On my birthday earlier this month I received the basics for soldering jewelry and started trying to learn how to add to my jewelry by soldering frames or bezel setting stones that I could wrap around. It's been quite a journey learning the different parts of soldering. I have melted a few pieces of gallery wire, created a few monstrosities while learning how much solder was "too much" and watched a few pieces fall apart as I learned how little solder was "too little." But it's been worth it.
It has always been a dream of mine to mix fabrication and wire wrapping together to create new and unique designs. I am finally on the path to that end. Some of my first pieces were pieces that could have mostly been accomplished through only wrapping. But they were a starting point to learning what was needed to create frames which would hold together. The ability to mount smaller stones without covering a large portion of them in wires, to place stones in areas where part of the stone is open to where the wrapping accents only one section or side, things that are not as easily accomplished with simply wire is opening a new style of design.
The next piece that I wanted to tackle was the bezel setting. I wanted to be able to cleanly bezel set a stone into the center of a frame and wrap around it while knowing that the stone was secure. In order to practice I picked up some copper cuff blanks and bezel wire. I started by soldering a few bezels around round washers and setting plastic rhinestones of the proper size in them to get a feel for the process and the bezel tool. Once I was comfortable I tried my first bezel setting on a cuff. I was able to set a small triangular labradorite onto the cuff and securely seat it. I was thrilled. But when I went to add wire wrapping, I suddenly realized there was a flaw to this plan. I had no way to anchor the wire wrapping to the cuff.
I wanted a seamless design and I was unsure how to meet the two techniques with each other. I debated soldering wires directly to the cuff, but in the end I decided against it and went with my second idea. I soldered two tiny copper washers to each end of the cuff. Before soldering them I bent them slightly so that only half of the washer was attached and the other half stuck out and created an anchor for my wires. I then did the same by the bezel. This was likely the most harrowing of all the soldering I have done, because I was required to solder quite close to my already bezel set labradorite and I was unsure how the stone would react to heat. I was able to manage to quickly tack on the anchors, however, and all was ready to go. I added wire wrapping to the cuff.
I think this was my first real feeling of success when it comes to fabricating. The piece was stunning (in my very biased opinion) but it still had flaws. A lot of time had been spent trying to clean up globs of solder from the cuff. I had filed and sanded and worked, but the truth was, I just wasn't the best at soldering and I had made a bit of a mess while working with it. So I pulled out my second cuff and started a new piece.
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Picking a lovely piece of pietersite that I planned to accent with some hematite I started my bezel setting. Again, I'm not perfect at this yet. I didn't set everything perfectly when setting up my third hand, so the bezel cup ended up being slightly off center. (Measure twice, solder once, folks) I also positioned the stone on this one so that the wires could run on either side of the stone over the cuff, rather than having to add anchors by the stone. I wrapped with more wires this time, interweaving three different wires to create a more intricate side piece. I added six hematite cabs, three on each side, to bring the black of the pietersite all the way around the band. I had to adjust slightly what was supposed to be a mirrored design, since one side was slightly longer, but thankfully it mostly involved weaving one side a little longer than the other, and when wearing the cuff it was not noticeable.
I still have a long way to go, but this piece was the point where I realized that I had a solid direction to head. I can't wait to see where I end up.