sterling silver guitar ring
following my dreams was scary and still is . 4 years ago I had to quit my job as a well paid nurse ( injured my back on the job - did not get workers comb ) The only thing I had was my hobby - metal smithing. 4 years later I am my own boss now and make what I love , even though the ups and down of selling your own creations or following your dream is scary as shit and sometimes you don't know how to pay rent its still somehow worth it :)
enough with the story - here is what I do
starting out with a sheet of metal - 18 gauge sterling ( 1mm thick)
i usually draw directly on the metal
my trusted jewelry saw
I have a 6 inch saw and a inch saw but mostly use the 6 inch ( distance between sawblade and frame ) the saw blade itself is about 0.5mm thick
cut out guitar
number 2 halfround file
I filed all the edges smooth
punching a hole
I use hole punch pliers for most of the holes I need but I also have a really small drill press for when the punch needs to be bigger
added some texture with some older steel punches
I try to never forget to "mark" the stuff I make
maybe one day in 500 years someone will find one of mine and I will be in some antique jewelry book . lol
bending the ring until the ends meet
now comes the fun part
fluxing the joint and adding some wire solder
heating the ring with my hydroflux welder
My husband got me a really really nice toy for my birthday/christmas and any other holiday , its portable and pretty safe to use unlike the torches with oxygen and acetylene
after soldering the ends together
oxidation happens during heating , you an clean it up with putting the metal in a so called "Pickle solution"
after the "pickle bath"
ring mandrel and ring
I used a nylon hammer to hammer out the shape to make it nice and round and to work harden the ring
formed ring
cleaning it with my flex shaft
a flexshaft is basically a dremel with a flexible hose
added patina
liver of sulfur was used - stinks like rotten eggs ( or bad doggie farts ) but leaves a nice dark/grey patina
took some steel wool and polished the surface a bit
done :)
here is another angle
hope you guys liked it and if you want you can have a look at my shop