| |
Sawing
and Drilling
The
saw is mainly used to cut various metals and material in jewelry
making. Choosing
a saw frame and saw blades:
Choose
the size of the saw blade according to the thickness of the metal,
else you risk breaking the saw blade if the teeth of the blade
are larger than the metal’s thickness.
Loading
the saw frame:
- Insert
one end of the blade into the front end of the frame with the
blade facing upward. When held vertically, the saw blade’s
teeth should be facing down.
- Support
the front end of the frame using the bench.
- Using
your shoulder or arms, press gently forward the saw frame as
to slightly bend the frame forward.
- Insert
the other side of the blade into the back of the frame.
- The
blade will become taut once you release the pressure on the
frame.
- The
blade should make a sharp sound when pinch.
- Use
a lubricating wax on the saw blade so that it glides smoothly
and avoid blade breakage.
Sawing:
- Trace
the line to be cut.
- Place
the blade perpendicular to the sheet of metal and outside the
line.
-
Apply force going downward as the saw cuts through the metal.
- The
motion should straight up and down to ensure that both the top
and bottom are symmetric.
- To
make a turn, saw two(2) or three(3) times in place while pivoting.
- To
saw out a shape inside a piece, drill a hole into the metal
and insert the saw blade through before attaching end of the
blade to the frame.
The
saw can also be used to file tiny corners or surfaces that regular
files cannot reach. It is also used in the finishing of a piece
of jewelry.
Drilling
- Using
a scribe and a hammer, slightly tap to mark where the hole is
to be made. The indentation keeps the drill bit from slipping.
- Add
lubricant on the bit to make the drilling smoother and to protect
your tools from wearing out prematurely.
- Using
a micro motor or a flexible shafts drill down vertically a hole
into the metal.
- Using
a bur, clean the newly made hole with a circular motion as to
take away the rough edges of the metal.
For
both drilling and grinding a micro motor or a flexible shaft is
required. The micro motor has the motor in the hand set, whereas
the flexible shaft comes with a motor that you hang with a long
shaft that transmit the rotation to the handset. The chuck, bits
and burs have a standard diameter of 2.35mm and can be changed
depending on your need. In most jewelry workshops, you would find
the Foredom or the Dremel.
Bits:
Cut vertically. Can only make holes
Burs: Cut laterally. Can take metal out from all direction. Perfect
for cleaning holes made by drilling.
Other
than holes, drilling and grinding are great for decorative element
and making settings. There are various type of grinding burs that
make jewelry making a lot easier than using a saw.
<Back
to Top>
Annealing
and Pickling
The
annealing process renders the metal more malleable. With time,
metals become harder and brittle, thus annealing is required to
return its crystalline structure of the metal back to its original
formation. To do this, we need to heat the metal to a certain
point, called the annealing point. Depending on the metal, the
annealing point will vary. As artisan, the easiest way to anneal
metal is using the soldering flame.
Annealing
using a soldering flame:
-
Place the metal on a block of charcoal or a soldering block
- Set
your flame to a strong but soft blue flame
- Pass
the flame over the metal slowly and uniformly
- As
the metal darkens, you will see a glow as the flame passes.
This is an indication that you are reaching the annealing point.
- Continue
the motion of the flame until the entire surface of the metal
glows as you pass the flame around its surface.
- For
thicker metal, you may need to turn it over and anneal the different
sides.
When
annealing thin pieces of metal, special care should be taken to
avoid melting the metal. In the case of very thin wire, indirect
heat should be used. This can be done by placing the wire in a
copper box with charcoal.
The
list gives the annealing point of certain metals:
Copper:
600-700
Gold: 600-750
Pure Silver: 300-700
Platinum: 600-1000
Sterling Silver: 750+
Without
an oven with a temperature regulator, the way to know if a metal
is annealed is by looking at the colour changes as you pass the
flame over the surface of the metal. The surface should emit a
glow that is close to the original colour of the metal when the
flame is over it. For sterling silver, when the flame is passed
over the surface, there is a white glow. When annealed, silver
is a dark
<Back
to Top>
|
|
