Sheet Metal Bending Brake

Carol Dekle-Foss

Hello everyone! For today's post I am going to share a cool technique I picked up in one of my metalmith classes. It's a fun and easy way to create unique borders in your designs. I use the 18" bending brake from Harbor Freight. There is also this one available from Northern Tools, or if you are feeling extra crafty, you could make your own. You can find tons of tutorials online.

This is a bracelet I made for myself. It represents the Polar and Subtropical jet streams. I know, weird right?  I live here in California, and I have been watching our rivers and lakes over the last couple of months become the lowest I have ever seen them. So now I'm constantly looking up, hoping to see a storm front coming in or even a few reassuring clouds. I even did a little weather research and then became fascinated by our jet streams, and how they affect our weather worldwide.

So there you have it, a jet stream bracelet! Yep, I'm pretty much inspired by anything.

Let me share with you how to use the bending brake to create a border.

Parts list

Bending brake

Four clamps

Sheet metal

Hammer

Here is my bending brake clamped down to my workbench. I like it clamped down instead of bolted because when I'm done, I just store it away in a cupboard.

First, mark the metal where you want it bent. Then align perfectly along the edge where the brake will be lifted. 

Then place the metal bar on top of your piece and clamp it down tightly. 

Now lift! Duh, I realized I should have placed the clamps closer to the piece for a better lift. I also realized having the piece closer to an edge helps too. 

Also, be sure to anneal your piece first, to get a nice crisp line.

Now, lay your piece perpendicular to a solid surface (I used the bending brake) and lightly hammer down the border. You can use the channel to place something into it and then hammer down. Fabric? An etched piece? Lot's of design possibilities here.

Then, place on a metal surface and hammer the border down. Looking at this picture I realize my steel block is quite pathetic. Maybe I should have purchased a bigger one instead of a bending brake!

After hammering, you can then add a unique texture to your border.

Here is the cuff bracelet I made in class.

The bending brake is just another tool that you can add to your studio arsenal. I've only used it a couple of times but it's nice to have. I'm sure there are a ton of design possibilities. Let me know if you decide to get one and what you are going to use it for.

I hope this post inspires you to create something!

First attempt at making a silver sheet ingot

Carol Dekle-Foss

If you use silver or copper in your jewelry designs, at some point you will have to figure out what to do with your scraps. I've amassed about 10 ounces of sterling silver scrap and a MASSIVE amount of copper in about a 3 years time. It never appealed to me to turn in my silver scraps because I wouldn't be getting the amount invested in return. Especially now with silver prices so low and possibly dropping even more.

I've wanted to melt my silver into sheet ingots for rolling for awhile now, but honestly, I was too nervous. I had visions of it spilling and melting a hole in my toe! 

But.. I started thinking it's time. Time to do something with all the scraps I've accumulated and put them to use. So, with my husband taking pictures (making sure I don't burn the house down) I melted my first ingot yesterday! Yay! 

Here is how I did it and what I used. This is in no way a tutorial because I am still learning myself, but I wanted to share my results and a few things I learned along the way.

My supplies. 

The Ingot mold and Crucible I purchased at PMC Supplies on Ebay. I like the reversible one because you can make nice thick ring shanks. If you want to melt copper too, make sure you get the right ingot mold and crucible. 

Ohhh pretty flame. It's Photoshopped, I couldn't help myself! You get the idea though, you'll need a nice big beautiful flame!

The torch I use is a Smith Air/Acetylene torch, and for this project I used the #3 tip. 

First, I heated up the crucible and ingot mold. 

I then filled my crucible with a few pieces of silver and Borax. I guess Borax acts like a flux to help melt the metal quicker. After it started to melt, I added more pieces of silver.

Here we go!

When it started to get molten, I turned the crucible more to the side to get ready to pour. Anyone else see the creepy skeleton face?!?!!! WTH! Seriously. freaky.

And..pour quickly!

Ummm. yeah..epic fail. I poured too slowly and it created this interesting looking blob. Gotta pour fast!

I just reheated and poured again and got this. Much better. Although, I should have taken advantage of making the ingot shape smaller and it would have been a better shape. Oh well, next time!

So yeah..I made a boot. Hahahaha! That's okay, it's 20 gauge thick and will work well for backplates etc. Any suggestions on how to prevent cracking when rolling would be greatly appreciated. I did anneal it about 5 times. Maybe more annealing? 

What else have I been up to? I have a 2 day event coming up in September, so I have been preparing for that by making tons of earrings. 

I still have about 25 pairs to make, but here is what I've done so far.

I made these simple sterling silver earrings priced to sell at $18.00 each.  We will have to see how they do.

I then played with mixed metals and shapes by soldering together brass stampings to textured copper rounds.

I made these from some of my favorite ceramic beads my husband and I made.

I also played with a new shape and pattern for ceramic beads.

So that's what I've been up to! So what about you? Do you have tons of metal scrap just lying around? Have you ever done a metal scrap return? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for reading!

where jewelry and small objects meet

mary jane dodd

mjd - 2014 offering bowl 

i've been pretty absent - i haven't felt like what i have been doing related to the blog - i mean, we have these powerhouse jewelry and component designers and makers. i had kind of wandered off down a spiritual and slightly bigger scale of working. 

mjd - 2014 sacred space

late last year i had a strong desire to make offering bowls - to use as part of sacred spaces. i am a firm believer that life is stressful and harried and we all need places to stop. to breathe. to be. whether they are religious or spiritual or not is up to you. 

at first, they had a short phrase, a mantra or something specifically requested.

mjd - 2014 offering bowls

mjd - 2015 bowl foot

they also filled my desire to make something on a scale larger than jewelry.

but that small scale used for adornment always calls - 

mjd - 2015 be still

and they got scaled down to use as the most portable offering bowls.

i was asked to use a full piece of writing in a bowl - and had gone up from my first ones in size a bit, so i set approx. 250 characters. 

mjd - 2015 live your truth

so the writing that went with 'live your truth' became this - 

mjd - 2015 offering bowl

mjd - 2015

and then the portable wearables followed -

mjd - 2015

foot

and the mats/pouches i put them in came into have matured as well.

what has been interesting is going back and seeing how things developed. i didn't foresee where i am now. and i have ideas for them being used on walls and such. 

this has been a rather new experience  - really sticking with something and working with it thoroughly. there is a lot to be said for the process. and i plan on continuing it. even though it may be boring for followers on instagram or facebook, it is rewarding. 

have you done any work that is larger than jewelry? or did you start as a different kind of maker and found yourself going to the smaller scale? 

make with heart

mjd 2015 - offering bowl

as experimenters, we move from technique and medium searching for what fits, for what allows our imaginations, muses, brains and hands to come into harmony (do not read this as without challenge). 

this is good, this search keeps us honest to ourselves. and even when we find 'it', we continue to experiment. instead of throwing out a fisherman's net and trying many things, we narrow down. and narrowing down allows you to start digging. digging deeply so that your heart might sing.  

and this is very good. 

----------

there is nowhere else to go
there is no one else to be

you are home. 

there is no
treasure hunt
to find yourself -
you already are
an inextinguishable light.

learn to be
grow quiet
dig in

right here
right now.

know that all you need
to find inner peace
already exists within you.

----------

on this valentine's day - may you love yourself as much as you are loved. 

... in the details

offering bowl - mjd 2014

-----

the air of winter 

may be biting, but in its

sting i feel alive. 

-----

my work over time has evolved into simpler things. my focus is upon solid craftsmanship and defining details. even my writing this year (because i felt like i was losing focus somehow) is being combined with some haiku writing - where the choices all matter - you only have 17 total syllables to work with. 

but in our work, this too is true. there are things you will always need - findings, texture, metal, beads or other materials. they are defining. 

bracelet bar - mjd 2015

-----

as i am me and

you are thee, there must be peace

for the sake of we. 

-----

there are days where components are my focus. they provide opportunities for practicing what i find to be important - creating texture, attention to details, attainment of satisfying patina, even what i choose to clean the pieces up with (sandpaper, steel wool, brass brush, nail shaping block, etc.). and figuring out if the addition of something really does add, or if it detracts and was just fun as an exercise in trying something new. 

this has taken me years - 

it's important - as you work, you find out what makes your work yours. there is no way to really know at the beginning, it takes time and mistakes and victories to find out. it takes listening to your heart and being attentive to what makes it sing. you can successfully execute a design, but is it something you want to do again or reflects your aesthetic? 

what are details that matter to you? what ones do you feel are key to your work? 

wishing you all a year filled with what you need - i think i speak for many when i say that 2014 was a bit of a brutal one. let's hope for something a bit gentler.