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Taking Care - Again

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 13, 2009

Yup, I did it again….

After my last post, I pulled out a rhodochrosite cab I made a few weeks ago.
Then, after doodling a few ideas for a shape, I started to work on a pendant.

I cut the 22g sheet fine, then refined the shape by filing a bit.

I made the bezel no problem.
Tested the stones fit - perfect!
I soldered the bezel to the sheet - placement a bit off on one side but I can file down the sheet on the other to make it a bit more even.

Then I get the dental floss, so I can test the fit of the stone.  I laid the floss, across the bezel and in went the stone,  a bit tight but it won’t require any major mods to the bezel or stone.

Then, when lifting the floss to get the stone out of the bezel….
POP and the cab went flying out of the bezel

… the cab, bounced once on the workbench
………and bounced onece on the floor
……………and (you can see where this is going…) it broke in two - at a 30 degree angle from the top surface of the cab to the back.

Take a  deep breath. This can be fixed, where is the epoxy?

BTW, this is the second “pink” stone that has broken on me.
NOTE TO SELF: NO MORE PINK AGATES

So while the epoxy cured, I moved on to the baile (it is bale, bail or baile)

I made this out of wire doing a few winds on the coil winder. Got it all soldered, turned it around and - it was off center.

So I had to remove the bale, clean it up and the back of the pendant and solder a second time. It is now in the vibra-or-torium and with luck I will set the stone tomorrow.

So after this weighing on my mind ALL DAY TODAY, I had another bonk on the head.

From a old jewelry book I picked up, and was reading during lunch,  I give you the following (modified) random quotes:

” Don’t rush!”; “Practice!, you might think you are ready to move to the next project, but with out practice your skills will be lacking”; “Check your work, make sure the solder has flowed where you expect”

So, it is back to basics and maybe I do try a few of the practice projects from that book!

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Taking more care

by Laurie Jane Kern on April 11, 2009

A few weeks ago I started three silver pendants. Why three? I have no idea but it certainly bit me in the butt.

I have always been a project “singleton”. That in the sewing world means “one project at one time” and it even implies that you don’t buy fabric or patterns en-mass with the decision to put it on the list. The list just gets bigger and bigger and you never seem to get to that project as a new purchase takes priority.

Thus doing THREE projects at once was a bit daring for me and I guess I will not do that for a while.

Any-who-ha, after I finished the silver mounts, they were put away, because I had promised to do some sewing for a friend. During this sewing time, the mounts were put into the vibratory tumbler and were made nice and sparkly.

A week or so ago, I set up the “workshop” again.  I then pulled the cabs and silver out of the storage box and got down to setting the stones. On one, the bezel had shifted (take that to mean, I bent it out of shape) during soldering and now the cab would not fit. Back to the flat lap to correct that issue. I then ground it a bit too small and now have a nice dimple in the bezel.

For the second cab, I discovered that part of the bezel was not even soldered! Back to the torch, pickle and virbra-ora-tory-ium for that one!

The third fit, thank goodness.

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