The Academy – April’s Anticlastic Curly Earrings – March 2023 (Copy)

*** Daily schedules are based on Phoenix, Arizona time ***

Class Schedule

Saturday, March 4th

Saturday, March 11th

Saturday, March 18th

9:00 – 10:30 am (Phoenix time)

Students will participate in Zoom classes with April on three Saturdays in the month of March. Question and answer period, and further instruction will occur during these classroom meetups.

*** Daily schedules are based on Phoenix, Arizona time ***

Anticlastic Curly Earrings

CHAT NOTES

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April’s Curly Anticlastic Earrings

March 4^th

Welcome to our first meetup session!

Vise

Don’t hammer over your head – it’s really hard on your joints. If your vise is positioned too high, either stand on something to raise you up, or lower your vise so you’re positioned properly.

For proper placement, you want to aim for your forearm to be at a right angle to the stake when striking the metal with hammer in hand

You want your stake to be as firmly held in the jaws of the vise as possible. Use a hammer (not your good one!) to tighten the arm that controls the jaws.

Attach your vise to a piece of wood with screws and bolts. It makes it a portable tool that you can move around as needed (attach to table with clamps to hold it in place)

Stump

If your stump develops cracks, they may become useful in your designs from time to time!

Place your stump on wheels so you can move it around your studio

Be creative when thinking about what to use for hammering. Wood beams cut to a shorter size, can be useful in your studio!

To level the top of the vise, you may need to use shims at the base

Attach an old leather belt around the perimeter of the stump to hold your tools (hammers, etc.)

You can carve out a deep hole in the side of your stump to hold a ring mandrel for hammering and shaping

Search for FB groups that focus on stump-making

 To remove pink from brass or bronze

Super Pickle 

2/3 parts vinegar and 1/3 part hydrogen peroxide

or

Super Pickle Alternative

2/3 parts vinegar and 1/3 part hydrogen peroxide – can add hydrogen peroxide to recharge the solution (doesn’t need to be heated)

Texturing Plates

https://www.etsy.com/market/jewelry_texture_plates

can use leaves, grosgrain ribbon, screening or a hammer texture - anything that is a small and tight pattern for these smaller earrings

The texture hides a multitude of sins!

Metals to use

Red brass, yellow brass (hardware store purchase), copper, silver, Argentium

Layout Patterns

Start with larger patterns and work towards smaller ones when you become more experienced.

If there is a pattern you like and will use again, stamp the info into the metal for future reference.

April can email a pdf of the patterns if you’d like, but she suggests drawing your own in these general sizes

100 mm long x 44 mm wide –

90 mm x 12 mm

85 mm x 12 mm

65 mm x 8 mm (smallest)

draw a long arc – folded in half to make it symmetrical (if you want them symmetrical!)

Pliers – used to finish earwires

Half round bending pliers

Round nose pliers

Earwires – gauges

April uses 19-gauge or 20-gauge wire for her earwires.

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT WEEK

Work on projects

Post photos of work-in-progress on FB page

Ask questions on FB page – if you are wondering about something, so are probably others! April can address the issue(s) for the whole group rather at once

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Anticlastic Curly Earrings

CHAT NOTES

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April’s Curly Anticlastic Earrings

March 11^th

Welcome to our second meetup session!

Barb Solem: We will post the classroom video today after class ends. You can link to it from our private page on the Vivi Magoo Academy website.

Barb Solem: Remember to post photos of your work in progress on our private FB page!

Barb Solem: Annealing is your friend! If the metal seems to be fighting you, try annealing to make it more malleable.

Barb Solem: Tumbling will polish your pieces very nicely; however, it doesn’t work harden the metal too well….

Barb Solem: Use a mandrel to shape your earwires. Mark the curved bend overly tight at first to compensate for the springiness of the wire.

Sally Peregoy: Would you please review heating the argentium in the oven? Temp, time?  Ok to have the finished piece in the over for copper and silver?

Barb Solem: If you want more defined texture on your metal and you are using a rolling mill, try rolling it without using a denser paper/foam. Using a thinner paper to sandwich your metal will give you a thicker and more defined impression and shouldn’t mar your rollers.

Barb Solem: When you’re forming the metal on the stake, you may need to bend the back end of the metal to the side and out of the way. You can always reposition it when you’re finished.

Barb Solem: To make a tighter curl on the end of your metal, try concentrating on the side of the stake with your hammer rather than in the center of the stake.

Barb Solem: If you have an enameling tripod, you can use that in many ways. You can use it as a camera tripod to photograph your pieces. Additionally, you can use the wire screen set up on the tripod to solder earwires, etc. This technique will free up both hands for soldering!

Barb Solem: How often do you have to pickle after annealing? Not every time, but often enough to keep your tools clean (copper will produce a lot of “gunk” that will flake off and dirty up your things).

Barb Solem: In order to make a pair of earrings that closely match each other, it’s easiest to make them at the same time - working a bit on each of them, alternating back and forth.

Barb Solem: To lessen tension on your muscles and joints when hammering, hold your hammer loosely rather than with a tight death grip!

Barb Solem: harden the Argentium in the toaster oven after you have completed all your shaping/soldering/finishing/etc. This will harden/stiffen the metal.

You’ll need to pickle after heating in the toaster oven, but it’s easy to remove the discoloration

https://www.riogrande.com/knowledge-hub/how-to/how-to-harden-argentium-silver/

Sherri Walter: I haven’t worked with Brass or Bronze before .. can it be annealed?

Barb Solem: You can anneal brass and bronze, but it will turn pink after heating. When you have completely finished your project, you can use super pickle to remove the pink discoloration. Don’t leave your metal in the pickle too long - it will begin to disintegrate your metal!

Nancy Ennis: Has anyone experimented with a different shape of template or earring?

Barb Solem: Smaller templates are possible, but they will be harder to manipulate and hold while forming.

Nancy Ennis: Thanks everyone!

Barb Solem: Remember to adjust the time for our meetup next Saturday - Daylight savings time occurs tomorrow night.

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Anticlastic Curly Earrings

CHAT NOTES

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Supplies & materials / kit for Anticlastic Curly Earrings Online Class by April Bower

TOOL KIT:  $85 plus shipping

Large wood sinusoidal stake

Small wood sinusoidal stake

Nylon cross peen mallet large

Nylon cross peen mallet small

Specialty tools needed

Sinusoidal  stakes (anticlastic forming) in wood or Delrin, or steel or end hooks assorted sizes

here is a commercial one “small” in Delrin from Rio which would be wonderful

here is a commercial one Extra small  from Rio

Here is a wood version I offer order  “large” #7…more affordable

Here is a wood version I offer order “small”  #8 in photo

End hooks (need several sizes) from NC Black

Nylon  or plastic cross peen mallets large & small

Sturdy Vise Like this , or better this, mounted to a stable surface (stump or table)

Shears for metal

half round file 6” something like this

Texturing tools: hammers, stamps or rolling mill or Pre-etched metal

Torch for soldering posts & annealing

EZ silver solder

Closing hammer or small ball peen like this Or better…

 smaller goldsmith cross peen (optional)

Flat nose pliers

Ring Mandrel

Scratch brush

Assorted  grit radial discs for flex shaft or Dremel   #400 is my fav.

24 to 26g sheet metal in copper or bronze or brass

26g sterling or Argentium silver sheet

Additional Class Comments

Students able to follow and work at own pace, but ask questions / help from instructor each morning of 3 day class. Videos will be available for 1 month after.