Die Forming with Hydraulic Press

February 5th, 2010 WendyLee

The other night I did a workshop with Sarah Whitlock on Hydraulic press die forming. I have had my hydraulic press sitting in my studio for way to long and thought it was about time that I learnt how to use it properly. The reason I chose to do my workshop with Sarah is that she uses a Hydraulic press that she purchased from the hardware shop as opposed to the Jewellers Presses on the market such as the Bonny Doon.

I have a 12 tonne hydraulic press that you can find in most hardware shops.

I purchased my Urethane pads from Apecs in Melbourne. PLease note you do not have to use Urethane, you can use hard rubber and a number of other materials.

Copper Sheet which had been hammered to give a textured finsh and then formed using a square perspex die.

Brass Sheet die formed.

The images below are some samples of some playing that I did when I got home. I had so many ideas running through my head that I grabbed any sheet metal samples I had lying around the studio.

Reticulated Shibuichi die Formed.

Roller Printed Brass Sheet Die Formed and patinaed

Roller printed sterling Silver die formed. You will see with this one that the sheet was a little bit to short on one side. It is still ok to use though. I guess if it was a few mm shorter it would have slipped into the die.

OOPS, This what happens when you apply to much pressure. It basically cuts the shape out. This was also the thinnest sheet metal that I used. It was 0.3mm Shibuichi. I need to keep in mind that thinner metals do not recquire as much pressure. LOL

This is a great technique which has alot of possibilities that I intend to explore and use in my work down the track.

If you would like to do some more reading on this technique then I suggest you grab the following book which covers alot of information.
“Hydraulic Die forming for Metalsmths and Jewellers – Susan Kingsley”

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Broom Casting

January 16th, 2010 WendyLee

Over the Christmas holidays I had compiled a list of things that I wanted to try as far Jewellery making was concerned.
One of the things on the list was Broom Casting/straw casting. This is a process that has intrigued me as I had seen some really great pieces made and some not so great ones.

Here is a link to a great tutorial online. Broom Casting

I had a bit of trouble tying to find a broom that was made of natural material and not of plastic. I eventually found a Millet Broom at Bunnings for about $7 AUD. Which I thought was a pretty good price.

Here are few pictures of my results.

This one is my favourite piece. It could be called an error as the silver wasn’t hot enough to run right into the broom and pooled more on top of it instead. But I really like the effect it reminds me off the lost city of Atlantis.

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Copper Bead Caps and Links

June 4th, 2009 WendyLee

Have you looked at all the gorgeous copper bead caps around that have been etched with lovely designs and wish you could make these things yourself? I bet the one thing that stops you is lack of money to buy a nice disc cutter to cut those circles out. You wouldn’t want to hand saw them, my hands just cramp at the thought of it.

Well I was wandering the aisles of my local Bunnings (hardware shop) just because I find inspiration and some great tools down there and I came across this….

What are they I hear you say? Well its a multi pack of copper washers in various sizes.
I nearly jumped up and down right there in the aisle as I thought they would be perfect for bead caps, links and various other things that were currently running through my head.

These copper washers start at 14 mm ouside diameter and go up to 25 mm outside diameter. They are about 1.5 mm thick which makes them great for etching.

As these are pure copper they work like any other copper you have used. Patina them up for an antique look and turn them into necklace links. Dome them so they fit ont he ends of beads as bead caps, etch them for interesting patterns. Hammer them with a ball pien hammer for those gorgeous dimples.

The pack that I got had 110 pieces in the pack and they were really cheap. I had a search on ebay and there are so many different packs available to you if you do not have a hardware shop handy to you!

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Glassline Fusible Paper

May 24th, 2009 WendyLee

Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it, paper that you can fuse in between layers of glass to give added texture and patterns.

This is another product that I get students to play with with teaching when teaching images on glass. It is a paper that can be fired at high temperatures between layers of glass. The paper does not burn off or warp and colurs stay bright and vibrant.

The samples of the cabochons below is using the Fusible crinkle paper in pretty mauve colour. The paper looks like crumpled up paper that has been painted and then flattened. I use these 2 examples of the paper so that people get an idea of what it looks like when fused between glass. When people have a visual of what a product will look like its easier for them to then design and create somthing using the paper.

Using this product is very easy it can be used as you would any other paper. So you can cut it using scissors, plain or the fancy serrated scissors. Use paper punchies to punch out interesting shapes to fuse into your work.

As you will see in the above image you can still see the paper, its not like a decal in that the paper burns off and leaves the colour behind. The paper stays there. You also need to leave a border around the edge of the paper otherwise the glass will not fuse correctly.

Its a great product that has many possibilities.

Glassline fusible paper is readily available from Delphi

Glassline fusible paper

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Hit and Miss Decals

May 16th, 2009 WendyLee

Sometimes things do not work the way you want to regardless of the best laid plans.
Opening that kiln door will always lead to suprises, they can be good suprieses or they can be bad ones. Sometimes so bad you want to throw a tantrum.

Working with Ceramic decals on glass can sometimes be a bit hit and miss. Some will work beautifully and others won’t for no apparent reason.

The pig cabochon below is one of those ones that didn’t work. For some reason the colour of the pig leached out and smeared. The decal was fused betweeen two layers of glass. I don;t know why this one didn;t work out when the others in the same run did work. Perhaps it was a slightly inferior decal. Not sure if decals have a shelf life, perhaps it hadn’t been stored properly or was just a bit old.

I wonder if this is what happens to a pig with Swine flu?

The cabochon with the frog decal below is also a miss. The frogs shorts started to smear and the colours are not as vibrant as they should have been. Which is a shame as it such a cute frog.

The stone cottage decal was a hit, it worked perfectly. The colours are lovely, no smearing, no bubbles!

All decals were used in accordance with the manufacturers instructions, except for the minor detail of using them on glass and not ceramics.

You win some and you loose some, but thats part of the excitement and the learning process of working with glass.

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22kt Gold Decals for Glass

May 12th, 2009 WendyLee

These are commercial glass decals that you can purchase at most glass supply places. They are available in 22k gold and platinum. They are as easy to use as the other decals but these ones are a low fire decal. Meaning they are to be fired at a lower temperature.

I always use these just on the surface of a cabochon or a pendant, I havn’t tried fusing these between layers of glass being a low fire decal I doubt they would survive so I have never tried it.

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Ceramic Decals on Glass

May 1st, 2009 WendyLee

Did you know that you can fuse ceramic decals onto your glass? Well you can, not only are they readily available, easier to find then glass decals, there is also a huge variety of them available in heaps of colours!

The other great thing about usiung ceramic decals or any waterslide transfers is that they are compatible with any COE of glass you are using.

For ceramic decals to play and experiment with there are always heaps of Auctions on Ebay and the best thing is that shipping is cheap as they can always be posted in an envelope.

Below are some of my class samples from my “Images On Glass” workshop that I have taught.

The glass eyes set are both fused on white bullseye glass sheet. The first one was fused between 2 layers of glass and the second one was fused just on the surface of the white glass.
There really isn;t muchdifference between the 2 samples although the colours of the uncapped one appear to be a little more intense, but only a fraction.

The butterflies below have always been my absolute favourites as they make such beautiful pendants. They are also a favourite of my students as well.

The first one is fused on Bullseye french Vanilla sheet glass and capped with clear glass, the second one is fused on the surface of white glass.

One thing I have found is that Ceramic decals do not hold up particularly well to multiple firings, the colours can lighten and if the decal is on the surface of the glass it can become a little crusty and rough.
So it is always best to fire the pieces as little as possible.

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Rub n Buff Metallix Wax

April 12th, 2009 WendyLee

I purchased a couple of tubes of the Rub N Buff to have a go at colouring roller printed metal and to see what diiffernce the colours would make as opposed to using enamels and paints.

I purchased the Patina and the Ruby and rubbed them onto a piece of roller printed Brass.

I found the rub n buff very easy to use and as they were a a little grittier in texture they stuck to the metal alot better then enamel paints. When you buffed back the top layer the wax that was in the recesses of the metal stayed there. As opposed to the enamel paints they can peel off.

With this medium being a wax based product I don’t see that you need to seal the surface.

I think there is alot of options for this product to be used with metal and incorporating into my jewellery making to achieve some great colour effects without having to use nasty chemicals.

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Shibuichi – Patina

April 11th, 2009 WendyLee

I have been playing with adding colour to metals using various techniques and methods and trying to see which ones i like the best to use at a later date.

This is the piece of shibuichi that I reticulated a while a go. I had filed back the peaks to reveal the copper and then left it in some water for about a week until the water had evaporated. There was also another piece of copper in there as well. I might also point out that I had left them in there by mistake this was not realy apart of the experiment but I really love the colours that appeared.

The colours that came out in this piece were so strong and vibrant. I don’t know how durable this finish will be although it is not coming off with me rubbing it with my finger.

The colour that appeared in this piece are very similar to those that you get when you fume Shibuichi with apple cider vinegar.

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Roller Printing – Paper Punches

January 17th, 2009 WendyLee

These pieces were roller printed on Copper Sheet 0.7mm thick using paper punchies.

They were just the paper punchies you purchase from scrapbooking supply places or craft shops.

You simply punch out the shape using paper or light cardstock, place it on your piece of annealed metal then roll it through the rolling mill. For paper you get an amazing amount of detail and depth in the metal.

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