto the next one. Holding it up rather than putting it on a block stops the heat from travelling so much down the chain. Might seem long winded to have to apply each solder pallion indavidually, but takes less time in the long run than trying to unstick links. You can also use rouge as a non-stick trick but as it washes off I find the tippex easier. You'll need to pickle it for a good while in warm pickle if possible, if it doesn't come off straight away then float a wee plastic drinks cup with pickle in it (and the peice), in the ultrasonic and turn it on, should shake it all off no probs. Don't polish until it's off. Don't let the pickle actually get into the ultrasonic bath though!
Hope this rather long-winded explanation helps! ( I used to have to repair tiny wee trace chains this way- it works.)