Bottlecaps

[afmetalsmith]

I did these bottlecaps- especially the "Mars" one- out of a curiosity as to how much time and materials they'd take. They were a lot of fun to do, though, so I am encouraged and will probably make more- and, of course, would be happy to do commissions if anyone wanted such. :)

I am honestly not sure if the completely-fabricated version is sensible. It's at least double the work- probably triple- and I'm not sure that it really adds all that much to the end result. If there's interest, I will probably fabricate another one (using the lessons I learned in #1), and then get it cast. This would avoid a lot of the careful fabrication (and thus mean lower prices), while still allowing for almost infinite customization.

Comments

[themaskmaker.livejournal.com]

I totally agree that you don't need to do completely-fabricated ones. Little "caps" that will slip over plastic bottle caps make so much sense. That way they can also move easily from bottle to bottle. Although do they need to have some sort of grippy material inside so that they'll hold onto the plastic cap and let you turn it? Like Goop or something like that?

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

The amethyst one is pretty permanently affixed to its bottlecap- I used serious epoxy on it. Still, the thing could be rinsed off with alcohol and put on another bottle without contaminating it.

I think if the sleeve just slipped loosely over the cap, it would be hard or impossible to open the bottle while it's on- you're right about that. However, I don't think rinsing with alcohol and letting it dry before transferring it is impossibly hard!

I will think about how- and if- I could make a cap-cover that allowed the bottles to open and yet was more easily changed from bottle to bottle.

[thorngrove.livejournal.com]

Rubber rings inside?

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

For the Mars one, I dismembered a commercial cap and re-used the nylon washer at the top that prevents leaking, and the glass wand.

I'm sure I could make one that would slip from cap to cap- but then it would also slip when one was opening the bottle. :/

[thorngrove.livejournal.com]

Darn, well I'm stumped then. Soryy.

[afmetalsmith.livejournal.com]

No- that's a good idea, and I completely misunderstood what you meant when I first read it. A rubber ring might well do the trick- or, better yet, a thin rubber tube piece- I'd be concerned about adding too much diameter with a ring. Hmm. Thanks- I will be mulling this over!