TRICKS OF THE TRADE

Ever have the gear of the chuck of a cable driven hand piece cause a friction burn you hand when using it? Wrap some plastic sheet around the hand piece and hold it with a rubber band. You can slide the plastic down to allow the chuck key to work then slide it forward to cover the hand piece gear.

Wrap a long piece of plastic sheet part way around the hand piece and hold it in place with a rubber band. The sheet should be open on the bottom side so that the burr can be placed on the work. Slide the sheet forward so that it is between the burr and your face, this way slivers of the metal that are removed will hit the plastic and fall down instead of all over place.

For those of you who do not have a collection tray on your work bench use a cookie tin under you work to collect metal when grinding projects. Place a large burr with a flat head in a hand piece and clamp it into a foredom drill press. You can mill carving wax to the desired thickness.

There are times when one needs a sharp edge on an abrasive wheel. Shape rubber abrasive wheels on a tool similar to Rio’s diamond coated wheel shaping block. When you are working many rings and/or pendants store them in ice cube trays while working on them.

Use Altoid boxes for storing all sorts of items. Use a labeler to label the contents. Lee Epperson

SOLDERING LINKS

SOLDERING LINKS

I slip the ring through the loop soldered on the back on the conchos. Close the ring so that there is no gap. Set the conchos on a fire brick so that the link hangs in free air over the edge of the brick with the joint away from the conchos.

I then cover the conchos with a solder pad. I do not want to heat the pre-polished conchos so I cover them with the solder pad.


I place a drop of liquid flux on the joint and heat it to evaporate the liquid. I then place a small solder chip on the joint.

I use a large tip on my acetylene torch. I heat the link joint from below. I use a solder pick to get the solder to flow across the joint.

I polish the link with my Foredom.

Thimbells

My venture in casting bells started with a lady wanting me to create thimbles. I created several thimbles for her. I made rubber molds of the originals with the intent of selling additional thimbles.

The reproductions thimbles sat in my display case for quite a while. One day, at a show, a lady wearing a Harley Davidson Jacket saw the thimbles and asked if I could make them into bells. It seems bikers like to put a bell on the cycle to ward off bad spirits. Why not I said.

So now I make Southwest Thimbells which sell very well.

The clapper of the Thimbell is a small bear. Three of the bales are Humpback Flute players and the round bale is a sun symbol surrounded with feathers.

leessilver@aol.com

leessilver@cox.net