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Related Link:
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Metalsmithing |
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Copper and Brass
Sheet
Christine Cox
Distressed Bird of Paradise
Nickel Silver, Acrylic,
Patina Solution
Jody Maple
Maple Leaf Pendant
Patinated Copper Sheet and
Copper Mesh,
Copper Eyelets
Jody made this in an Art Parts class taught by Christine Cox
Find out how to achieve the color on this brooch in our new booklet
Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
Pam Hewitt
Etched Book Cover
nickel, copper, paper
Pam made this in one of my
5-day Metalsmithing Intensives
Carolyn Disher
Fabricated Book Cover
nickel, copper, leather, paper
Carolyn made this in one of my
5-day Metalsmithing Intensives
Christine Cox
See close-up photos of this bracelet and others
here
Bambi Stalder
Butterfly Book
Bambi made this in my
Art Parts: Etched and Fabricated Metal
class. Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and
Idea Book.
Artist: Christine Cox
Brass Bezel Box
22 and 26 ga. Brass Sheet,
brass wire, stone, silver solder,
Oxidizing Solution
Artist: Christine Cox
Vincent's Pet Tag
(In the collection of Vincent Cox)
20 ga. Copper, 22 ga. Nickel Silver and
26 ga. Brass
Learn to make pet tags in my article in
The Muse
Artist: Christine Cox
Butterfly Stick Pin (in the collection of Sandy Brien).
22 gauge Brass Sheet, Brass Wire,
Torched for Color
Artist: Christine Cox
Good Luck Box
22 gauge Brass Sheet, silver
solder,
Oxidizing Solution.
Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and
Idea Book
Artist: Jerra Banwarth
Jerra made this très élégant toothpick holder from
26 Gauge Copper and patterned silver wire.
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Virginia Dunstan (hardware)
Made from our
Original Traveler Journal Kit
and Brass Sheet and wire
Christine Cox
Find out how to achieve the color on this clock in our new booklet
Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
Christine Cox
Erté Dancer
In the collection of Glenny Densem-Moir
This clock is etched.
Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and
Idea Book.
Christine Cox
Find out how to achieve the color on this book cover in our booklet
Coloring Base Metals: A
Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
Artist: Christine Cox
Jules' Collar and Slide
(In the collection of Jules Cox)
Collar is leather with
Rivets
and Snaps
Tag is 20 ga. Copper Sheet
Learn to make pet tags in my article in
The Muse
Artist: Christine Cox
Alabama's Pet Tag
22 ga. Brass
Learn to make pet tags in my article in
The Muse
Artist: Christine Cox
Dinosaur Egg Box
22 Brass Sheet, silver
solder,
Oxidizing Solution.
Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and
Idea Book
Artist: Christine Cox
Etched Tinkly Necklace
22 ga. Nickel Silver Sheet,
sterling chain, Sterling
Jump Rings. Make a necklace like this in Christine's
Art Parts class!
Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and
Idea Book
Artist: Christine Cox
'Elektra' (detail)
Body is made from 20 ga.
Copper Sheet
Fibers are attached to a round piece of
22 gauge Brass Sheet
Artist:
Carole Lamb
Carole made these 2 buttons from
26 gauge copper and brass sheet. The letters were punched using our
Metal Punch Stamps.
Christine Cox
Li'l Traveler Journal Kit:
Khaki/Black
22 gauge brass, copper wire
Christine Cox
In the collection of Karen Ritter
Click on the photo and check out the
Copper Mesh in the
background.
Find out how to achieve the color on this clock in our new booklet
Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
Artist: Christine Cox
Mask was made for
Art & Soul
2004 Challenge
Published in "Somerset Studio Gallery IV"
Gayle? Art & Soul 2004 class - The student started with an old
Masonite clipboard and just look at the results! She also used our
Extra Long Eyelets and our
Copper Mesh.
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Saw Frame
Cutting Music Albums
I just love cutting up albums and using them in
my metal work. Check your
local thrift stores as they sometimes have albums in colors other than
black. I have a great brown one and some red ones that are destined to be cut up soon. I find
that a 5/0 Blade is perfect for
vinyl. Cut the album with a
Saw Frame
rather than trying to cut it on a paper cutter -- a mistake I made (the
album shattered). To make the vinyl pieces smaller and more manageable,
score them deeply (3 or 4 cuts) with a utility knife and ruler. Snap the
record in half as you would glass.
This drawing will show you
the correct way to string blades in your saw frame
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Christine Cox
Milton
Purpleheart wood, Copper,
paper, Thread
Color is gesso, colored pencils,
StazOn Ink
Milton Open |
How to String a Blade in
a Saw Frame
To install a Blade in your
jeweler’s Saw Frame, first
observe the orientation of the blade’s teeth. When properly installed, the
teeth will face out (in the cutting direction of the frame) and down toward
the handle (see drawing). A great trick
for finding the direction of the teeth (those little guys can be very hard
to see) is to run the blade across your sleeve. The teeth will hang up on
the fabric in one direction and not in the other. The direction in which it
hangs is the direction the teeth are facing.
Now open the
key closest to the handle of the saw frame. Insert the blade, double
checking the orientation. Tighten the key.
Flex the saw frame by placing the handle against your
breastbone (or stand up and use your hip) and resting the screw or nub at
the top of the frame on a table. When you push the handle with your chest
(or hip), the frame will flex so that the blade can reach to the top key.
Note: when the frame is at rest, the blade should not quite touch the top
key. You should have to flex the frame to get the blade into the right
position. If the frame is too short for the blade, the blade will be loose
and will not cut correctly.
Use the “ping” test to ensure that the blade is
tight enough. After stringing and tightening the blade, hold it up close to
your ear and “ping” it with a fingernail. The resulting sound should be high
and sharp. If it’s dull, the blade is loose. Try again. |
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Miniature Hardware |
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Christine Cox 2/05
A Brief Moment in Time
Click image for larger view |
I made this pin at
Art & Soul
in a class taught by Thomas Mann. The layers are brass on the back, then
the photo, then a
Acrylic Sheet and on top is a piece of brass that I
had etched ahead of time. The pin is held together with
Tiny Brass
Hex-Head Bolts. |
A personal note about the pin: To the best of my
knowledge, this is the only existing picture of both my parents and me. I
recently scanned over a hundred photos for my grandmother and this picture
was among them. It was unexpected to find it and I just had to use it for
this piece. The photo, and therefore the pin, is very special to me. |
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Sealing |
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Butterfly Brooch |
Christine Cox
10/04
I stamped a butterfly shape with
StazOn Ink onto
Nickel Silver Sheet. I
then cut it out (Jeweler's
Saw Frame), colored it with colored pencils and sealed it with
wax.
Find out how to achieve the color on this brooch in our booklet
Coloring Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox.
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Oxidizing
Solution
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Our oxidizing solution works on
sterling silver,
white brass (nickel silver),
copper and
brass.
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Use stick-on letters on your metal and then oxidize it.
When you pull the letters off you'll have a great 2-color effect!
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Our oxidizer is low-odor.
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Also, while you should always
wear
gloves when using it, our oxidizer is fairly benign. If you get any on
your hands simply wash them in soap and water.
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Make sure you don't trap any bubbles
underneath your metal or you'll get a spot with no color.
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If you just leave copper,
brass or nickel in the oxidizer for a few seconds you'll get a
warm, yellow/brown
color. More time means darker colors ranging from
brown to blue/gray to
black.
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Sterling silver will turn
from light gray to a
deep blue/gray (notice the picture
of the sterling ring I oxidized).
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For the darkest color possible,
a really nice charcoal gray (it never gets really
solid black), you can soak the clean metal in the solution for about 2
minutes.
Remove the metal (AWAY from the solution) and use a soft brass brush
with a drop of soap on it to gently brush the entire piece of metal.
Rinse the metal. You need to make sure there is no soap on it, otherwise
when you put it back into the solution the soap will neutralize the
solution and it will no longer oxidize. Also, be sure not to use
the brass brush over the solution as you will be scraping off bits of
oxidized metal and they will pollute the solution. As the solution can
be used over and over again it's important to keep it as pure as
possible.
Put the metal back into the solution and let it sit another 2 minutes or
so.
Brass brush with soap and water again.
Rinse and repeat several times. It will seem as though the solution is
just coming back off every time you brush it but then, suddenly, the
metal will stay nice and dark. At this point you are done. No more color
can be achieved.
Clean the metal gently (just with your gloved hands) with soap and
water.
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While the oxidizer is still wet you can move a
paper towel or something else over it to 'variegate' the
color.
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If you don't like how the oxidizing looks
because you dipped it for too long, you can take it back off with
Polishing Paper, Scotch Brite, steel wool, sand paper, a wire wheel
on your flex shaft, etc.
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Try torching the metal for maximum color and
then quenching it in water. Then oxidize it just a little. You'll
get cool variations in the colors caused by the torch
(mostly shades of browns, you'll lose the brighter colors).
Doesn't the box look great after a bath in
our Oxidizing Solution?
Learn to etch from our
Metal Etching How-To and Idea
Book
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Artist: Christine Cox 5/04
Sterling Silver Ring darkened in our
Oxidizing
Solution after being formed on our Steel
Ring Mandrel
Think out of the box! Clipiolas (those fantastic
paperclips from Italy) are made of brass so they oxidize beautifully! Our
Brass Eyelets also oxidize
to beautiful colors.
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Try this cool trick I
discovered (wear gloves and goggles as the oxidizer splutters a
lot), torch your metal to give it color then, while it's still hot,
dip directly into the oxidizer (in a deep glass container). If you sort of in-out-in-out the
metal you'll get a wave-y pattern. The bubbling makes a very cool
pattern on the metal. I call this technique 'Torch Collage.'
Caution, if your metal is too hot it may lose its temper when you
put it into the oxidizing solution. Test
this on a scrap of the same gauge and alloy. This and several other coloring techniques are
featured in our booklet "Coloring
Base Metals: A Practical Guide by Christine Cox."
Be sure to wear goggles and gloves to protect yourself from the
splattering solution.
This book by Vicki Potter was colored
using the hot oxidizer trick
Artist: Christine Cox 3/04
22 Gauge Brass Sheet
I etched the
letters onto the metal and then cut out, formed and soldered the pieces together.
The lid has a ring on the under-side which holds it onto the box with friction.
In the collection of Francesca Fuller |
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Copper
Mesh and
Mini Blow Torch Solid copper mesh colors beautifully using a low-heat torch like
our Mini Blow Torch.
The mesh also oxidizes beautifully in our
Oxidizing
Solution
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Don't our
Eyelets look great
flattened out like that? I did it by installing the eyelet normally, but I
used a Bench Block rather than
a plastic mat underneath the front of the eyelet.
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Find out how to make this luminous picture
frame!
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Christine Cox 7/03
Pin made in Tim McCreight's class at OCAC, Portland, OR
Christine
Cox 8/03
Pictures and Transparencies by ARTchix Studios
All charms are 1" X 1 1/4"
Christine Cox 8/03
Check out the Winter 2003 and
Spring 2004 issues of ARTitude
Zine:
Full directions and diagrams for making these very cool charms and a
bracelet using them!
You will need the following:
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Christine Cox 8/03
Christine Cox 8/03
Charm Template
Print this on sticker paper
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Mini Bench Vise |
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Use a Mini Bench Vise to hold
tools while you work. You'll want it right next to your seat as you'll find
a million uses for it. Here's my set-up when I'm making bead or cupped
rivets. The nail-set (available at hardware stores) gently prevents the
front of the rivet from being damaged or flattened while you hammer
the back of the rivet. |
Here I'm using my Mini Bench Vise
to hold a wire while I form a rivet head. The hammer is a special
Riveting Hammer. Note correct use
of hammer.
Here I have a charm that I'm soft
soldering (with a Soldering Iron) in my
Mini Bench Vise.
The piece of leather is to protect the charm from the vise jaws and the
pencil acts as a little level. I just raise or lower one end of the pencil
when I want to level the charm. It keeps me from burning my fingers and
makes my Solder bead level. |
Artist: Christine Cox
Vincent Cox with Good Luck box
The ornament on top of the box was etched using the instructions in our
Etched Metal: How-To and
Idea Book |
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