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Getting started

Once you have mastered the techniques used in the projects in this chapter, try the dot pendant (see above and page).

These two initial projects are designed as a starting point for the inexperienced jeweler and are also an introduction to wood for those who have previously worked in metal. The techniques may be simple, but this can make the design stage harder, since to make something striking from limited means can be harder than it initially appears. The dot pendant shown left also makes good use of shallow shaping, and might be another project to try at the beginner stage.

The step-by-step sequences for these projects are shown close-up from the first making stage, so it is important that you check cut the workbench setup instructions you will need to carry out prior to this stage (see page). When you are using a piercing saw or when you’re filing, you will need to support your work on a bench peg that has had a V-shape cut into it. If you don’t have a custom workbench with a bench peg built in, you can improvise with a bench peg clamped onto a table with a C-clamp. It is important to consider your setup here, because you will need to support the jewelry piece that you are working on, while at the same time, keeping your fingers from being in front of the piercing saw or the micromotor drill.

You also need to establish basic workshop safety. Keep any loose hair, necklaces, or scarves out of the way. Do not wear open-toe shoes in case you drop hot items or acid. Protect yourself from dust with a dust mask or respirator—this is especially important when doing jobs that toss up a lot of dust, such as when you are using a belt sander and when working with exotic hardwoods. Wear goggles whenever you are using machinery.

See page for the index of difficulty for later projects like the spoon necklace, turned and gilded bangles, and ebony and pearl ring shown here.

Walnut squiggle pendant

This first project helps you to practice basic techniques such as marking out, drilling, and working with a piercing saw. Using a spontaneous drawing technique with lots of cutouts gives the design lightness and liveliness. Keep it simple and bold.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

• Pencil and cardstock

• Dividers

• Scalpel and cutting mat

• Walnut sheet ³/₁₆ in (5 mm) from a modelmaking store; cut to 5½ x 4 in (140 x 100 mm)

• Standard piercing saw

• Fine wood saw blades

• Handheld drill or drill press, ¹/₁₆ in (1.5 mm)

• Dust mask and goggles

• 6¼-in (16-cm) half-round rough file

• 6¼-in (16-cm) half-round fine file

• Silver tube, ⅛-in (3-mm) outside diameter

• Cyanoacrylate gue and small piece of wire (to apply glue)

• Drill, ⅛ in (3 mm) in size, or ⅛-in (3-mm) ball burr

• Fine metal saw blades

• Sheet of 240-grit wet-and-dry paper

• Wax polish and paper towel (to apply it)

• Scissors

• Leather cord, 6½ ft long x ¹/₃₂ in thick (2 m long x 1mm thick)

A doodle is translated into a dramatic wood shape suspended from a leather cord for this statement necklace.

1 Using a pencil and a piece of cardstock, draw some open squiggle shapes until you have one that you think will work well as a pendant. Make sure that the shapes that will be sawn out from the wood and discarded are not too small. You will need room to file the cut edges and small spaces are harder to file.

2 Set the dividers ¼ in (7 mm) apart and mark a parallel line to your squiggle on the cardstock. Use the divider point to mark dots, and then with a pencil, join them up and define the line.

3 Working on a cutting mat to protect your surface, use the scalpel to cut out your cardstock template.

4 With the pencil, draw around your template onto the wood.

5 Fit the piercing saw with a fine wood saw blade then cut along the outline of your pendant. You may find it easier to work in sections, sawing vertically down to the edge at intervals to make it easier to remove, rather than working around the outline in one pass.

6 Using the handheld drill and wearing a dust mask and goggles, drill several ¹/₁₆-in(1.5-mm) holes at intervals in the negative areas (the spaces that will be left empty) and thread your piercing saw though one of the holes (see step 5, page). Making sure that your blade is taut, cut out the negative spaces.

7 Use a rough file, followed by a fine file, to smooth the edges.

8 Soften the sharp corners with a fine file, using sweeping strokes to polish the edge and make it look more finished.

9 Mark where you want to drill a ⅛-in (3-mm) hole for the silver tubing that will hold the leather cord. (In this design, two holes are drilled, one placed on each side of the squiggle’s length.) Make sure that the holes aren’t too close to the edge or the wood might be too fragile.

10 It is easier to make a straight hole with a small drill press, but it is also possible with a handheld drill. Holding your drill like a pencil, make a small ¹/₁₆-in (1.5-mm) hole where you have marked the cross, then use a ⅛-in (3-mm) burr to enlarge it.

11 Push the tube through the hole and out the other side. Put a small amount of cyanoacrylate glue on the end of a wire, dab it on the tube, then pull the tube back through the hole so that it is flush on one side. With this method the tube is less likely to stick than if you put the glue on first. Allow the glue to set.

12 With a piercing saw fitted with a fine metal blade, saw off the excess tube on the other side so that both sides of the tube are flush with the wood.

13 Repeat steps 9–11 on the second hole.

14 Using the fine file, file back the cut tubes flush with the wood surface.

15 Put the wet-and-dry paper flat on the bench and finish sanding the metal flush to the surface.

16 With a piece of paper towel, apply wax to the wood. Rub on and clean off any excess wax.

17 Using a ball burr, slightly round the inside edge of the tubes in order to make a nice highlight.

18 Thread your leather cord through the holes in the pendant.

19 Knot the cord above the tubes. Cut the remaining cord to your required length. Make a simple knot tie to close the necklace. Alternatively, affix cord end caps and a clasp to the ends of the cord.

tips for using a piercing saw

• Tighten the blade at one end and bend the frame together slightly by leaning your body on the frame against your bench. While the frame is bent together, tighten the other end and then release your pressure on the frame.

• Always make sure that the blade is taut: it must make a pinging sound when it is plucked.

• Never push the saw forward; keep the blade loose and concentrate on the vertical cut.

• Use long, sweeping strokes so that you are using the whole of the blade and not just the middle section.

• Make sure that you are holding the piece that you are sawing firmly in your other hand, as letting it tilt is the most common way to break the saw blade.

Undulating lime earrings

These earrings use a piece of wood that is deep enough to allow for some three-dimensional shaping. I have chosen basswood (also known as limewood) because it is quite soft, making it easier to work. However, that also means it can be easy to damage, so take care not to dent the wood in the later stages of making the earrings. As well as three-dimensional shaping, you will also learn how to make and attach silver findings (ear wires here), and how doing things in a counterintuitive order can make this task easier.

TOOLS AND MATERIALS

• Pencil, paper, and cardstock

• Scalpel and cutting mat

• Basswood, from a ⅜-in (10-mm)-thick slice

• Standard piercing saw

• Rough wax carving file

• Drill, ¹/₃₂ in (0.8 mm)

• Goggles and mask

• 240- and 1000-grit wet-and-dry paper

• Large ball burr, ¼–⁵/₁₆ in (6–8 mm) in a micromotor

• 3 solder bricks

• Small solder torch

• Easy solder paste

• 2 beads, ³/₃₂-in (2.5-mm), in silver

• Proprietary acid bath or heatproof glass dish and hot plate

• Acid for bath

• Brass tongs

• Round tool, ¼ in (7 mm)

• Rubber burr

• Fine file

• Silver polishing bit

• End cutting pliers

• Drill press or micromotor

• Parallel-action pliers

• Center punch, ¼ in (7 mm)

• Silver wire, ¹/₃₂ in diameter x 3¼ in long (0.8 mm x 8 cm)

• Silver cloth

• Cyanoacrylate glue

• White acrylic paint

• Small paintbrush and dish for finishing varnish

• Wax varnish in a clear, dead-flat finish

Shaped basswood is paired with custom-made silver findings to create softly sculptural earrings.

1 Make sketches until you are happy with the shape then, using a cutting mat, cut out the shape in cardstock with a scalpel. Hold this template up to your ear to check that you are happy with the design.

2 Draw around your cardstock template onto the ⅜ in (10 mm)-thick piece of wood. twice.

3 Saw around the shapes using a piercing saw, being sure to keep it vertical.

4 With a rough file, smooth the outside edges on both pieces.

5 On each shape, draw a pencil line to mark the middle of your edge.

6 Draw a pencil line to mark your highest areas on each shape.

7 Wearing goggles and mask, drill a ¹/₃₂-in (0.8-mm)-diameter hole approximately ³/₁₆ in (5 mm) deep in each piece where the ear wire will go. It is easier to do this now rather than once you have shaped the wood into a point. Make sure that you keep the drill held straight to the wood so the hole is vertical.

8 Using a large ball burr fitted on a hand-held micromotor, do some basic shaping.

9 Refine your shaping with the rough wax or wood file. Check how the file works on a scrap piece of wood first.

10 As you begin to get toward the end of the shaping, hold the pieces in your hand, as the wood can dent if held against a hard surface.

11 Using wet-and-dry paper wrapped around a file and handheld, sand over the surface.

12 To make the ear wires, cut the silver wire into two 1½-in (40-mm) lengths, set one cut length of wire on solder bricks, and, using the solder torch and paste, solder a ³/₃₂-in (2.5-mm) silver bead onto the end of the wire. Repeat with the second length.

13 Clean the ear wires in an acid bath, using brass tongs to insert and remove them (for safety instructions see page).

14 Rub the wires with a silver cloth.

15 Using the parallel pliers, bend each ear wire directly above the bead and then around a round tool—approximately ¼ in (7 mm) round—to form the hooks.

16 Check the length of the wires in the hole in the wood part of the earring to ensure that the wire is hidden. Shorten if necessary to hide any excess wire, so that the bead sits directly on the top of the wood and any wire inside the wood below the bead is hidden. Glue in place.

17 Snip off the hook end of the car wires to go through the ear as necessary, using the end cutting pliers.

18 Smooth the cut end of the silver hook wires using a fine file and a rubber polishing burr.

19 Polish the ear wires with a micromotor.

20 Paint the wood pieces with wax varnish mixed with just a small amount of white acrylic paint (to counteract yellowing). Test the color on a scrap first before painting the earring. Hang to dry on a length of cord, or in an earring holder, so that the wood remains untouched while it is drying.

making ear wires

• Ear wires are easy to make—your custom-made earrings deserve a handmade fitting rather than an off-the-shelf manufactured one

• Match your earring finding shape to your project. In the image above, a selection of variations is shown Follow the steps 12–19 in this project to prepare your ear wires, bending them to your chosen shape.