Cut out 2 discs
you want to make them at least 1 inch or the cuff links will be to small . I use a disc cutter but you can also cut them by hand with a jewelers saw
draw your skulls on a piece of paper and stick to your metal sheet
I used 20 gauge sterling silver for both the discs and the skulls ,I want to dome the cuff links later and when you go thicker they will dome funny
cut out your skulls and punch holes through eyes and nose for the saw blade
then feed your saw blade through the holes and saw out your eyes
make sure the skull fits well into the circle
I am lucky that I can eyeball very well ,I almost never measure ,but please do that before you end up with a too big of a skull for your circle
solder your skulls to the discs
I use hard solder
now is the time to dome your discs
The way to do is ,is to use a dabbing block ,its a steel block with half domed indentations and corresponding ball on sticks ...
choose an indentation and put your disc in skull face down
the ball hammer goes on top and the you hammer the end of it with a nylon hammer
don't use steel on steel as you will damage either your hammer or the ball on the stick :) a raw hide hammer or nylon hammer is the best to use
domed skull circles
now take your links and solder them to the back of your discs
I am lazy ,I buy the links ,its soooo much faster and they can make them better then I can
after soldering clean in your pickle solution until the metal turns white
start polishing
left is the polished one on the right is your non polished one
add patina ( liver of sulfur)
www.nic
now if you want to you can stop before adding patina and leave your cuff links like that ,nice and clean and in a " raw" state ,or you can add patina and leave them all black or..........
...polish and leave the black in the nose and the eyes and a bit around the skulls
that will give you a nice contrast
Today I made a pair of sterling silver skull cuff links............
hope you liked it