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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 1:20:28 GMT -5
So here it goes i asked about it i ordered it i did it simple enough i guess for an Accidentalrockhound.here is my first attempt. thought it came out good until i came back on here and looked at some of the others here.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 1:44:06 GMT -5
Just kidding i really did better then that. So i made my order to the Rio. The basics flux,pickle ,bezel wire, silver sheet, a bezel pusher and burnisher, some easy medium and hard solder. And bought a hose extension from home depot. The rest of the stuff i used was laying around. First. And second attempt believe it or not was done with scrap except the scalloped bezel wire. I used scrap because timloco had me scared about burning stuff up. Doing this made me realize that the cabbs have to be cut on a whole other level. By that i mean even sides when i got to looking at my cabbs realized none were good for setting almost but not really.Good learning experience. Sorry i will post pic's in the A.M.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 19, 2017 8:58:03 GMT -5
So here it goes i asked about it i ordered it i did it simple enough i guess for an Accidentalrockhound.here is my first attempt.thought it came out good until i came back on here and looked at some of the others here. Actually, I was thinking that that looked pretty damn cool!
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 9:51:22 GMT -5
Agggh!@$$&! I just spent an 1hr getting ready to post photo's and wad kicked out lost the whole shabang! Will get back to it later.goodday.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 19, 2017 11:42:21 GMT -5
Just kidding i really did better then that. So i made my order to the Rio. The basics flux,pickle ,bezel wire, silver sheet, a bezel pusher and burnisher, some easy medium and hard solder. And bought a hose extension from home depot. The rest of the stuff i used was laying around. First. And second attempt believe it or not was done with scrap except the scalloped bezel wire. I used scrap because timloco had me scared about burning stuff up. Doing this made me realize that the cabbs have to be cut on a whole other level. By that i mean even sides when i got to looking at my cabbs realized none were good for setting almost but not really.Good learning experience. Sorry i will post pic's in the A.M. haha yep, just melt some into balls to get a feel for it. It'll change color, it will glow a bit before it all slumps into a puddle.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 17:26:36 GMT -5
Here we go my first attempt believe it or not. I started off with this piece of rainforest jasper. No one told me how precise the cabbs had to be for bezel setting. But I realized that real guick after going through my already made cabbs. I didn't have one I could use so I made to small ones that worked. timloco I was just kidding with my first photo that was a piece of scrap I had in a box I picked up at the flea market it had about a pound of miscellaneous silver scrap. And turquoise and a couple home made tools.you actually encouraged me to do a good job thanks. I'm a bit familiar with working with a torch. Sweating copper pipe. On this first attempt I had to put the beaded wire around it to hide the nasty bezel line . Because I used scrap pieces it toom me about four attempts to set the bezel flush.it survived the reheating over and over. Also paid close attention to my flame size and pressure. And when done I stamped it with some old stamps i just picked up for free. I removed the links because of the picture quality. You can see them on the later post.thanks
Sorry for the crappy photo's, been having trouble still with posting pictures.And here is the second attempt a piece of crazy lace. I thought I was going to have trouble with the scalloped bezel wire but I just went for it. Again with the scrap I had trouble setting the bezel flush, I had to grind out the bezel cup to make it flush on the inside used the same half round for the bail and decided to let it run the length of the pendant because I liked the look. I used a piece of silver casting bead for the accent on the bottom. I removed these links as well because of photo quality.you can see the photos down on my other post.thanks
Sorry the photo's are so crappy I uploaded the pictures to my rock show account you can see better pictures there. So I made it through the first two and looking forward to making my next project. I have to make an improvised handle for May torch cause it got a little hot. Took me about 5-6 hours to make the 2 of them. Any advice would be appreciated good and bad I got to hear it all, thanks for everyone's advice and thanks to rockjunquie for believing in me. And thanks to the RTH community for being here. P.s I will work on my photo's promise.
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timloco
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2012
Posts: 545
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Post by timloco on Sept 19, 2017 17:35:37 GMT -5
Those are great! Good job! I agree with the cabs, I started making my cabs better after trying to set some in a bezel.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 17:41:28 GMT -5
Those are great! Good job! I agree with the cabs, I started making my cabs better after trying to set some in a bezel. Thanks. Had fun can't wait to get o my next piece.glade I jumped into it. Made me realize I really need to do better job on my cabbing. My fist cabbs where intended for wire wrapping. Plan on redoing some of them for setting now.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 19, 2017 20:09:13 GMT -5
Argh! Your pictures are too small!!! I'm half blind as it is. LOL! BUT, from what I can tell, you did a really great job! It's nerve wracking isn't it. At least until you have done it a few times. I think you'll like the rockshow photo hosting. You don't have to play around with the size format- it does it for you. Yeah, your idea of what a cab should be when you are smithing changes. I stopped doing my pointy corners which I so loved and round them a bit now. You also get a little more particular about what you cab. Keep up the good work and keep sharing. I promise to give you both barrels if you post bigger pictures.
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Post by fantastic5 on Sept 19, 2017 21:03:58 GMT -5
I think the first one looks great, especially being your first attempt. Really nothing to add from what I could see (better pictures would help). I couldn't see the second one at all. Not sure why.
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 19, 2017 21:26:10 GMT -5
accidentalrockhound You'll have to contact Tommy about your pictures. They ended up in the wrong folder and went global. So, I know you were using rockshow, since your pictures can be seen there. When you post a picture on rockshow, right click on the big image and copy image location, then paste it in here in the picture icon box.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 23:42:55 GMT -5
rockjunquie Thanks i will my first photo's where gone from my account when i went back i will check with Tommy.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 19, 2017 23:59:09 GMT -5
Here is the 2nd one fantastic5 crazy lace think i finally got it. Ok better got a little better pictures. Any pointers would be appreciated.Thanks.
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 20, 2017 0:09:10 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 20, 2017 10:00:48 GMT -5
Yup, they are much bigger, thanks. The actual construction looks really good. I would suggest to use less solder, but you probably already know that. The big thing I see is you have to do your metal prep work before you start soldering. The most tedious part of smithing is time spent on preparing your metal. Before you solder, you have to get out the scratches and nicks. It is a pain to do, but absolutely necessary. Start with the lowest grit of sanding material that will take out the worst scratches. Do the whole piece of metal evenly. Progress upwards through the grits until you have a beautiful shine or matte finish- depending on how your project will end up. I like both, so sometimes, I will leave it matte. I like to sand flat pieces on paper which is on top of a mouse pad. That way you get a little cushioning. Put the metal on the paper and rub in a circle eight pattern. At some point, you may be able to switch to the dremel/foredom. You could even start with it, but it is tricky because it can leave a pattern. (sometimes you may WANT the pattern) There are lots of ways to clean up your metal, I'm just offering a few suggestions. The time spend will make all the difference in your pieces. If all of your work still leaves a few marks, you may want to go with a satin/matte finish. A lot of people will do this to cover up metal boo boos. I think it usually looks nice and in my experience, a patina will take to it better.
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zekesman
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2016
Posts: 637
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Post by zekesman on Sept 21, 2017 9:40:10 GMT -5
Along with what Tela said, would raise the stones slightly in the bezel and or make the bezels slightly tighter. Great job on your firsts! Keep up the good work. Vic
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Post by toiv0 on Sept 21, 2017 9:58:44 GMT -5
Pretty good for first go round. I like to split my bail or use a wider bail, a single narrow bail can have a tendency to have the piece roll over backwards. A split or wider bail will keep the piece right side facing out. Just my preference. I believe some of the smiths get double half round and saw down the middle.
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Post by fantastic5 on Sept 21, 2017 10:37:39 GMT -5
I had tried to respond yesterday, but my work computer froze and I lost my post. So fingers crossed it will work this time.
First I'm no expert, I have exactly 1 weeks experience when I went to William Holland school this year. I will echo what Tela said about metal prep. Take the time to get the scratches out as you go. Once you've put your bail on, it makes it much more difficult to clean up the piece. The next suggestion is on your second piece. I really like the ball you added to the bottom, but I would have cut the back plate to attach the ball to rather than bring the bail piece all the way down. With that, I worry that the pendant may lean one way or the other when worn.
And then to echo what tiovO said about sitting the cabs higher/ bail lower. I think that will come once you refine your cabbing with smithing in mind vs wrapping.
All in all, a really nice 1st and 2nd piece. Something to really be proud of!
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Post by accidentalrockhound on Sept 21, 2017 11:25:38 GMT -5
Thanks rockjunquie, zekesman, toiv0, fantastic5, info noted trying to silver Smith on a dime store budget. Although it does not excuse me from not preparing the rough material better. I was trying out to looks a low dome as seen on the rainforest jasper,an a high dome as seen on the crazylace. After posting the photo's I can see clearly where the bezel does not look flush.I will work on that on my next pieces. On the crazy lace I liked the long bail down the back but did not think of how it would effect the presentation when it is worn. When I set it down to take a photo it leaned to one side. And that globy mess of solder on it came from not adhering the back plate and the bezel the first go around and had to redo it. Thanks again for the advice. And I definitely understand the importance of the 3 types of solder.
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Post by Pat on Sept 21, 2017 12:05:01 GMT -5
About your setup: instead of using tweezers in the third hand, you can get toothless alligator clips at the Radio Shack. Won't scratch like regular toothy alligator clips.
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