Jewelry Artists Forum Chatter

Hey Ray! Can we......

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:35:17 -0600

Hey Ray! Can we convert this for use with jewelers saw blades, I have seen these come up for auction from time to time, sometimes for a lot and sometimes for a little and have always been intrigued by the thought of converting one to use as a jewelers saw, might work http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-DREMEL-MOTO-SA...=item2eaece7a27

iphone apps

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:10:09 -0600

Hi all,

I have not been around in a bit as we were traveling and only just got home yesterday. During our travels I quired a iphone and I am busy getting everything I want/need on to it.

To that end.

1) What are people's favourite apps. Willing to pay for quality, but obviously would prefer free or really, really cheap.

2) Has anyone used either "I make Jewelery" and/or "Metalsmith suite". How similar are they? Is one better than the other? Do they both do 2 completely seperate things so it is worth buying both (they look to cover a lot of the same ground). I am willing to get both if they are drastically different, but as they look pretty similar I would rather only get one.

3) If anyone out there uses skype on the iphone- is there anyay to stay logged in while the phone is not in actiave use/while running another app? Seems silly that people can only call in if I know exactly when to expect them.

Thanks for any and all help.

Copper solder

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:20:28 -0600

I finally found some copper solder, and it's very different from silver! Anyone worked with it? I got some easy, no flux needed. It melts easy doesn't spread much, I found it does pickup ANY silver even fumes on your block so it needs a clean block. But you cannot do a second solder at all, it bubbles, boils and immediately opens.

Anyone worked with it got any tips?

Casting

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:40:50 -0600

I was recently lucky enough to attend a casting class for free! we tried water casting, broom straw casting, sand casting and cuttlefish casting. It was a fantastic day. So I thought I would share a couple of photos.
This one is cuttlefish cast.

Broomstraw and water

A little ring that I made with one of the water cast pieces

Another tube rivetted flower

And my lovely girly was playing with plasticine today and made this, she has named it "snogboggit"

Hine-nui-te-pō

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:55:50 -0600

A goddess of Maori legend. The front side resembles the Tekoteko (guardian) and arms of the Marae (Maori meeting house). Taken individually, the side weaving can resemble a waka (canoe) with sail on a wave. Alternatively it has something of an Egyptian feel as well.

On the reverse, the the top looks like the tekoteko on the top of a marae, and the smaller weave on the sides is reminiscent to armband Ta Moko (traditional Maori tattoos).
This was made for my sister in law who was pregnant at the time. The small bead dangles freely within the centre of the donut and she said it reminded her of her baby kicking about inside, which was just as intended

Spinner ring

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 21:28:13 -0600

I am thrilled to death with this ring!

Heart Pendant #8

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:20:10 -0600

With no further ado, this is the latest heart pendant, a popnicute signature piece.

I had to re weave the beads at the edges cos my wire was too thin and it snapped in the middle of it when i cleaned it. good thing i decided to redo everything instead of doing a small fixing cos the wire just crumbling down as i unraveled it!! scary >_
no oxi cos i think it looks fine bright. what do you think?

Etched silver and soldering

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:29:41 -0600

I did a batch of etched silver to use in ring shanks, and realized the solder won't be etched *sigh* anyone have any tips for this?

Anyone here in Homer or Seward Alaska?

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:13:33 -0600

Gonna be there in the next week, sure would like to find someone to visit while the fam goes rafting, fishing and all that general outdoorsy stuff!

Indian Jewelers Supply

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:54:05 -0600

A little bit ago there was a discussion on pin findings and this supplier was specifically mentioned. Unfortunately they ship UPS which doesn't work for me. I can get everything else I want from elsewhere but I really would like a small number of pin findings. If anyone is placing an order and would be willing to get them and then mail them to me I would be very grateful. The easiest way for me to pay you would be through Paypal but I could also mail a money order. I'm talking less than $5 worth of supplies.

Or anyone can recommend a different supplier? Rio sells them by the 100 count and I really only want 10 or 15 sets.