Teaching myself metalwork
Published On: 11-14-2011 06:55pm
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I could see that this was not a skill set that was going to come easily to me, but I was intriqued by the challenge, and knew that I wanted to "get this". And so I began.
I bought the tools and started working at home, practicing what I'd learned and soon I'd accumulated a little heap of melted silver and failed projects. I would start out well, and then at some point in the project, usually with one of the soldering steps, something would go wrong. Sometimes I could find a way to overcome the damage and move on, but mostly.....not so much. It was not only the torchwork that baffled me tho'. I was clumsy with the tools, and with the precision needed to get small pieces to fit together properly.
The jeweler's saw was another Achilles Heel. The correct tension was always a mystery, and blades would be snappin' left and right.
Eventually, time and practice overcame even my fumbly efforts, and now I'm to the point where - although I still make mistakes - if I'm careful and patient, I can fabricate a ring or pendant with a simple bezel setting.
This winter I moved away from silver and made a few pieces using 14K gold-fill metals.
The attached photo shows some of these pieces. Hope you like them !
