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Mar. 14th, 2009 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
afmetalsmithToday I finished stuff!
Item: one "Hugs & Kisses" bracelet with a hook clasp decorated with an oval plaque bearing silver filigree, a couple of gold granules, and a natural sapphire cab set in gold.
Item: a plique-a-jour decorative thimble called "January", where the plique is in shades of green, red and white, and features snowdrops (January's flower), while the top is accented with a garnet cab (January's birthstone).
I've been putting off setting the stone in the thimble because I didn't want to stress the plique by trying to set the stone without internal support, and I wasn't really looking forward to cleaning setter's cement out of the thing if I filled it with that- the stuff is sticky. ...And then I recalled that I'd gotten some "Jett-set" a while back- it's a thermoplastic that is malleable when warm, and solid when cold. So I filled the thimble with that, and it worked perfectly- and came out beautifully without leaving any residue.
The gold bezel on the bracelet was pretty mulish; I think when I hardened the Argentium silver, it ended up hardened as well. My lovely Swiss hammer handpiece for my flex was up to the task, though, and did a great job- though I had to crank it up way past its usual setting to make it work! (Usually I have it set about as gentle as it goes.)
My insane, 1500-link loop-in-loop chain is coming along, too. I think I finally have the knack of it, plus good tools to use. I'll have to get a picture of the paltry inch-and-a-half I've done so far, just to show it off.
Item: one "Hugs & Kisses" bracelet with a hook clasp decorated with an oval plaque bearing silver filigree, a couple of gold granules, and a natural sapphire cab set in gold.
Item: a plique-a-jour decorative thimble called "January", where the plique is in shades of green, red and white, and features snowdrops (January's flower), while the top is accented with a garnet cab (January's birthstone).
I've been putting off setting the stone in the thimble because I didn't want to stress the plique by trying to set the stone without internal support, and I wasn't really looking forward to cleaning setter's cement out of the thing if I filled it with that- the stuff is sticky. ...And then I recalled that I'd gotten some "Jett-set" a while back- it's a thermoplastic that is malleable when warm, and solid when cold. So I filled the thimble with that, and it worked perfectly- and came out beautifully without leaving any residue.
The gold bezel on the bracelet was pretty mulish; I think when I hardened the Argentium silver, it ended up hardened as well. My lovely Swiss hammer handpiece for my flex was up to the task, though, and did a great job- though I had to crank it up way past its usual setting to make it work! (Usually I have it set about as gentle as it goes.)
My insane, 1500-link loop-in-loop chain is coming along, too. I think I finally have the knack of it, plus good tools to use. I'll have to get a picture of the paltry inch-and-a-half I've done so far, just to show it off.
