Theme Competition September 2015 – Back to School

**metalsmith** · 24-09-2015, 10:26 AM

Originally Posted by Wallace

Interesting blade, pen is mightier than the sword would seem apt for the quill shape. It is lovely.

I love soldering, but even with rouge, this was a difficult part to do. Unsoldering... redoing... I learned after the 3rd attempt.

Lovely work ... (gives me an idea ... but don't worry wont be in any time soon .. I've run out of gas!)

Unsoldering eh? Something I just learned to do - with three soldering attempts on a 0.3m bezel that always looked like it was going well until at the very moment of flow it overlapped!! I took a small metal rod (longer would have been cooler!) and dangled the offending item from that with the handle of a wire wig looped over the bottom as a weight, then heated the join until it de-soldered.

**Wallace** · 24-09-2015, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by metalsmith

Lovely work ... (gives me an idea ... but don't worry wont be in any time soon .. I've run out of gas!)

Unsoldering eh? Something I just learned to do - with three soldering attempts on a 0.3m bezel that always looked like it was going well until at the very moment of flow it overlapped!! I took a small metal rod (longer would have been cooler!) and dangled the offending item from that with the handle of a wire wig looped over the bottom as a weight, then heated the join until it de-soldered.

lol -Thank you. Gas depletion, I think I have too! Careful removal the second time. First time was with a saw and file - I really don't have issues normally. Use little solder and block out the area, but found rouge on my thumb, so can only imagine that I rubbed too much away when putting it together. I thought I had soldered the main part at first, but the stereomicroscope helped me find the culprit!

I think I may make more, now I have the basics sorted, it is a nice shape, and have some fret work I want to develop with it, along with some sweat soldering! Oh, I never make things easy for myself. But first, finish some orders that have come my way. Good luck on your versions

**susieq** · 24-09-2015, 02:22 PM

That's a very handsome piece Alan - and very interesting to see the photo of the individual elements and how they fit together. The carved jet handle is just perfect too.

**ajda** · 24-09-2015, 05:28 PM

Originally Posted by solitarysmagick

It's fine as long as the blade doesn't lock

Originally Posted by metalsmith

Quite right ... not sure if now its all together it would come apart, but just rounding the locking mechanism so it doesn't catch would do the trick...

Actually it will come apart - I've used a weak glue just to construct it temporarily, so can prise the handle pieces off then drill out the pins/rivets holding the rest together. But I only intend to improve the locking mechanism with a stronger spring, not to disable it - bad boy, I know. Then, finally, I haven't decided whether to glue it again with something stronger or to drill the handle pieces too and pin the whole thing. I think the pins could be a nice design feature - I'm tempted also to try wire-inlay, maybe gold, for a design on the handles, but afraid I might ruin them and have to start all over again.

Originally Posted by susieq

That's a very handsome piece Alan - and very interesting to see the photo of the individual elements and how they fit together. The carved jet handle is just perfect too.

Thanks, Susie - yes, I appreciate it when others show something of their works-in-progress, so thought I'd try and do the same. Jet's an interesting thing to cut, carve and polish just using what I had to hand. A piercing saw quickly got hot, smelled deliciously of molten tarmac and lost all its teeth, so I moved onto a basic Dremel cut-off wheel with water for cooling and lubricating. Final shaping and polishing was quite easy also using the Dremel and these:
http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery...prcode-970-426

Nice locket, Wallace - thanks for making the picture bigger so the detail shows up a bit better. I have made brass hinges in the past, for a wooden box, but they were pretty crude... I must have another go in silver. There's great satisfaction to be found in making working mechanisms that move and fit together nicely.

Looking forward to the late rush of entries for September...

Alan

**metalsmith** · 26-09-2015, 03:49 PM

Hi Alan - I'd be interested to know how to get the best from Jet when polishing it. I have a habit of collecting pieces of jet when I find it when surfing (unfortunately only the internet!) and have a few ideas to start using it, but haven't found any info on polishing. Would benefit from your advice and experiences - thanks.

**ajda** · 26-09-2015, 08:28 PM

I expect there are people who know better than I do - I know nothing about traditional tools or methods for working jet and simply improvised with what I had handy. The Dremel cut-off disc worked pretty well for cutting out the basic shapes and for some reducing and crude shaping, then various grades of sandpaper and those Eveflex polishing bits for final shaping and polishing. The extra fine (green) Eveflex brought up a nice shine - looks just like black bakelite now! I didn't use any polishing compounds in the process, though at the end I did rub it over with a little Renaissance Wax which I find helps prevent fingerprint marking on a polished surface.
Alan

**jengreenwood** · 28-09-2015, 02:02 PM

Hi everyone,

There's only a couple of days left for you to submit your Back to School entries to this month's themed competition!

We look forward to receiving your entries

Good luck everyone

**Sandra** · 30-09-2015, 05:54 PM

I would like to submit this entry, although it's not the one I'd planned! Autumn leaves always make me think of time for back-to-school. I had been working on a much more elaborate piece for the past three weeks only to have it go horribly wrong at the very end and beyond repair. After licking my wounds for a couple days I looked around my workshop at all the discarded bits and bobs and scraps from other failed projects and created this leaf pendant from it today. I attended a jewellery course earlier this year and was able to use a rolling mill and I experimented with rolling scraps of silver with leaves. I cut around the shape of the leaf and added decorative bits to it. Considering it's made from scrap and completely unplanned I think it turned out rather better than expected. I hadn't actually thought I'd be submitting anything after my failed piece so I'm pretty glad I didn't give up and still produced something.