This pendant is made by hand with out the use of measurements. Meaning, you start out by drawing what you want and take that directly to the metal. While researching this I realized butterfly wings have so many different shapes. After looking at a bunch, these wings are my interpretation of what they look like. I can make one for you.
If you have never soldered before please check this out.
Needed:
A small square of 22 gage sheet metal. I bought a 22 gage sheet at the hardware store for about $8.00.
Wood nail
Paper clip
If you have never soldered before please check this out.
Needed:
A small square of 22 gage sheet metal. I bought a 22 gage sheet at the hardware store for about $8.00.
Wood nail
Paper clip
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Signing UpStep 1: Draw out your butterfly
Use a ball point pen to draw out your butterfly. This drawing is going to be the exact size for the finished product.
Once you have your design, retrace the perimeter of the wing with moderate pressure. This will cause your drawing to separate from the rest of the paper. Now you have a stencil for your butterfly wing.
Once you have your design, retrace the perimeter of the wing with moderate pressure. This will cause your drawing to separate from the rest of the paper. Now you have a stencil for your butterfly wing.
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With which metal you made it? If you fear it might rust, you can electroplate it. That's what I did when I made the 'double sided heart' (made mine out of an old paint can..turned out it start rusting 2days later). So i filed it with fine grit paper and electroplated it with aluminium(since i wanted to keep the grey finish) and till now no rust detected. Best of luck. Nice work by the way :)
photo, of course.
Basically it follows the COMA rule:
C = Cathode(-ve terminal)
O = Object to be plate
M = Metal to be used for plating
A = Anode (+ve terminal)
So you connect the Object to be plated to the Cathode and the Metal for plating to the Anode. The you immerse the whole thing in a salt solution and turn on your supply(I use 12V at 1.2A)
I was considering using a power supply from an old computer as the source of my voltage since it will supply the 12v (if I'm remembering right). ((My friend and I used the supply when we were making a wet-cell, worked great.))
Anyways,... will this work with any metal + metal combo? Like, can I plate one of my polished heart pendants I made from Mrballeng's ible, with say... copper from a copper pipe?
Yes, copper works great. I usually use the copper from electrical wires. Take a long piece and bend it in a 'snake' shape to increase surface area(makes the process more effective and faster). The only issue with copper is that it will oxidize with time and become mat (from bright 'gold-like' finish to a dull brownish yellow color)
For the salt solution, just mix kitchen salt in warm water(to make it dissolve better) and you are good to go.
Attach your pendant to the (-ve) wire, the copper metal to the (+ve wire) and immerse it in the salt solution, make sure there aren't touching and make sure the pendant is fully immersed. Switch on the power supply and you'll see bubbles.(proof that its working) If your supply is 12V 2A, leave it on for about an hour or until you are happy with the final result. The longer the better since a thicker layer of copper will be deposited. You might want to leave it longer if u plan to polish with sand paper. I'd recommend 2000 grit. Else, just buff the pendant with polishing compound and you are good to go.
The solution after a while will turn in something sluggish of greenish brown color or something like that.
Perform the electroplating in a well ventilated location.(gas evolved in the process, hydrogen i believe).
I know, long reply but hope it helps.
Do all metals work this way? Like... is there a chart somewhere with a list of what metals will work like this?
I have, for example, an old silver ring, could I use this method to use the silver from the ring to plate, say... a brass section of pipe?
I dont know what that sort of chart would be called, but I'm sure it would be helpful if it existed...
However, be very careful when polishing using sand paper even if its fine grit because if you there's too little deposition on the object, using sand paper will remove it. If you plan to use sand paper, let the electroplating process run for a longer period of time.
What I also like to do is, rub the 2000 grit paper on a hard and smooth surface(like a piece of scrap metal) just to remove the grainy surface so as to make it smoother(its like increasing the grit number). In this way, there won't be any light scratches. (note, only required if you are using a fresh piece of sand paper)
Hope this helps :)
Im Kinda An Expert Solderer Been At It For 6 Years.
1. clean, touching joint.
2. flux / borax which is applied in the joint and helps the silver solder to flow
3. heat throughout the entire piece, as this causes agitation in the molecules and allows the silver solder to flow "into" the sterling silver.
I have no idea how far this correlates with the kind of soldering done on circuit boards, but it's worth remembering that on many pieces of jewellery soldering and polishing is done in stages throughout, as construcion in very fine work can mean certain parts of the piece are just inaccessible for polishing once the whole thing is finished. So solder has to work perfectly - and does - on a super high polish.
Now you're really getting me addicted this stuff..Especially since it requires minimal/easy to find tools..This one is for sure on my to do list(maybe this weekend..who knows :D)Thank you very much for sharing with us all :)
Mr. B. You Rock!
While your skills and creativity eclipse my own, I would offer one suggestion that may make your work a little easier to finish. In the photos that include your tool faces, I've noted they're pretty roughly surfaced. If you're using them for less delicate tasks of course, this would be a waste of time, but it's very easy using your drill press, files, and sandpaper followed by polish to bring your hammer and anvil (another hammer) to a mirror finish.
I like leaving a few tool marks on my work just because it gives it the handcrafted appearance folks appreciate, but you'll eliminate a lot of filing and sanding time on your pieces by starting with polished tools.
For those attempting these amazingly approachable projects, another tip is to remember that hammering any metal will harden it, making it progressively more difficult to get the result you want. You can anneal (heat and quickly cool) metal as often as you like to keep it softer. You can do this on a natural gas or propane stove, by using a plumber's torch, or with a hobby butane mini-torch, available at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Wal-Mart to name a few. The key is to get the metal glowing red as evenly as possible and then to drop it in cool water immediately. Use your head and don't burn yourself or your possesions when working with open flames and hot materials.
One more tip for budding jewelers: If you like a little less uniform polished look on your metals, you can also burnish them rather than using polishing compound with a buffer. Take a common spoon and simply make firm strokes across the surface of the piece (this basically closes the "pores" of the metal, imparting a nice luster). You can vary the pressure and length of the strokes to get mottled or irregular finishes.
Last tip: Experiment! With materials like the ones in these tutorials, mistakes cost you a few cents at most, and there's no better teacher than a failed attempt. Have fun everyone, and thanks very my Mrballeng for your efforts here. I'm so impressed with the accessability of these tutorials.
Haewood said,
" You can anneal (heat and quickly cool) metal as often as you like to keep it softer."
In cases of ferrous metals like iron, the material has to be held at the recrystallization temp for a prescribed length of time, and the metal cannot be quenched as it will pull water or other quenching liquids into the heat-swollen pores of the crystal structure, creating voids that cause structural weakness and weird properties.
However, with silver, brass, nickel, silver, copper, and gold (excluding white gold, an entirely other animal that does require air cooling) quenching 'freezes' the metal in it's organized crystalline state, increasing it's ductility.