I previously shared easy ways to make simple sea glass jewelry - especially the tiny pieces. But there are other techniques for showing off large pieces. Here are two.
The first is the bezel setting technique by Dutch metalsmith, Bregje. Her Youtube channel is great for aspiring metalsmiths.
It's a good basic bezel tutorial especially if you have not encountered the technique before. She shows how to cut out the bezel using a jewelry saw, to fit it properly and to solder. I like the kind of flux she uses because she can coat her metal piece with it and prevent firescale. She also uses a wire coil to make the bail.
The soft solder method is much easier than the one above as not many tools are needed. This tutorial is by Canadian Youtuber, Wednesday. Copper foil tape from the stained glass and crafting world is used. A soldering iron is used with lead free solder - this is typically used in plumbing and electronic work. Flux is also needed to make the solder flow.
She happened to use 97/3 solder which consists of 97% tin (Sn) and 3% copper (Cu). The initials in the brackets is the periodic table number for that particular element. Other solder like this one is described as Sn99 Ag 0.3 Cu0.7. The Ag stands for silver.
As you can see from her video, she wraps the sea glass and the crystal with copper tape. Solder is then applied to cover the tape. She also uses the soft solder technique to attach a jump ring as a bail.
I highly recommend this book, Soldered Alchemy by Laura Beth Love which creatively uses solder for jewelry making. Not just for sea glass but for crystals, broken china etc. See my full review here.
H/T to Aims of Big Blue Barn for the Estonia Metalsmithing Channel find.
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Original Post by THE BEADING GEM
I love doing soft soldering. It can be used on anything really and the only thing holding you back is your imagination.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely intrigued by soft soldering. I like the possibilities and the look appeals to me. I hope to try it some day. Too bad I can't find classes in my country.
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