Shannon Bundschuh | Sawing Doubles | Friday, February 7, 2025 | 8 am until 4:30 pm

$255.00


Sawing is hands down the one process in metalsmithing I hear the most grumblings of dislike for from my students.

Frustration runs high and student’s enjoyment takes a dive.

Those who know me, know that I LOVE to saw.

It wasn’t always that way.

I started out with those same frustrations.

Then I found techniques and tools that worked for me to find my rhythm which turned into a love of my saw and a pure enjoyment in the process.

It took time and trial and error that I would love to help you skip over and get right to the good stuff.

When you think about sawing doubles for things like earrings or matching embellishments, are you thinking… Twice the work?

Varied outcomes?

Sisters, not twins?

Well, I have a really cool NEW technique to show you that will be a game changer for you!!

In this class, I want to not only teach you to love your saw AND enjoy the process, but I want to share how to create matching pairs that are TRULY IDENTICAL TWINS!

And let me tell you… these detailed pieces are not only for earrings, they can be used in so many ways.

You’ll be sawing your time in half (pun intended) while creating twice the amount of usable pieces!

In the later part of the day, once your pieces are sawn out, you will have the opportunity to stretch your imagination and use them in whatever way you would like.

Time permitting, I will demo some or all of these depending on student interest:  techniques for soldering to backplates, embellishing with beads, earring wire techniques, or other requests you might have on how you can utilize these amazing cutouts.

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Description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructor: Shannon Bundschuh

Title of Class: Dogwood Earrings

Date of Class:  Thursday, February 6, 2025

Time: 8 am until 4:30 pm

Level: beginner/intermediate

Type: Process/project

Class Fee: $255

Kit Fee: $TBD * may need adjustment due to metal prices

Kit Includes

3 Dozen of my favorite go-to saw blades

6” 20 gauge Sterling Silver round wire

Misc supplies

Detailed Handout

Sanding Cloth

Pro Polish Pad

Sheet Solder, flux

Instructor will have the following for use in class

Soldering stations – torches, fuel, solder, platforms, quench bowls, towels

Table protection

Pickle

LOS patina

Baking Soda for neutralizer

Dawn, paper towels, dishpans for water

Flex shaft & Drill Bits

A few extras of tools on student list

Student Supply List

MATERIALS 

Metal

Due to the nature of this class, students will be bringing their own sheet metal. Type, quantity and gauge of sheet will depend on the student’s design. My suggestions will either be 24 or 22 gauge for your projects.

I will be reaching out to enrolled students with details on making these choices a month or so prior to class. I know many of you have sheet metal on hand that you can bring which will hopefully keep the cost down. You can also choose a base metal as opposed to sterling silver to keep it more cost effective. If you are in need of sheet and would like to get an idea of cost, I can say you will need at least one sheet of 3” x 2.5” to create a matching pair similar in size to the saguaro earrings in the example photos.

Note: If beading isn’t an interest, or a simpler design is chosen, students can choose to saw out a second design if time permits, so you may choose to bring extra sheet metal.

Beads

If you are interested in adding seed beads in your design, please bring some with you to class. In my Saguaro Earrings example, I used Size 11 Japanese seed beads in 5 colors to get the ombre effect. Good resources for seed beads if you don’t have a local bead store would be Beadworld.com, Firemountaingems.com, and shipwreckbeads.com.

REQUIRED TOOLS

  • Pliers: Chain Nose, Round Nose, Flat Nose, (and bailing pliers if you have a pair – I will have one to share.)
  • Flush Cutters
  • Rawhide or Nylon mallet
  • Steel Bench Block and rubber base
  • Files Cut #2 – flat, half round
  • Needle files
  • Jewelers Saw & Blades (2/0, 3/0 + 4/0 in your usual brand to compare with ones I provide you.)
  • Bench Pin & Clamp
  • Cut Lube, beeswax or Blade Butter
  • Tweezers – for detail work and a pair for soldering
  • awl
  • Foam sanding pads (3M) – Fine, Superfine
  • Sketchbook and/or pad of paper
  • Pencil and Fine Point Sharpie
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Paintbrush or small bench brush (helps when silver dust gets in the way)
  • Busch Twist Drills Size 0.80 MM Jewelry Making Rotary Tools with 3/32” Shanks (or comparable size bits in another brand. These are just my preference. I recommend having multiple incase you break one)

OPTIONAL SUPPLIES

  • Work light and extension cord
  • Magnification if required
  • Your makers mark stamp or other stamps to add to the back of your pieces
  • Beading mat

Additional Class Comments

As we get closer to the date of the retreat (about a month out), I will be reaching out to the registered students via email with information to help you get prepared for class. I will provide you with design ideas to get you thinking of what you would like to saw out before class time. You may utilize the designs I provide, or you can come up with your own. This way we will be able to get right to it and waste no time on those types of decisions.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about the class. Please feel free to email me at the link below!

Instructor Email Address: shanbun20@gmail.com

Instructor Website: carry-a-torch.com

DO YOU NEED ANY SUPPLIES OR TOOLS FOR CLASS?

PRE-ORDER THEM TODAY!

Many of our students have asked us to help streamline the process of gathering their supplies and tools for classes, and we have come up with a way we think will work for you.

SJ Jewelry Supply in Phoenix is owned and operated by a wonderful family, headed by Mario Morales. His wife, Erika, and son, Steven, round out the staff, and they are excited to help make gathering your supplies easy and stress free. We guarantee they will make life easier for you! No kidding!

Here’s how it will work….

  • Once you have determined what you will need for class, send an email with your request for products and/or tools to SJ Jewelry Supply
    • Go to our website, open the class description for the class, scroll down to the section “Student Supplies,” cut and paste the items you want to purchase into an email to Mario.
    • Here’s their email address mailto:info@sjjewelrysupply.com
  • When they receive your email, they will send you a return email acknowledging receipt of your request
    • In this email, they will instruct you about payment methods 
  • Once your order is filled, they will send you a second email with confirmation stating your order is complete
    • Included in this email, they will give you instructions on how to pick up your orders upon arrival in September!

 Sound easy? We think it’s going to help take the stress out of preparing for classes.

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