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Green Monster
11-08-2009, 10:55 PM
Hi, my name is Graeme
I enjoy various aspets of jewellry making as and when time allows ( I have 3 other business's)
My main interest is cutting Opals but this has took a bit of a back seat as good opal rough is so darned expensive. So I cut other stones cabochon for setting.
I started making chainmail chains for a hobby and friends/relatives soon wanted something(I'm sure most of you have been there).
I have done a couple of loop in loop 3 way chains but talk about labourious!
I would like the funds to do a loop in loop in gold! One day.

Anyway, already found loads of useful info on here,perhaps see some of you at Spring Fair.

Cheers
Graeme

p.s. I have added some photos of my work in the gallery in my profile.

The Bijou Dragon
12-08-2009, 12:48 AM
Hello, :welcome: to the forum!

Oh my Mom would love you, she adores Opals!

julie
12-08-2009, 05:08 AM
hello & welcome to the forum :~:

bustagasket
12-08-2009, 05:59 AM
Hellllllllooooooooo, a big sleepy welcome from me too (not awake yet :P)

Solunar Silver Studio
12-08-2009, 07:49 AM
Hi Graeme:~:. :welcome: Chain maille seems to be suddenly very popular on this forum so you are in good company!! And your constant desire for gold seems to be pretty common round these parts too!!

I love opals...I have one in my engagement ring - because that is what I wanted...everyone was horrified and said how unlucky it was!!...I've been married 28 years now!!... and the only downside is that my fingers have grown too fat to be able to wear the ring anymore!! :'(. :-D

Coco
12-08-2009, 08:00 AM
Why don't you resize it?

P.S. Hi Graeme :~:

AlexandraBuckle
12-08-2009, 08:09 AM
Hi Graeme and welcome to the forum :~:

Blimey some of you were up late last night/early this morning!

Green Monster
12-08-2009, 09:01 AM
Thanks for the welcome everyone, I have added some of my work to the gallery in my profile.

Barbera, re unlucky Opals. The belief that they are unluck is supposed to be becuase of two possible reasons,
1, a novel written some many years ago contained a heroine who wore Opal abd bad luck befell her, just as a lot of folk beleieve Coronation Street is real today so the Opal being bad luck became folklore.
2. Opals were considered unlucck as they had a tendency to crack or craze so being unluck for the purchaser. What one tends to find is craked or crased opals are often found in safety deposit boxes, in these locations air humidity is kept very low and this allows the opals ( which have a high water content) to dry out and thus crack.

that is my understanding anyway.

Cheers
G

Solunar Silver Studio
12-08-2009, 09:33 AM
Well, my lovely little opal stayed on my finger until it practically strangled it...but just before it needed cutting off!! I never took it off. Apart from washing and normal daily life it went through 3 house redecorations...including a fireplace build and a false ceiling. 2 garden landscapings....and 4 children...meaning it has been caked in emulsion paint, plaster, manure and baby deposits from both ends. It also saw the beginning of my college 'career' and so has been coated with clays of all sorts and been dipped in various glazes! It never cracked...although it did have a little flaw when we bought it (from an antique shop...so God only knows its history!!)... and it kept its little flash of fire. And my life has been full of blessings!! ... so I don't believe any old folklore!!

As for why I don't resize it... I can't 'do' stone setting and I have never worked in gold....I wouldn't risk spoiling it now. I am happy for it to sit in my jewellery box - alongside the heavily textured, and hence hard to resize, wedding ring that I grew out of too! A cherished part of my past... and a good excuse to have more rings bought for me!!:-D

Your work is truly beautiful Graeme...stunning in fact. You are a very talented man! That Byzantine bracelet is gorgeous! If only I had the money to invest in 2mm fine silver..... I WILL one day ...and I'll make myself one of those!!! ........(Oh Yeh?? ....:rofl:)

mizgeorge
12-08-2009, 10:17 AM
Welcome from me too Graeme :)

There's always demand for nice cabs - do you sell any of them?

MuranoSilver
12-08-2009, 10:20 AM
Hello & :welcome: to the forum =
Love the opals and your stones too! :D
Nic xx

Di Sandland
12-08-2009, 11:37 AM
Graeme, just taken a look at your work and you have some beautiful stuff there. I am a tad biased as opals and peridots are my favourite stones. That first opal is a fiery thing ain't it!

Welcome to the forum, I'm sure you'll like it here. :~:

EmmaRose
12-08-2009, 11:43 AM
Hi Graeme and welcome :~:
adore opals, one of my favs, especially boulder opals! far too few good cutters out there IMHO
Emma

AlexandraBuckle
12-08-2009, 01:41 PM
Ooh didn't know I liked opals until now :)
Your work is lovely Graeme :Y:

Solunar Silver Studio
12-08-2009, 03:04 PM
Hi Graeme, I've just had another drool over your photos....just as a matter of interest...what internal diameter do you use on your 2mm jumprings? And have you tried anything finer than 2mm in fine silver and have it strong enough? ....and....and......and.......how many rings in the byzantine with the 'holes' in????????



You horrible man....you're playing with my head!!! :'(

mizgeorge
12-08-2009, 05:29 PM
not Graeme (;)), but a byzantine weave needs an AR of around 3.5 (in spite of what David Scott Plumlee says about pi), so 2mm wire would need an id of 7mm - though at that scale you can get away with slightly smaller.

Barbara, I've worked with 1.25mm fine silver for several weaves (for a customer who can't wear sterling) and had no problems with anything with an AR of 3.5 or under. You just have to watch out for death grip as it marks so easily.

Solunar Silver Studio
12-08-2009, 06:37 PM
not Graeme (;)), but a byzantine weave needs an AR of around 3.5 (in spite of what David Scott Plumlee says about pi), so 2mm wire would need an id of 7mm - though at that scale you can get away with slightly smaller.

Barbara, I've worked with 1.25mm fine silver for several weaves (for a customer who can't wear sterling) and had no problems with anything with an AR of 3.5 or under. You just have to watch out for death grip as it marks so easily.

Hi George, I've seen you mention AR before - but as I have never done any maille as such I have no idea what it means...I'm assuming the R bit is ratio?? But ratio of what? - can't guess what the A might be...

I've got a reel of 1.25mm fine silver that was sent to me in error and that I kept rather than mess about returning it and was going to draw it down to a thinner wire when I needed it...but if I could get a reasonable, securely closed jump ring from it then I woud give chain maille a go!

mizgeorge
12-08-2009, 07:22 PM
Sorry Barbara, AR is Aspect Ratio, which is the inner diameter of the ring divided by the width of the wire. So, for example Byzantine chain, which uses an AR of 3.5 works with rings in:

0.8mm wire - 2.8mm mandrel
1mm wire - 3.5mm mandrel
1.25mm wire - 4.375mm mandrel
etc

I think byzantine should be OK in 1.25 fine (I'd tumble the cut rings for a good 24 hours to get a bit of hardness). Weaves with an AR of 3 or less (like JPL for example) would be even better.

agent_44
12-08-2009, 09:26 PM
Hi Graeme, welcome!

I was of the understanding that opals were though to be unlucky because of them drying out too.

Green Monster
12-08-2009, 09:33 PM
Sorry Barbara, AR is Aspect Ratio, which is the inner diameter of the ring divided by the width of the wire. So, for example Byzantine chain, which uses an AR of 3.5 works with rings in:

0.8mm wire - 2.8mm mandrel
1mm wire - 3.5mm mandrel
1.25mm wire - 4.375mm mandrel
etc

I think byzantine should be OK in 1.25 fine (I'd tumble the cut rings for a good 24 hours to get a bit of hardness). Weaves with an AR of 3 or less (like JPL for example) would be even better.

JPL ( Jends Pind Link) is really pleasing to look at, but unless I am doing something wrong I find it a right bugger to orientate foir the next link. I would not recomend it nas a first mail style to attempt, it is more critical on AR than most, you might find you have a lot of new jump rings to find a use for!..lol

Solunar Silver Studio
13-08-2009, 07:10 AM
JPL ( Jends Pind Link) is really pleasing to look at, but unless I am doing something wrong I find it a right bugger to orientate foir the next link. I would not recomend it nas a first mail style to attempt, it is more critical on AR than most, you might find you have a lot of new jump rings to find a use for!..lol


HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! :rofl::-D:rofl: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!

Thanks Graeme (and George!!)......I think George wants to keep me guessing... ( got a bit of a 'thing' for abbreviations me thinks!!:D )

I really must delve into this maille lark a bit more closely. I thought fine silver would be too soft to use and have been trying to fuse the links....I've done mobius links fairly successfully before by fusing - but it is a hell of a game and soooo easy to melt it all into a big blob!!...I have tried to fuse other simple maille links but it is pointless...but then I was using thinner wire.

I would still love to know how many links you had in that byzantine with the 'holes' Graeme... Umm, errr, ...(thinks)...Is that the JPL you all suddenly started talking about????? Deeerrrr!!!

Green Monster
13-08-2009, 09:12 AM
Hi Barbara
I send over a private message about the number of links but perhaps I sent it incorrectly.
Anyway, the 3 row Byz. with gaps, takes about 500 jump rings. The gaps were originally meant to house polished Turquoise but it didn't look right so they stayed as gaps.
The clasp was a slide together tube from Cooksons, looks great, gives a nice finishing touch but a git to operate one handed! (Well it would be for a women with fingers as fat as mine!)

Try fusing 0.5mm ( below) fine wire, thats a game especially when done with a torch! I have made "3 way double loop in loop" necklaces from fused fine, it is really labourious, first one took me about 3 weeks on and off!
(my mum now owns that one!)

If I can find a picture I will add it to my gallery. Viking weave looks very similar and is a whole lot quicker to do.

JPL gives a ropish like appearance again if I have a picture I will put one up.


cheers
G

mizgeorge
13-08-2009, 10:32 AM
Here's a JPL (Jens Pind linkage):

in 1.6mm
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s76/mizgeorge/dominicasilverSmall.jpg

and in 0.7 (I make a lot of these as bases for silver cored 'pandora' styled beads)

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s76/mizgeorge/dominicasmallwithspacers.jpg

The trick to getting the rings in the right place is to try to visualise the three planes. Each ring always follows the orientation of the one three back in the weave - the easiest way to 'get' it is to try three different coloured metals - this one's in three shades of copper:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s76/mizgeorge/dominica1Small.jpg

Apologies for the abbreviations Barbara - there are a lot of them in maille simply because some of the full names are pretty unwieldy!

One good option for working in fine silver is to try weaves that use two ring sizes, one large and one small, so you can fuse or solder the larger rings for strength and stability, and link them with the small ones that will 'hold' safely by themselves.