More chainmaille fun!

Some more fun with Chainmaille!! This is a bracelet with a copper ring in the middle joined by sterling silver rings and 14K Gold-filled. It took FOREVER for me to make (about 1 hour per "flower".) The more I worked the easier it became!

Foredom Flex Shaft Fun

I really want to start making chainmail. It looks so beautiful! My Mom wants a bracelet that honors my son, and plans to wear it until he returns from Afganistan. I thought chainmail would be the perfect thing to make her! So another purchase - another expensive purchase, but again, I hope to get my return someday :). When I got my pepe jump ring maker in the mail I was so excited. I got the one that came with the foredom flex shaft. The instructions said to take apart the flex shaft and re-assemble it, so I did. I set everything up and turned the drill on, but the saw wouldn't cut the rings. BUMMER! It took two days, and some wonderful people from Etsy (especially http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSpeeceCollection). As it turns out, when I had reassembled the thing WRONG -- Well, after all was done, I had JUMP RINGS!!! WOO HOO!

This is the saw, ready to cut the jump rings.

The is the pepe jump ring maker. A coil is complete on the rod.

Some coils ready to be cut.

Copper and Brass jump rings complete and ready to use!

All in all, once I got it figured out, it only took about 10 minutes to make about 500 jump rings! Amazing, and a huge cost saver! I look forward to start the chain mail. Comments and hints/tips/suggestions are welcome!

Disc Cutter Fun!!

I finally got my Disc Cutter in!! I ordered copper sheets along with it, so I could practice using it (Sterling Silver sheets are SOOOO expensive!). The shavings on the cutter is called Bur-Lite, which is supposed to keep the punches ability to cut cleanly. Along with the disc cutter I ordered the center-positioning die set, the red pad in the picture, a hole punch (to punch a 1mm hole in the finished product so I can incorporate it into my jewelry), a pair of wire sheers (to cut the copper sheet), bur-lite and a brass 1lb hammer. I'm thinking I should have also ordered some files, but will try to use what I have. The cuts are clean and sharp. It took only a couple of hits with hammer to cut the disc! Quite easy to do, and I the ideas how I could use these are bombarding my brain!! It was a quite expensive order, so I hope it pays for itself in the long run.

Below are images of my first washers and circles (I'm sure there's another name for it). As you can see, one of the washers is WAY off center, so I will have to work on getting the hang of the positioning die. Hopefully soon, I will post some pictures of some jewelry using my awesome new tool!!