Today, I’m experimenting with how to make a pendant. I’ve never done this before, so I’m doing a practice run with a piece of copper, rather than straight into silver. Copper is significantly less expensive and harder than silver. For these reasons, many books and websites suggest mastering copper before moving onto silver.
First Attempt
I want to play about with the rolling mill and so, I’m doing a practice run with a piece of copper and some dried leaves that I found in the garden. The plan is to imprint the leaves into the copper, using the rolling mill. Wish me luck…!
My first attempt didn’t go so well. I think the rolling mill wasn’t set to a tight enough setting, so the metal was just passing through without taking the print. Annealing the metal and trying again. When at first you don’t succeed…
Well, attempt number didn’t go much better…
Conclusion: Leaves are not my friend! At least not today.
Attempt No 3
So, undeterred, I have tried again. This time using a brass texture sheet with an animal print to put some texture on my piece of copper. It works! So, now I have a small piece of rectangular, textured copper. I’ve added a patina to it by dipping in liver of sulphur, and then polished up the raised parts of the metal. This is the outcome:
To finish the piece, I’ve made a sterling silver frame and fitted the copper inside. I’ve added a jump ring to allow me to hang it from a piece of black leather thong and overall, I’m quite pleased with the result!
Points I’ve learnt today:
- The rolling mill has to be set just right for the metal to take the print.
- When making the frame, it’s worth adding a little extra as you probably need to file and adjust. If it’s too big, it’s easier to make it smaller than it is to try to stretch the frame to fit.
- The finish is everything!
