Wire Weaving - When the wire breaks suddenly

  

 It's very sad when you're carried away weaving and wire broke suddenly or over. I recommend  to remake this place completely - it will be reliable. But if it is difficult and you will certainly want to continue - you can take an extra piece of wire and weave on. In this video I show how you can connect the two pieces of wire. Such connection better make at point where the item will no affected of tension and friction.

Ideal solder for copper wire

  I was looking for the perfect solder for copper and finally found it. This is a solid copper-phosphorus solder Felder 94, no silver content.
  I conducted an experiment and to solder a few rings, using different types of solder.

1 - Copper-phosphorus solder paste. On the one ring I put more paste to another less.

2 - Solid copper-phosphorus brazing with silver content.

3 - Solid copper-phosphorus solder Felder no silver content.

And here's the result: solid solder does not leave silver trace. Especially if you use the optimal amount.

  This is a video where I took the whole process of using solid solder. Copper-phosphorus solder very hard. Use very large wire cutters to chop solder into small pieces. If you get a big piece of 3-4 mm it can be cut in half.

   It is important to choose the best size for each solder joint. Place the solder near the seam. Because the phosphorus content in the solder, we can work without flux. Use a butane torch to heat the copper. Solder is melted by hot metal and will flow into the place with the highest temperature. This way you can control it. If too much solder can distribute it on the surface of a metal with a flame. After heating the copper became dark - use citric acid to clean it up.

   Use solder-paste is more convenient (it's easy to apply and it melts more quickly) - but it always leaves a dark mark. It is very upsetting to me. Another advantage of solid solder - it does not have a pungent smell like solder-pasta. I have been working under the air hood, but still lack of smell - is of great importance to me. And solid solder convenient to store, it does not deteriorate with time and is not toxic.

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Weave like knitting

It is a way of weaving wire. This can be used to make a bracelet or a ring, for example. I used copper wire 13 and 24 gauge.
Patience and time! It will be fun! :)

Helpers for wire-worker - flex shaft tool

I often get questions asked - as I am doing my jewelry so neatly? What to do with traces of tools? Here you are, video about the helpers of wire-worker. 
Make your jewelry faster with fun! :)

Big trip to Ukraine.

This is a short story about a big trip for me and my family in our country Ukraine. We drove 2300 miles, visited 5 cities, 4 castle, 2 waterfalls, mountains, canyon, cave and found a lot of friends.
It was wonderful! :)

Making a Bezel for caboshon

I used here these wonderful lessons, to learn how to make a frame for a cabochon.

Read more 7 parts

How to make a silver ring - metalsmith.

These are my findings on the internet some good instructional videos.

Soldered Stacked Rings Tutorial - Beaducation.com

How to make a simple ring of silver, even a few species, soldering - very detailed and clear lesson (25 minutes).

A ring with a stone. Solder is shown in detail, and as a stone in a frame clamp (9 minutes)

Basic Silver Smithing Making a bezel style ring Part 1

Metal Fold Forming

Very interesting video about how to work with sheet metal. You can see how to create interesting natural forms of copper.

Patina - Liver of Sulfur

In this video I will teach how to make liver of sulfur and cover with a patina of copper jewelry.
1 part baking soda and 1 part of sulfur mix in a ceramic crucible. Heated on the fire until brown. All the while thoroughly. If you see a fire - blow it.
Important! Work must necessarily a respirator, goggles and gloves.
When the powder is cooled down - fill it with water and store in a bottle with a tight stopper, without air.
Pour part of the solution to the water and soak there jewelry. When it goes dark, remove the excess with a sponge patina and  polishing paste.
Rinse brooch in dish detergent and cover with varnish to metal. :)

As I weave copper cobweb

These are two videos in which you can examine in detail the process of weaving. I use 28-29 gauge wire to create a strong patterns. Base - 16-18 gauge.
The action takes place in really workshop Ursula Jewelry, my work desk. Seen my tools, supplies beads, gems, my work notebook. Come for a visit, even if we are divided by the ocean! :)

How to make beads at the ends of the wire. Need burner. The burner is fueled by gas. A piece of copper wire and bend the end dipped in borax. Then send the flame up to the very end of the wire. Time to remove the flame, not to burn through the wire.
I used a wire 16 gauges in the first case. And 20 gauges for the second time.

Video Tutorial: How to fold a beautiful spiral and flatten it with a hammer.

I'm using a round copper wire of 1.3 mm in diameter. Have to bend very carefully, in small steps. I cut flat (not round) area within the helix.

I love working  with a metal handle hammer - it is quite, well absorbs vibration and shock. Hammer with a wooden handle is also good, but I like less.

We need to knock gently to evenly flattened wire. Step-by-step. Take your time - then we will have the edge is equable. 

I tap with a hammer just the reverse side. Thus the front side will be as smooth as mirror. 

The sharp edges of the wire is required to smooth out needle files.