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First Hinge (pendant)
Janice Fowler -
Friday, October 19, 2007 - 12:01pm
Jewelry Jewelry Gallery | First hinge  This is the first hinge I've ever done. It went ok as far as the hinge part goes. Although I did get some bend in the 'pin' maybe I needed to use a thicker gauge metal. What ended up causing the most trouble is that I used nickels to prop my piece (I had read that somewhere) and I ended up with a huge mess of melted money which came up around the edge of the seam and all into my bezel..what a mess. Take home message - don't use nickels to prop your work!  Great tips Rich!
Janice Fowler -
Saturday, October 20, 2007 - 9:39am
Thanks so much. I sometimes use copper stacked up, or brass.....I thought the coins sounded neat and so I tried it. NEVER again! :) The hinge still came out okay - it works, swings freely, just has a little tiny bend in it....I'll get an overheard shot and put it up later. :) ~Janice » reply  yeah, zinc melts at 780 and
visitor -
Sunday, October 21, 2007 - 10:30am
yeah, zinc melts at 780 and it's real easy to melt accidentally. » reply |
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ArtMetal
Janice, The old trick of
Janice,
The old trick of using coins (nickels and pennies, generally) to prop up work was fine several years ago when nickels were actually made of nickel and pennies were actually copper. These days, they're mostly zinc, and not suitable. Progress, huh? (grin)
In the future, I'd suggest using either scraps of silver or brass, painted with a coat of yellow ochre so solder can't flow to them, or pieces of stainless steel wire. I also sometimes carve differing levels on a soft firebrick when that is appropriate. There are lots of solutions to the problem of positioning work and securing it, and you just have to do some experimenting to see what works best for you.
Hinges are a fun challenge, aren't they? There is a high requirement for accuracy and perfect alignment for them to work properly, and then the design challenge of incorporating them into the work in a way that is visually effective. Good for you for taking on that challenge!