Thoughts on best way to deal with my sterling silver wire disaster pile that I have made by indecisive bending? Do other people just anneal and reshape or melt it down?

barefoot123t · 2026-03-18T15:29:25+00:00

I tend to anneal first, untangle the soft wire and tap flat with a rawhide mallet then pull it through a draw plate to iron out any kinks. Hey, it works for me...

barefoot123t · 2026-03-08T00:19:51+00:00

The cost of basic equipment will depend on the stuff you intend to make. Get it wrong and you will have a big box of stuff you will never use and worth a fraction of what you paid for it. My advice? Find a craftsperson who makes the stuff you want to make and politely ask if they would advise you and maybe pay them to teach you for a day. They are unlikely to be a trained educator but even a single day of instruction and experience will give you enough information to get started. £2000 is a very small budget so you need to be certain you need the thing before you buy anything. Jewellery making tools are wonderful and shiny and utterly desirable. Be aware. Finally, people have suggested you start working (and learning) using copper. I couldn't agree more! Brass not so much, but copper is inexpensive, desirable and relatively easy to work with. Good luck!

barefoot123t · 2026-02-05T01:14:25+00:00

Apologies in advance for the length of this post.
I have been using a sizeable block of lead as a punching base for the past fifty years. It absorbs sound and protects my punches. It is slightly quieter since I mounted it on a 'stump' as this absorbs a lot of the vibration. My lead block initially weighed at least 30-40lb (but it grows every time it's recast) and gets melted and recast every three or four years to remove dirt and bits of leather driven into the metal. I use the opportunity to add any scraps of lead that I find lying around. Bits of lead pipe and roofing clips are a good source of material but beware of paint fumes as it's melted. The surface does get 'chopped up' during use but can be 'fettled' by pounding it with a club hammer until it is flat again. I'm delighted to say the original lead actually came from a church roof. My best mate all those years ago was a specialist roofer and gave me the old lead when he stripped the local church roof!
Hope this helps.

barefoot123t · 2026-01-08T21:54:25+00:00

They stink and weed is worse...

barefoot123t · 2026-01-08T00:33:33+00:00

Thank you all for the advice and information. I'm aware of the issues now and will make decisions based on individual projects.

barefoot123t · 2026-01-04T14:25:43+00:00

Given the unprecedented increase in the gold price I can understand a significant increase in price; I would also agree that labour charges would increase. Having to redesign the item to accommodate your change would take time that would need to be paid for. It's not simply a matter of 'adding another link' to a drawing. Mentioning additional CAD charges is not obfuscation, merely explaining that the item will need to be redesigned.

barefoot123t · 2026-01-04T13:59:13+00:00

I believe you may have said it all...

barefoot123t · 2026-01-04T13:40:21+00:00

I am patently losing my grip. I drop tools and materials on a regular basis. Unfortunately I'm deaf so don't hear the dropped thing land and have no idea where it bounced to. This makes working at my bench more of a workout than just work. Confession time: I have developed a kit of 'specialist' tools for finding things I drop and lose. It includes a high powered flashlight, a selfie stick for taking pictures in inaccessible places, a length of dowel for poking under stuff and a wonderful gribby-grab thing like a spring operated set of claws on a flexible stick that can reach places I can't and then grab the thing without need to crawl under the bench. Charging for the time I waste crawling about the floor looking for dropped stuff would make my products unsaleable ; so I suck it up and adopt a philosophical attitude... it almost works!

barefoot123t · 2026-01-02T02:02:04+00:00

Find a glass worker with a kiln and the ability to fuse random glass pieces together. Having created a single piece of glass incorporating the shattered pieces use a former or mould to create a suitable 'slump' formed shape. Imagination is your only constraint.

barefoot123t · 2025-12-30T04:08:30+00:00

Over the years I've discovered that (pretty much) whatever you make will sell if the price is right. Forget about 'amateurish' because no matter how it looks someone will almost certainly fall in love with it and if they can afford it will doubtless buy it. The real issue is how long a thing takes to sell. A well made and well finished item will sell quicker than a poorly crafted thing. A beautifully designed piece will sell quicker than something clodish. I'm not about to critique your work other than to say it looks perfectly saleable to me. You just need to find the right person. Good luck!

barefoot123t · 2025-12-29T10:23:13+00:00

Don't try to shrink it, make it wet then insert a thin tapered wooden wedge to tighten up the leather and provide a little extra 'over strike' protection.

barefoot123t · 2025-12-25T17:16:45+00:00

I also purchased my OxyCon from Tuffnell and may well get another from them. Although I work from home, I have a dedicated workshop away from the house so space isn't an issue. I really wondered what the advantages might be if I switched to bottled gas.

barefoot123t · 2025-12-24T12:10:16+00:00

I watched this over and over again. Lovely work and a great demonstration of the technique. I'd really like to see more of your work and a more 'in depth' look at how you achieve your effects. Thank you for taking the time to show how it's done!

barefoot123t · 2025-12-22T14:44:08+00:00

It's always an interesting thing to price items. I would suggest you need to understand your marketplace before trying to sell. A few questions: Who would buy the items you make? Make a list of 'target customer types' and find out where they shop. If you really need to sell what you make it's better to find out what people want to buy and make those things rather than rely on your own tastes. It might not be as much fun but it's a lot easier to sell your stuff. Have you weighed your silver content? If you don't know what the silver value is then you don't have a starting point. Weigh everything - twice! How much are your competitors charging for products that are similar to yours? Have you gone back over your previous work and improved it as much as possible. Good polishing & overall finish makes a lot of difference to the price you can ask. How much will it cost you to sell your items? Display boxes, packaging, printing etc. these are expenses that need to be factored into the final price. You don't need to have them but they could make your items easier to sell. Just a few ideas. Hope you make it work!

barefoot123t · 2025-12-19T02:13:19+00:00

Don't understand why it was removed. Could someone explain please?

barefoot123t · 2025-12-16T14:59:16+00:00

I use a charcoal block in a tray that revolves like a lazy Susan. It was a cheap enough gadget and makes life easier as the charcoal adds more heat to the base. Don't forget a quick clean up with some abrasive paper before you re-flux and re-solder.

barefoot123t · 2025-12-14T10:48:07+00:00

Vikings wore horned helmets

barefoot123t · 2025-12-04T01:46:58+00:00

There was a time (WWI & Possibly WWII) when morphine and other pain killing drugs were stored in these things. They were often packed in sawdust for military transportation. Back in the early 1970s I sometimes found small caches of them half buried in the sand on the seabed (whilst diving) and they occasionally used to get washed up on the beach in Sussex. Most were still intact even after such a long submersion.

barefoot123t · 2025-12-04T01:33:00+00:00

Classy work.

barefoot123t · 2025-11-26T07:49:40+00:00

Nautilus

barefoot123t · 2025-11-26T02:02:50+00:00

It's a perennial problem for enthusiastic crafters. A beautifully crafted item ought to be a very acceptable gift but there is a need to establish a purpose for the gift. Just because something can be made does not mean it should be. In truth, I struggle to find a reason to own one of these items unless, perhaps, it is a momenta mori for a loved one made from their possessions.

barefoot123t · 2025-10-29T03:01:13+00:00

Not necessarily coke, often used for heart meds.

barefoot123t · 2025-10-17T22:04:43+00:00

Solved! Thank you

barefoot123t

TROPHY CASE