Cuttlebone Pendant
Instructor: Judy Brown
Prerequisite: Cuttlebone Casting
Duration: 8 Hours
In this exclusive Cuttlebone workshop, Judy will guide participants in designing and executing a unique cuttlebone pendant embellished with a faceted stone.
In Cuttlebone Casting you learned the basics. In this workshop you will learn how to manipulate your design ideas to achieve unusual creative results, including how to control the gauge of your cast piece.
Design is an important aspect of the casting process, as the casting can be somewhat unpredictable. You will learn valuable techniques to design your pendant, even if you have difficulty sketching your designs to scale or exactly the way your mind sees it. Judy will teach you an efficient way to design that minimizes the need to add borders normally accomplished by using wires and soldering.
Techniques:
- Design a basic desired shape on paper, no detail needed at this point.
- Cutting an 18 ga shape for a prototype. This is part of the method to control your design when carving into the cuttlebone.
- Carving your design into the cuttlebone, using precise methods to control the thickness of the piece and adding design elements that minimize soldering on additional pieces to the cast cuttlebone. You will be casting more than one piece, because results can be unpredictable.
- Finalizing the design on paper after casting. The method taught in this workshop will not require sketching talent but will achieve incredibly detailed results!
- Soldering the tube set for the faceted stone.
- Soldering on the bail.
- Adding additional design elements as needed.
- Cutting, filing, and fitting all the parts.
- Clean up, polishing and setting the stone.
Judy Brown has perfected many cuttlebone methods to make this style of jewelry design fun and exciting. Let her share her wealth of information on this fascinating and unique method of jewelry design.
Bring your Metalsmithing toolbox, including the following items:
- 6” X 6” 18 gauge brass OR copper OR nickel sheet (for prototype)
- 3-4 ounces Sterling silver casting shot, or gold alloy shot
- 1 5mm Sterling silver tube set
- 1 5mm faceted stone that sits perfectly into the tube set. Please make sure your stone FITS!!
- easy, medium, and hard wire solder
- 12” 16 ga Sterling round or square wire (for embellishments) or 14 ga, your choice
- 4-6 cuttlebones
- Some dental tools for carving cuttlebone
- Some round or square copper, brass or nickel tubing for making impressions in cuttlebone
- 2 sheets of 220 grit sandpaper
- jeweler’s saw frame and beeswax
- 1 pk each: #2, #1, #1/0, #2/0, #3/0, and #4.0 saw blades
- Bezel roller, various small drill bits, round needle file, 6” ½ round Habilis file
- 1 set each blue, peach & green 3M bristle discs and mandrels
- 1 pkg each coarse and medium Magnum discs and mandrels
- N95 or P95 particle mask
- 1 each wire cutters, chain nose and round nose pliers
- Soft brass brush, soft paint brush, firm paint brush
- Sharpie marker: fine or ultra-fine point
- 1 each: can of compressed air and sketch book
- Wite-Out with a brush
- Optional: leather cord or chain for pendant
- Optional: Foredom Drill Press Accessory for flexshaft
Jan. 2021 tr
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