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Sizing the Bracelet

Lesson 1 from: Intermediate Forging for Jewelry Making

Bonnie Heras

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Lesson Info

1. Sizing the Bracelet

Lesson Info

Sizing the Bracelet

So this is where we're kind of getting into more heavy duty work. We're going to be working with really thick wire or was considered in the jewelry world to be really thick wire, since most killers work with twenty gauge, which is, you know, the size of year wire, we're going to working with six gauge wire, so we're going to be making bracelets as you see here sitting up front, we'll be doing two different types of forging, so we have on this bracelet here we have we're going to learn how to do a basic taper, basically of forging, and then, um and we have that crossed over is a nice design element on dh then we're going tio be doing just kind of a little bit more of that flattening very similar to the chain making class, which we reference how to start their flattening, but we're still forging this out kind of creating a little bit more of a lip shape now, these air bangles s so they can't be stackable. So and all of these air kind of designed so they can sit together and we're going t...

o be working in brass as well as in sterling silver kind of jump back and forth between the two and to start. We need to decide how big do we want our angle to be now there is a template just like with all out of our class is that you can reference to give you a basic size for what we're doing here today but it really depends on the size of your hands so you might be a little you might want to reference this before you start making it if this might be too big of a size for you, some people have smaller hands I happen to have a really good size hands for a woman I think it's because of all this metal working so this basis so these bracelets maybe a little large for you but basically we can do is make a fist kind of determine your size, make a fist and take a measuring tape like you know was loose fabric measuring tapes and wrap it around your wrist I'll give you a basic circumference for what the size needs because essentially what you have to think about is that you need to be able to slip your hand through no, I'm wearing gloves to this actually does fit me but it's a matter of it kind of going over the right angles where your bone structure is now as most of us everything khun sit a little bit lower onto your wrists and it's a matter of where you want it to sit now you can wear it up higher. You can consider against your home, but the thing is, it has to slip over your hand. Most of us have smaller risk that we do hands, so it may seem like it ends up being a little large, but we have to slip it on this because very doing an enclosed bracelet. If it was a cuff or something else that you can kind of slip on this way, then the size khun very. And obviously you can wear that turned parts of your arm. But since we're doing a bangle that's closed up stoddard closed. Then we have to keep these things in mind. So for our bigger bracelet here, the forged a flattened one here this is going to be cut to believe it was eight inches now are smaller. One here is going to be seven now, there's a reason for that. So, there's, a difference of the processes are a little different when you are actually kind of creating a taper on your wire. This is going to get elongated. So I'm gonna start with a smaller length. And as I hammer this out to create a taper great, this taper here you are, this is going to grow in like at least an inch. So depending on you know how long you want that table to be her dramatic you want that taper to be you need to consider that it's going to get elongated you don't want to be too long so good I think about that growth so to start we're going to cut a piece of morass now how do you well how do you cut something like this it's really thick? You definitely can't cut it with wire cutters, bolt cutters maybe um but we're going to saw it by hand show you that so I imagine this out roughly two eight inches now if we happen tio be working with thinner wire et tube cutter would be really useful. This is a tube cutter you can actually slip wire in here and I have this little guard here help you kind of stop and catch it really great tool, but since we're using sub substantia such substantial ah wire we're just I can physically hold it easily where I don't need something extra here to hold it in place for me so I'm just going to solve this by hand now remember you definitely need your lubrication is gonna be a little tricky since you're cutting with thicker material do be aware that it's not going cut really quickly try to stay straight up and down the angle it at all you might end up having angled cut so might feel odd when you're sawing initially, because, like, you're kind of not really getting much of anywhere because it's such a substantial area to saw when you get to the end of that cut, you kind of been that open a little bit. And your cut there, weaver extra material over here. So I'm gonna prep this piece to do our first bangle here, which is the closed one that we're going tio kind of do a little crest that shape with s o. That means I have to shape this round into a but joint once again, just like, um, a lot of other ring shaping techniques. When making a rain, you always have to kind of bring it around to meet someone filed this flat, double check that my previous end was filed flat as well. And then we're gonna move on to shape again.

Class Materials

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Bonnie Heras - Intermediate Forging Supply List.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

user-fecce6
 

Short and sweet. It is an intermediate class so it is assumed that there is a certain level of experience that the viewer has and doesn't rehash a lot of information. I appreciate that. I would add that there is a brass solder sold by Rio Grande. I have been using it for several years and it is a great color match.

Be Perfect As God Is
 

I truly enjoy watching and learning. Step by step. Some of these so instructors , miss steps and never finish the projects, its unacceptable to pay for those types of learning classes.

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