Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Bead Table Wednesday--Forging

annealed copper and brass

There's not much on the bead table today.  I have this copper wire which I've annealed prior to texturing and shaping into cuffs and bangles.  Some of the thinner wire, which is 8 gauge, will be made into forged wire pendants if all goes to plan. The partially shaped cuff is 2 gauge. Usually I trim the ends before shaping but I was going for a particular size so I shaped first. I had wanted to work some more 2 gauge today to make larger man-sized cuffs but I seem to be out of 2 gauge.  The largest wire I can get locally is 4 gauge so I'll have to mail order some.


My son, Stefan, is interested in forging some of the bracelets.  We had planned to work on that today but didn't make it.  Hopefully tomorrow. 


The etched brass is waiting for a bath to remove the pink.  Probably it will become back pieces for pendants.   I've been playing with some of the drawer handles hardware (shown here) and am trying to figure out how to connect the pieces.  I want to frame a photo with the hardware and am thinking about soldering versus cold connections. I've never tried to rivet something so narrow but I'm probably less likely to make a mess riveting than soldering.  


Back to work!

4 comments:

Laura Twiford said...

Nice etching! Don't you just hate it when you get on a roll and you have to stop and order more stuff? I live in an area where there is nothing so i have to order practically everything I use!

Leslie Todd said...

Thanks!

I do hate to stop to order things. I just now ordered some diamond drill bits because I didnt have any small ones. And i still have to figure out where i got the 2 gauge wire.

My Life Under the Bus said...

Same here : ( Nothing local drives me crazy when I think I have enough wire and I run out and have to wait a week.....

Leslie Todd said...

I'm even more bummed now--my supplier no longer carries the 2 gauge and I haven't found another source yet.