Cold Fusion Hinges!! HELP!!!!

[Obsidian Butterfly]

Hi
I have just found out my sister is pregnant for the first time and I wanted to make a present for the baby, but as we don't know the sex of the baby jewellery is out of the question. I wanted to make a music/money box, but I can't afford to make it out of silver, and I was shocked at the price of copper now! I thought I would make it out of aluminium as its cheaper, but I have been told it is too soft to solder, so I decided to rivet the whole item. The problem I am having is how to rivet a hinge. I have done hinges in silver before, but this has always involved soldering tubes to the piece, but obviously this isn't possible. I have attached a picture of my design, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

I hope I have attached it right lol

Thanks!

[Adrienne]

Could you make the hinge part of the lid & top by curling the edge of the lid/top into a tube and then cutting away sections to make the hinge? I think I would add extra length to the two parts of the lid, enough to curl right round into a tube (so you are left with the lid and the top to the music box both as they are shown but with a tube at one edge. Mark the tubes into thirds and cut away the right thirds on each top (the middle third on the top of the music box and the outside thirds on the lid).

Hope this might help.

Adrienne
(Gothglitz Designs)

[Kwant]

A tube sawn down the centre on one side can be prised open then fitted into an appropriately cut slot, then squeezed back together to make a hinge.

[Dennis]

Hi Laura, Here are some other ideas:

You could just use two or three jump rings passing through holes in the lid and the body of the box. If they are stout enough they would stay closed without soldering, but the lid would be a bit floppy.
However if you used short sections of tubing and slit them lengthwise, they could be opened, threaded through slots in the lid and body and closed again to give a more positive effect. Model shops stock this.

Alternatively you could bend up hinge parts from sheet and add a wire hinge pin. The completed hinges could then be riveted to your box, or fixed with two part epoxy, such as Araldite, particularly the slow setting one.

By the way, if you want anodised aluminium, which is prettier, you can cut up the covers of a ring binder( Muji is a good source for this ), but you must be careful not to mark it while working. Personally I would lay out my design on graph paper, paste it onto my sheet with Pritt stick and scribe the lines by cutting through with a new snap off craft knife using a ruler. That way everything ends up square and the metal remains protected until you have cut it up and the paper is washed off with water. You are still left with scribed lies to file to.

Sorry this is so long winded and possibly unwanted, Regards Dennis.

Apologies to Kwant, we cross posted there and you got in first Dennis.

[teatowell]

Hi Laura,
Just to give you another option, I made small chests for my 2 children (although not yet finished) so they can put their teeth in for the tooth fairy. they will be big enough they they can keep small keepsakes in when older or just save to pass on to their own children. These were small enough for me to be able to afford to do them in silver.
Good luck with your boxes. Would love to see them when finished.

[mizgeorge]

I never think aluminium ages terribly well. Have you thought about making it in gilding metal or brass, which polish really well to start with and then age beautifully.

[Obsidian Butterfly]

Thank you everyone you have been really helpful but I have a couple of questions.

First to Dennis, you mention anodised aluminium, and said you can cut up covers of ringbinders?? I like the sound of it being prettier but to be honest I have never heard of anodised aluminium and I'm confused, how is it anodised???

Second question is to George, you mention gilding metal, but again I've never heard of it. What is it made of? and where can I get it? I've only ever worked in silver, copper and occasionally brass before (though my experiences with brass have not gone well), but if this will give me a better finish I'm intrigued.

Thank you for all your help

[caroleallen]

Aluminium is anodised by treating it with acid and electric annodes. This causes the surface to become porous and it's then painted and dyed to give it colour. You can't solder it though, so I'm not sure it would work for your project unless you were able to make the whole thing with cold connections. These are some of the cuffs I make with anodised aluminium

[Dennis]

George is right of course, and if you like a metal that will polish and eventually develop a patina, then follow her advice, but if your piece is to be quite big then think about cold connecting it, because soldering something large could be beyond the scale of your equipment. That said, I built up this brass note pad container years ago, using a soldering iron and soft solder.

Anodised aluminium is produced industrially by an electrolytic process, although some jewellers do their own in small quantities. Most articles of aluminium which you buy in shops will be anodised. The coloured ones are bright metallic, but the natural colour is a bit like silver when it comes out of pickle. It looks as if it has been lacquered and this is the one I find attractive. It can be wiped over with a damp cloth for cleaning, but metal polish destroys the effect . The only way to buy small quantities is to cannibalise a readymade object.

Forums only thrive if they have feedback, so we should love to see what you eventually make. Dennis.

When I said Some Jewellers, I really meant Carole, because she is our authority on this. Sorry Carole, cross posted again.

[Obsidian Butterfly]

Thank you for your help everyone, and can I say Carol those cuffs are beautiful! I'm jealous!

Dennis that note pad container is really impressive, I hope I can live up to that standard!

I will definitely post a picture when I finally finish it, though I do think it might take a while, especially as it is the biggest thing I have ever attempted. It also the first piece of non-jewellery I have ever made from metal, so it's a little bit daunting. I'll be working on it around making stock for craft fairs etc, and its going to involve a lot of piercing as there will be small shapes cut out to allow the music to escape.

But thanks again everyone