my next project is to figure out just how i am going to assemble the sacred bone necklace i started on some time back.
so this afternoon i thought
sacred bone makes me think head hunters and jungles....lost civilizations.
medicine man.
vintage pharmacy labels
so i cut glass just a bit larger than the pharmacy labels. 2 days in a row now i have cut glass. i have got the nack back baby.......uh....pretty much.
nope, you are not seeing double.
yup, if you know me you know what this means.
this is one of those - one for me, and one to sell pieces.
one of the most important steps when you are assembling your piece to solder - make sure you clean clean clean the glass. you do not want to find a schmere or fingerprint after you have it all taped up, or worse yet, after you have soldered the piece. i use plain old vinegar and a paper towel, followed up with a shop towel....um...errrrr....usually my shirt though.
next...repeat after me
flux is my friend.
the flux will clean the tape. trust me if you miss a spot you will notice the solder refusing to stick to a spot.
too much flux though and it will loosen the tape, or ruin the piece because it can seep underneath the tape and get sucked between the layers of glass and destroy what you smooshed in between the layers, especially if you used something printed on an ink jet printer. trust me, i have done this.
soldering jump rings. this can try the patience of a saint. but, if i can do this i know you can. why do i know this? because about 37 years ago i had surgery on my ear to make a new ear drum. i woke up in the middle of the surgery, and i am guessing somewhere in the process it caused some damage and my hands shake.
i also did all of this with the beast acting naughty as well.
(the beast, if you are new here, is vertigo caused from positional vertigo and meniere's disease)
i hold my jump ring with an old pair of needle nose pliers, and i say old pair because the next step will kinda corrode them, dip the jump ring in the flux.
if you don't need to open the jump ring to attach the piece to your whatever...like chain, then solder the opening of the jump ring down.
if you do need to leave the opening to the jump ring exposed to attach it to your chain, then solder the jump ring closed after the piece, or charm, is attached. i have received many compliments from buyers and gift recipients for taking the time to do this.
soldering dots....i can not tell you how many times i have soldered dots and boink...they pop off and roll off my soldering table.
flux is my leetle friend.
i flux the spot that i want to place the dot on before do this. all i can say is that over time they have stuck more and more. i have not lost a dot today, and only 1 the other day when working on the easter ornaments.
i still want them to look more.....dot-ier. but, i have come to accept that maybe this is just gonna be my 'style'.
i love all things old, loved, worn and used and that is why i love the novacan black patina.
before you patina you must clean off the flux, i use vinegar on a paper towel
to get the shiny silvery look on the tops of the dots i go back over the dots after the patina has been applied, i use my leetle friend...flux and dab the top of the dot and then touch ever so lightly with the soldering iron for a fresh shiny tidbit of solder.
i always wear these when soldering, and like i have said in the past i pretty much don't even cut a piece of paper in my studio without these one. getting a chunk of metal i was cutting in my eye just one time is all it took for me.
after i have given some patina to my piece, i then give it a coat of this
the plan is tomorrow to start assembling the sacred bone and the medicine man necklaces.
i ran in to a issue with some of the beads not having the size holes i need which has forced me to rethink the hows of it all.
let's hope i will have pics of the necklaces well under construction to play show-n-tell with this time tomorrow.
hope you had a beautiful day!
nighty night.
smooches.
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