Last Sunday I started a 4-week Beginning Metalsmithing class, something I've been wanting to do for awhile and the opportunity popped up. Six hours straight so we can really have time to start and (not necessarily) finish each project!
Our first project was hammering 10ga copper wire into paddle earrings and making ear wires to attach. Basically it was instruction about how metal molecules act when beaten to a pulp 😊 and work hardening / annealing. Been there, done that so I felt confident. The pic came out blurry so didn't include it here.
However, the second half of class we started a cuff, drawing out our own design on tissue paper and glue-sticking it directly onto the brass cuff blank. Then came the sawing and piercing with a jeweler's saw. After 1 hour of diligent and careful sawing, here's what I have to show for it!
I'm happy NOT to have broken a saw blade ... we used 2/0 blades, which are very very fine and the metal is 20ga brass.But unhappy about not centering the cutouts, you can see that little error from the other side ... oh well. It was my first time piercing and sawing a shape and boy, did I use muscles I didn't know I had. Probably should have chosen an easier beginner-type design .. but I'm all about the challenge!
The trick is to hold the saw gently and lightly at a 90 degree angle to your work, while balancing and turning your piece on the bench pin with your other hand. And keeping fingers out of the way!! And sawing at a nice even pace ... up, down, up down, repeat.
Oh, did I say that our instructor said 'Don't stress and tense up, because the blade could stick and / or break'...? Like THAT statement itself isn't enough to stress over!?
I'm planning to finish the sawing and then filing all the rough edges in a future class or eventually at home. But this is definitely for my wrist only. It's all about practice, practice and more practice and a huge dose of patience. One day I hope to be experienced enough to venture out of my safe zone and actually list a sawn and pierced piece in our Etsy boutique.
Oh, I should mention that my fellow Mom-care-giver took my shift so I could go off and play at the bench.
Thanks, Sis!
Only 3.5 more days until the next learning curve. I'll report about that in the next post.
Wish me luck!
A.
Our first project was hammering 10ga copper wire into paddle earrings and making ear wires to attach. Basically it was instruction about how metal molecules act when beaten to a pulp 😊 and work hardening / annealing. Been there, done that so I felt confident. The pic came out blurry so didn't include it here.
However, the second half of class we started a cuff, drawing out our own design on tissue paper and glue-sticking it directly onto the brass cuff blank. Then came the sawing and piercing with a jeweler's saw. After 1 hour of diligent and careful sawing, here's what I have to show for it!
 |
| Lots of sawing time left to go |
The trick is to hold the saw gently and lightly at a 90 degree angle to your work, while balancing and turning your piece on the bench pin with your other hand. And keeping fingers out of the way!! And sawing at a nice even pace ... up, down, up down, repeat.
Oh, did I say that our instructor said 'Don't stress and tense up, because the blade could stick and / or break'...? Like THAT statement itself isn't enough to stress over!?
I'm planning to finish the sawing and then filing all the rough edges in a future class or eventually at home. But this is definitely for my wrist only. It's all about practice, practice and more practice and a huge dose of patience. One day I hope to be experienced enough to venture out of my safe zone and actually list a sawn and pierced piece in our Etsy boutique.
Oh, I should mention that my fellow Mom-care-giver took my shift so I could go off and play at the bench.
Thanks, Sis!
Wish me luck!
A.
Sawing was not a part of my class which was a pity, but we didn't have enough time for that, just like the soldering.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the same class again this year and hope that I'll be able to build on what I already know and have time to chew the instructor's ear about some new stuff.
Cat, I hope your class size is smaller and hopefully you'll all get a chance to do your own thing. I like sawing if I have the time set aside ... The cuff on this post is not yet finished .. (I was going to try to do it for the January Moon theme, but using another medium for that, which I'll be blogging about this week.)
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